No. 25 Arizona State (14-1, 2-1 in Pac-12) looked to continue its dominance against No. 3 Stanford (10-2, 3-0 in Pac-12) in Friday’s tilt.
However, things would unravel quickly for the Sun Devils as the winning streak would come to an end and they would go on to lose in straight sets 25-19, 25-18, 25-12.
Stanford’s offensive prowess was on full display in this game and proved to be more than what ASU could handle.
Stanford came out swinging in the first set going up 10-6 early and never letting their foot off the gas taking the first set 25-19.
Most of the Cardinal’s dominance offensively came from fifth-year opposite hitter Kendall Kipp, who ended the night with 15 kills, and sophomore outside hitter Elia Rubin, who had 12 kills.
The Cardinal’s ability to locate and hit around the double blocks of ASU proved to be the difference maker as the match went on.
The second set started similarly as ASU fell behind early trailing 12-6. The Sun Devils were able to battle back and generate some pressure however, Stanford held on 25-18.
Serving proved to be pivotal as ASU was only able to muster one ace compared to the Cardinal’s six. Serve receive continued to be a problem for the Sun Devils as they were unable to set up their offense and control the game the way they wanted.
ASU was led offensively by junior outside hitter Geli Cyr, who finished with nine kills, and senior opposite hitter Marta Levinska who had seven.
Finding early momentum was huge for Stanford throughout the match. To start the third set, it was able to jump out to an early 9-4 lead and continued the relentless effort en route to a 25-12 win to wrap things up.
Defensively, ASU was led by graduate libero Mary Shroll, who tallied 11 digs. Graduate setter Shannon Shields and senior middle blocker Claire Jeter each generated two blocks.
The Sun Devils were able to exchange long rallies throughout the night and despite the loss played very hard as the effort level was never in question.
Stanford was able to execute their game plan and force ASU to play on the defensive side. This caused ASU to become fatigued faster as they were forced to play more reactively.
Arizona State will look to rebound this Sunday at noon against California (12-2, 1-2 in Pac-12).
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