STANFORD, Calif. – Behind Kathryn Plummer's 17 kills, No. 3 Stanford opened the NCAA Tournament with a 25-20, 25-11, 25-15 win over Denver, Friday, at Maples Pavilion.
Stanford (25-4) improves to 39-0 in NCAA opening round matches. The Cardinal hit .356 and held Denver (23-9) to a .062 clip. Stanford held a 7-3 advantage in aces and out blocked (9.0-5.0) and out dug (52-37) the Pioneers.
Plummer hit .433 (17-4-30) for the match and registered a season-high five aces to go with eight digs and a block. Her five aces is tied for second in program history in an NCAA Tournament match. Senior opposite Audriana Fitzmorris added seven kills on .333 hitting, six blocks and five digs.
Door closed ??#NCAAVB | @StanfordWVB pic.twitter.com/WJnrcdqgQS
— NCAA Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 7, 2019
Senior setter Jenna Gray spread around the offense, dishing out 30 assists and had seven digs, two blocks and two kills. Senior libero Morgan Hentz finished with 12 digs, three assists and an ace.
Junior outside hitter Meghan McClure tallied five kills on .357 hitting and 14 digs, while senior Madeleine Gates hit .417 with five kills and four blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Holly Campbell chipped in with four kills and four blocks.
Stanford led the entire first and second sets. Denver responded, taking an 8-5 lead to start the third. However, the Cardinal went on a 5-1 run to regain the lead. Stanford held Denver to a -.083 attack percentage in the final frame.
The Cardinal improved to 11-1 in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Kevin Hambly.
Up next, Stanford will take on Cal Poly on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Mustangs came-from-behind to defeat Georgia, 3-2, in the other first round match at Maples Pavilion.