Kathryn Plummer Leads No. 12 Stanford To Three Set Win Over Arizona

  0 volleymob | November 22nd, 2016 | College - Women's Indoor, News, Pac 12

Match Stats

  • No. 12 Stanford def. Arizona 3-0, (25-19, 25-23, 25-18)
  • Stanford improves to 19-7, 13-5 Pac-12, Arizona falls to 17-13, 9-9 Pac-12
  • Hosted by Arizona

Press Release

Courtesy of Stanford Athletics

TUCSON, Ariz. – Freshman outside hitter Kathryn Plummer recorded her team-best eighth double-double of the year to lead No. 12 Stanford past Arizona, 25-19, 25-23, 25-18, Sunday, at the McKale Center.

Plummer finished with a match-high 15 kills on .312 hitting and 10 digs. Redshirt junior Ivana Vanjak added eight kills and three solo blocks, while Inky Ajanaku and Merete Lutz each had seven kills and three blocks.

Freshman libero Morgan Hentz seemed to be all over the floor for the Cardinal, racking up 21 digs in the sweep. She has tallied double-digit digs in all 26 matches this season, including 20-plus on nine occasions. The 21 were her most in a three-set match as well.

Freshman setter Jenna Gray directed the offense to a .263 attack percentage with 39 assists, while also recording four digs, two kills and two blocks. Defensive specialist Halland McKenna finished with eight digs for the Cardinal, while Kelsey Humphreys had four.

As a team, Stanford finished with 10.0 blocks and 56 digs, while Arizona had 4.0 blocks and 46 digs. The Cardinal held the Wildcats to a .121 attack percentage. Stanford capitalized on 23 Arizona hitting errors, especially in the first and third sets.

Senior Kalei Mau paced the Wildcats with 12 kills and 10 digs, but was held to a .047 hitting percentage. Katarina Pilepic chipped in with eight kills, while setter Penina Snuka finished with 30 assists and nine digs.

Stanford returns to The Farm next week for the final week of Pac-12 play, hosting No. 19 Oregon on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. and Bay Area rival California on Friday, Nov. 25 at 5 p.m. Both matches will be televised on Pac-12 Bay Area.

Press Release

Courtesy of Arizona Athletics

TUCSON — Arizona volleyball fell in straight sets to 12th-ranked Stanford on Sunday at McKale Center (25-19, 25-23, 25-18).

The Wildcats’ offense struggled against the height of the Cardinal, which outblocked Arizona 10.0-4.0. UA hit just .121 on the afternoon.

“We didn’t play very well today,” said head coach Dave Rubio. “You have to execute well against a good team like Stanford, and we didn’t do that today.”

Kalei Mau led Arizona with 12 kills, adding 10 digs for her 10th double-double of the season.

UA struggled to defend Stanford’s efficient offense, which hit .263 as a team. Kathryn Plummer racked up 15 kills on .312 hitting while Inky Ajanaku notched seven kills on .400 hitting.

The loss denied Arizona of a season sweep of Stanford, after the Cats defeated Stanford in Palo Alto earlier this year, its first win over Stanford since 2005. The loss dropped the Cats to 17-13 (9-9 Pac-12) while Stanford improved to 19-7 (13-5 Pac-12).

Arizona will now gear up for the final week of the regular season, beginning Wednesday for senior night. Penina Snuka will likely become the second player in Arizona history to total 5,000 career assists, fittingly, on her senior day; she enters 18 shy of the mark. Snuka had 30 assists and nine digs on Sunday.

After a competitive opening to the first set, Arizona’s passing broke down late as the Cardinal served its way to a 25-19 opening set victory. Stanford scored eight of the final 11 points after Arizona had cut Stanford’s lead to 17-16.

UA came out strong after the break, leading the Cardinal by as many as five, but could not hang on as the Stanford came back to take the set, 25-23.

Stanford hit .278 in the third, cruising to a 25-18 victory in the third to sweep the match.

UP NEXT: With just one week remaining in the regular season, Arizona will turn its attention to Utah on Wednesday for senior night in McKale prior to heading to Tempe to close out the regular season vs. Arizona State on Saturday.

FOLLOW THE CATS: For continued coverage of Arizona volleyball, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@ArizonaVBall).

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