STANFORD, Calif. - For the second straight match, freshman Hayley Hodson led No. 7 Stanford offensively, helping the Cardinal defeat No. 25 Oregon, Sunday, at Maples Pavilion. Stanford moves to 10-4 overall and 4-2 in the Pac-12.
A game after recording a career-high .652 hitting percentage in a 3-0 romp over Oregon State, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week put together an even more impressive line in the Cardinal's 25-27, 25-23, 25-10, 25-16 victory against the Ducks (9-6, 3-3 Pac-12). The southern California native tallied a match- and career-high 22 kills and six blocks against the Ducks to go along with seven digs.
"Hayley's good, she's got a lot behind her," Stanford head coach John Dunning said. "I think in the past week and a half she's done some things to get herself by in sync. As you go through the season, you connect a little better each week. Haley's obviously showing people that they have to defend her."
And Stanford needed Hodson's herculean effort, because Oregon came out firing at Maples Pavilion. Intent to end the six-game losing skid against the Cardinal, the Ducks came out strong in the opening set, jumping out to a 4-2 after Stanford had difficulty organizing its offense. But the Cardinal, behind strong blocking from Brittany Howard and Merete Lutz, went on a 4-0 run to lead 14-12 and force Oregon into its first timeout. Luz's kill out of the break extended Stanford's advantage to three, but Oregon did not fold, withstanding several kills from Howard to tie the first set at 22. Howard's subsequent kills tied the set at 23 and 25, but Oregon benefitted from a kill by Martenne Bettendorf and a Cardinal error to take the opener 27-25.
The second set was marked by several runs and shifts in momentum. Ivana Vanjak's block started the scoring for Stanford, which went up 4-0 before the Ducks called for time. During the ensuing point, the Cardinal used excellent defense to fend off several Oregon attacks and eventually went up 5-0 on Jordan Burgess' second kill of the match. The Ducks, however, battled tough, using a 4-0 run of their own to take a 12-11 advantage. A kill by Vanjak tied the score at 12, but Oregon was able to inch ahead thereafter, maintaining a lead despite a withering attack from Hodson. With the score even at 19, the Ducks won four of the next five to lead 23-20. Hodson, though, simply would not let Stanford go down, sandwiching a block between two kills to tie the set at 23. And the Cardinal ended the set how it started it--on a 5-0 run--using consecutive kills from Howard and Vanjak to win 25-23. Hodson poured in seven kills and three blocks in the set to bring the squad back from the brink.
Stanford got off to another strong start in the third set as senior setter Madi Bugg distributed the offense very well. Two kills apiece from Hodson, Howard and Burgess put the Cardinal up 6-2, pushing its advantage to 11-5 before Oregon called timeout. It did little to stop Stanford's roll, however, as it outscored the Ducks 14-5 from there on out, dominating the set to the tune of 25-10. Hodson and Howard fired six kills each as the Cardinal posted its largest set win of the season.
Try as they did, the 25th-ranked Ducks simply did not have an answer for Hodson in the fourth frame either. Though it took an early 4-3 lead, Oregon never got closer than two points the rest of the way, as Hodson and Lutz combined for 11 kills and Howard added four more. Vanjak's kill completed Stanford's comeback and gave it another conference win.
"We've already been through a lot in preseason and in conference, which is great, that makes you better," Dunning said. "This was really good for us, because after we got back from Arizona State, we said, 'Okay, we're going to start from here, and this is what we're going to change about ourselves.' And so to come out and compete, get in a tough situation, fight our way through it, and then play really well is a step in the right direction. I would say the last two games we've executed very well."
In addition to Hodson's career night, Howard also recorded a season-high in kills (17), and Stanford hit a 2015-best .424 after recording only one attack error over the last two sets. With nine digs, Howard is now just one away from 1,000 in her career. Lutz finished with 15 kills and five blocks, and Bugg notched a double-double with a season-high 55 assists and 12 digs.
The Cardinal heads east this week, playing Utah on Friday, Oct. 16 and Colorado on Sunday, Oct. 18. Both matches will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks.