SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 6 Stanford women’s volleyball team registered its 15th sweep of the season with a 25-17, 25-15, 25-17 win at Utah, Sunday, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The win moved the Cardinal to 18-5 overall and 11-3 in the Pac-12, while the Utes fell to 17-9 overall and 6-8 in the conference.
Sophomore middle blocker Inky Ajanaku led the Cardinal with nine kills on 14 attempts with no errors to hit .643. Sophomore outside hitter Jordan Burgess also registered nine kills to go with eight digs, including the 600th of her career, and two blocks. Senior Carly Wopat finished with eight kills and a team-high six blocks, while senior Rachel Williams added eight kills and six digs.
Sophomore setter Madi Bugg controlled the offense with 33 assists. The Apex, N.C., native also recorded eight digs, three kills and three blocks. Junior libero Kyle Gilbert finished with a team-best 12 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Brittany Howard finished with six kills and 10 digs. Howard notched her 500th career kill in the opening set. Overall, Stanford finished with nine blocks, while Utah posted seven.
Stanford opened the match with a 25-17 win over Utah. The Cardinal hit .275 as a team, while holding the Utes to a .083 clip. The top two blocking teams in the conference, Stanford won the battle in the opening set posting four blocks to just one by Utah. Four Cardinal players recorded three kills apiece, aided by 12 assists from Bugg. Wopat notched four blocks in the first, while Gilbert led the Cardinal with five digs. Junior Shelby Dalton led Utah with five kills.
The Cardinal kept it rolling in the second set, claiming a 25-15 victory. Stanford registered 15 kills on 38 swings with just three errors to hit .316 in the set. Utah committed eight attack errors to post a .070 hitting percentage. Burgess and Williams led the Cardinal with four kills apiece, while Wopat chipped in with three. Howard anchored the defense with six digs. Senior outside hitter Morgan Odale paced the Utes with four kills and three digs.
Stanford completed the sweep with a 25-17 win in the third set. The Cardinal again registered four blocks and hit .265, while the Utes posted three blocks and a .114 hitting percentage. Ajanaku led the team with five kills and two blocks in the set. Wopat added three kills and two blocks. Dalton and senior Erin Redd-Brandon tallied three kills apiece to lead Utah.
Stanford remains on the road next week, travelling to Oregon and Oregon State. The Cardinal and Ducks will meet in Eugene on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Networks. Stanford will face OSU on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. PT in Corvallis.