Travel has its attraction Travel has its attraction (September 09, 2005)

Volleyball team continues to attract record crowds on the road

by Rick Eymer

The Stanford women's volleyball team has helped attract record crowds wherever it travels - and it has been quite an extensive itinerary to date - and more crowded arenas lie ahead as the Cardinal participate in its final road tournament before returning home for its home opener.

Third-ranked Stanford (5-1) defeated host New Hampshire (0-7) on Tuesday, 30-13, 30-12, 30-18, in a nonconference match that drew a Wildcat record 2,415 fans at Lundholm Gym.

The Cardinal was scheduled to meet Colorado Thursday on the first day of the Colorado Tournament in Boulder. Stanford plays Marquette today at 4 p.m. and Creighton on Saturday.

Stanford plays its first home match on Sept. 15 against 23rd-ranked St. Mary's in the Stanford Invitational. The Gaels beat the defending national champions twice last season.

After playing in three different time zones to start the season, the Cardinal will remain on the West Coast the rest of the regular season.

Against New Hampshire, freshman outside hitter Cynthia Barboza had13 kills and Kristin Richards added 12 kills and 14 digs as Stanford outhit the Wildcats, .432 to .011.

"What a great atmosphere for volleyball," Stanford coach John Dunning said. "What a great crowd, and it was good to see so many young people watch the match. We served and passed really well, and put pressure on New Hampshire."

Richards is 46 kills shy of 1,000 for her career heading into Colorado.

The women's volleyball program has announced that at the Stanford Invitational (Sept. 15-17) and matches against USC (Sept. 23) and UCLA (Sept. 24) at Maples Pavilion, monetary donations will be accepted and delivered to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund to help flood victims.

Field hockey

Stanford earned its first victory of the season, and it came at the perfect time.

Juniors Liz Robinson and Julia Drewes each scored a goal to lead the Cardinal to a 2-0 victory over host Appalachian State in the NorPac conference opener for both teams on Wednesday in Boone, N.C.

Stanford (1-5, 1-0) continues its road trip in College Park, Md., over the weekend, meeting American University on Saturday and Maryland on Sunday.

The Cardinal are also scheduled to play Bucknell on Tuesday.

Robinson scored an unassisted goal at 8:06 of the first half, picking up the ball in traffic in front of the net. It was her first of the season and seventh career goal.

Drewes scored at 32:19 on a penalty shot awarded after a corner. It was her first goal of the season and second career.

The Cardinal outshot the Mountaineers, 15-0, as Robinson led the way with five attempts.

Sophomore Jess Zutz leads Stanford with three goals. She was the team leader last year with six.

Women's soccer

Stanford (2-1) faces another big test this weekend at the City By The Bay Classic, hosted by USF at Negoesco Stadium, taking on two national powerhouses beginning with Illinois today at 5 p.m.

The 23rd-ranked Cardinal meet second-ranked North Carolina at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

While Stanford will be playing Illinois (2-1-1) for the first time in school history, the Cardinal are familiar with North Carolina, the 18-time national champions.

Stanford and North Carolina tied, 0-0, in 1989 and the Tar Heels have dominated the series since, winning six in a row, most recently in 2002.

The Tar Heels (4-0) have outscored their opponents, 17-1, this season, returning 10 starters from last year's team which finished 20-1-2 and reached the third round of the NCAA tournament.

North Carolina junior forward Heather O'Reilly has five goals and three assists on the season.

Illinois sophomore goalkeeper Lindsey Carstens has recorded three consecutive shutouts.

Senior Leah Tapscott leads Stanford with two goals.

Men's soccer

Stanford will be looking for its first win and its first goal of the season at the adidas Cal Legacy Classic this weekend at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley.

The Cardinal (0-1-1) open with Cal State Northridge (2-0) today at noon, and then plays Vanderbilt (2-0) on Sunday at noon.

Soccer America preseason All-American Andrew Kartunen has a 0.45 goals against average in net in 200 minutes played. Redshirt sophomore Marcus Ryan leads the Cardinal with five shots on goal.

Men's water polo

Stanford (1-0) will host UC Davis on Saturday and UC Santa Cruz on Sunday, both at noon at Avery Aquatic Center.

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