Women’s volleyball tops Arizona to complete four-win homestand

The No. 7 Stanford women’s volleyball team (15-5, 9-3 Pac-12) defeated the No. 19 Arizona Wildcats (15-9, 5-7) in a hard-fought four-set match at Maples Pavilion on Friday night. Freshman libero Halland McKenna set a new career high with 27 digs on the night, while three Cardinal players registered double-doubles.

The teams initially appeared to be well matched, alternating wins in the first two sets, but the Cardinal surged midway through the third and remained dominant, taking the match 25-22, 19-25, 25-18, 25-14. The match was Stanford’s 19th consecutive win against the Wildcats, a streak which extends back to 2006.

After scoring the first point in the first set, Arizona never regained the lead. However, the game remained close as Stanford did not gain more than a three-point lead, and the score was tied five times. After the Wildcats evened it up at 20-20, three consecutive attack errors by Arizona freshman outside hitter Tyler Spriggs aided the Cardinal to a 25-22 victory.

Arizona rebounded in the second set, capping its 25-19 win with a 6-0 run. Stanford hit a mere .091 to the Wildcats’ .147 and committed 4 service errors in the set. The Wildcats were aided by junior setter Penina Snuka’s solid play throughout the night. By the end of the match she had tallied 35 assists and 13 digs, giving her a Pac-12-leading 13 double-doubles on the season.

The Wildcats’ second-set momentum continued into the third set, but after going down 13-9, Stanford resurged. For the rest of the match, Stanford would outscore Arizona 41-19. Freshman outside hitter Hayley Hodson’s serve heated up as she notched 2 aces on 4 serves for the Cardinal and effectively shifted the momentum back in Stanford’s favor. At 14-14, Stanford began an 11-4 run to take the set, 25-18. Hodson would end the night with 3 service aces, tying her career high.

Stanford dominated the fourth set, holding the Wildcats to a -.047 hitting percentage. A service error by junior setter Kelsey Humphreys tied the score at 10-10, but strong service from Hodson spurred an 8-0 run, allowing the Cardinal to take control of the set. Senior outside hitter Brittany Howard capped off the 25-14 victory with her 13th kill of the night.

Howard was one of three Cardinal players who recorded double-doubles in the match, notching her fifth of the season with 13 kills and 11 digs. Hodson recorded 15 kills and 10 digs for her eighth double-double this season, while senior setter Madi Bugg had 46 assists and 10 digs. She leads the team with nine double-doubles on the season.

After reasserting its home-court dominance, Stanford will look to prove itself on the road, as it kicks off a four-match road trip on Thursday at Oregon (11-10, 5-7). The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU at 8 p.m.

Contact Olivia Hummer at ohummer ‘at’ stanford.edu.