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There’s a reason the Stanford women’s volleyball team usually plays the toughest nonconference schedule as anyone in the country and it’s been paying dividends the past few seasons.
Less than 24 hours after grinding out a win over No. 4 Penn State, No. 1 Stanford dropped a 25-27, 25-27, 25-23, 20-25 decision to No. 8 Minnesota on Saturday at Rec Hall in State College.
Minnesota (4-2) earned its first win over Stanford (5-1) in 10 tries. The Cardinal, which beat the then top-ranked Golden Gophers last year, had its school record 37-match winning streak snapped.
Senior outside hitter Kathryn Plummer led the team with 20 kills, while senior libero Morgan Hentz had 21 digs and two aces.
Stanford was held to a season-low 185 attack percentage as a team. The Cardinal finished with 78 digs and 12 blocks. Minnesota hit .247 and had 13 blocks and 85 digs.
Setter Jenna Gray controlled the offense with 51 assists and collected a season-best 12 digs. Junior outside hitter Meghan McClure finished with nine kills, 13 digs and two blocks, while graduate Madeleine Gates added 10 kills and six blocks.
Senior opposite Audriana Fitzmorris hit .323 with 13 kills and four blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Holly Campbell totaled six kills and five blocks. Junior defensive specialist Kate Formico posted 15 digs – one shy of her career-high.
Stanford avoided being swept for the first time since 2015 with a 25-23 win in the third set despite hitting just .043.
Minnesota was led by Stephanie Samedy’s 21 kills and 11 digs. Alexis Hart added 15 kills, while middle Regan Pittman had 12 kills and seven blocks.
The Cardinal has already played three of the top eight teams in the nation and will make it No. 4 when it heads to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a Wednesday match against the second-ranked Cornhuskers. First serve is slated for 5 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
By Palo Alto Sports Online
By Palo Alto Sports Online
By Palo Alto Sports Online
By Palo Alto Sports Online
By Palo Alto Sports Online
There are several issues with the Stanford women’s volleyball team this year. First the serving errors have been killing games. I realize that the Coach likes to “serve hard” but there are way too many errors. Second,, although Plummer is a great player she has limited ability to move. Opposing teams now serve directly into her area knowing her limitations. Third, every team is going after Stanford so especially on the road opposing fans create a huge amount of support.
Last it seems clear that the refs are making dubious calls. Witness the ridiculous call in the second serve first set where Coach Hambly had to use a green card. The incorrect call was made not less that 8 feet from Ref 1 and both line judges made the same error. The ref crew needs to pay more attention. The call was very quickly overruled but at the sacrifice of one of Hambly’s challenges.