(Photo via Xavier Litman/WCSN)
No. 25 Arizona State Volleyball (14-1, 2-1 PAC-12) traveled to Maples Pavilion Friday night hoping to extend its undefeated streak and get a major win on the road against No. 3 Stanford (9-2, 3-0 PAC-12). With a win, the Sun Devils would’ve tied the second-best start in school history with a 15-0 record. Instead, ASU was handed its first loss of the season and swept in its first matchup against a top-five ranked opponent since 2019.
Stanford, the defending Pac-12 Conference champions, dominated the match from start to finish with a wire-to-wire win. The Cardinal started fast in all three sets, forcing ASU to continuously crawl back from an early deficit. The Cardinal started the first set with a 7-2 lead, the second with a 6-2 lead, and the third with a 9-2 lead. In the end, Stanford cruised 25-19, 25-18 and 25-12.
The Sun Devils’ offense uncharacteristically struggled against Stanford. Heading into Friday, ASU held a team hitting percentage of .343, the highest in the nation. On Friday night, the Sun Devils’ hitting percentage was a mere .125, the lowest they’ve tallied in a match by the squad this season. Before their bout with the Cardinal, their previous low was .229 against Boise State earlier this month. Meanwhile, Stanford consistently capitalized on its opportunities with a hitting percentage of .339, its fourth highest in a match this season.
In addition to the collective unit, senior outside hitter Marta Levinska had a season-low performance. The Latvian’s seven kills were tied for her lowest in a match this season, and her .172 hitting percentage marked the first time she hit below .200 in a match all year. The Cardinal’s defense hounded Levinska, who has earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors the last two consecutive weeks. With her struggles, junior outside hitter Geli Cyr led the team with nine kills.
As for Stanford, fifth-year opposite hitter and reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year Kendall Kipp looked unstoppable. Along with her team-leading fifteen kills, Kipp had 11 digs, earning her second double-double of the season. Sophomore outside hitter Elia Rubin also joined her in that department with 12 kills and 11 digs.
ASU now falls to 7-88 all-time against Stanford, extending its losing streak against the Cardinal to three straight matches. The Sun Devils have had recent success against Stanford, with their last win against the program coming on Oct. 31, 2021 and their last road win at Maples Pavilion on March 21, 2021, which was just the second road win in series history (The March win was played during ASU’s COVID-shortened season limited to only conference play.).
ASU will look to regroup and shift its attention toward Sunday’s match against Cal (12-2, 1-2 PAC-12), who is coming off its first conference win this season with a 3-1 victory over Arizona Friday night.
