Junior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku recorded 17 kills and the top-ranked Stanford women’s volleyball team beat host No. 18 UCLA, 25-21, 26-24, 25-22, Thursday night in a Pac-12 Conference match.
Merete Lutz and Brittany Howard each added 10 kills for the Cardinal (16-0 Pac-12, 26-0), which completed a rough 5 matches in 11 days unscathed and on the verge of school history.
Stanford has the next eight days off to prepare for its final regular-season homsestand, which begins with Utah visiting Maples Pavilion next Friday for an 8 p.m. match to be aired on the Pac-12 Networks.
A victory over the Utes would match the 1991 team for the best start to a season and a win over visiting Colorado on Saturday at 7 p.m. would, of course, set the standard.
The Cardinal has four matches remaining before the NCAA tournament, which is scheduled to begin Dec. 5. Stanford finishes on the road at undefeated and No. 2 Washington on Thanksgiving Eve and at California the day after Thanksgiving.
Stanford had its hands full with the Bruins, who held leads in both the second and third sets.
In the third set, UCLA scored the first three points and maintained a tenuous lead for most of the set. Stanford called a timeout after falling behind 22-21.
Ajanaku recorded a pair of kills and Morgan Boukather served an ace out of the timeout to give the Cardinal match point.
Following a Bruins timeout, Ajanaku and Howard combined for a block and the match winner.
UCLA led by as many as five points in the second set before Stanford went on a 19-9 run, punctuated by a rare Madi Bugg kill off a set from Ajanaku.
The Bruins saved the first match point but a kill from Lutz and a block from Lutz and Howard put Stanford up two sets into the intermission.
Lutz did not record an error in 14 swings and had a .714 hitting percentage. Ajanaku hit .481 and Howard was at .450 as the Cardinal hit .310 for the match. The Bruins were limited to a .229 hitting percentage.
Bugg had 41 assists, Kyle Gilbert recorded 12 digs and Boukather ended with two service aces and nine digs.
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
It is so much fun to watch this group of talented, joyous young women! Get over to Maples next weekend and see for yourself!