Win Streak Stopped By No. 2 Cardinal

Sunday, November 18

Seattle, WA

1:00 PM

University of Washington

18-10, 10-8Pac-12

Stanford

26-1, 18-0Pac-12

Stanford

Washington

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

November 18, 2018 | Volleyball

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By: UW Athletic Communications

SEATTLE – 20th-ranked Washington was hoping its strong play on its five-match winning streak would help history repeat itself today, but unlike a year ago, the Dawgs were unable to upset an undefeated Stanford squad. The second-ranked Cardinal kept rolling to 18-0 in conference and 26-1 on the season, snapping the Husky win streak in straight sets, 25-16, 25-17, 25-19 in front of a season-high 3,880 fans.

Last year, the Huskies gave then-No. 2 Stanford its only loss of Pac-12 play with a 3-1 win in Seattle, but the Cardinal controlled things today with tough serving that made Washington (18-10, 10-8 Pac-12) struggle to find a rhythm on offense. Only junior Kara Bajema finished with more than five kills, as she led all players with 12. Junior Shayne McPherson had an excellent match with 19 digs, but Washington hit a season-low .068 as a team. Their previous low of .112 also came against the Cardinal in Palo Alto.

Stanford had an edge in kills (41-29), digs (56-46), and blocks (9.0 to 5.0). The teams were even in aces with five each, though all five for the Huskies came in the third set.

"We knew we had to serve and pass well to make it competitive," said Head Coach Keegan Cook. "If you don't receive well against Stanford it's going to be a long match. It wasn't so much that we were getting aced a ton as that we were just passing balls twenty to thirty feet off the net and trying to run an offense, and you can't do that against those guys."

"I expected more from our group this match. These last three matches it's about playing with a December mindset, where every match could be your last match. If you walked away from that match would you be satisfied with your performance, win or lose? This first chance at it we didn't pass that test. I don't think anyone would walk away from that match saying we played our absolute best, which is what you have to do when the tournament comes around."

UP NEXT: The Huskies will have a quick turnaround to try to bounce back against another likely NCAA tournament opponent in the Oregon Ducks. It will be Senior Night this Wednesday at 6 p.m., with senior Destiny Julye being honored during a pre-match ceremony.

SET 1: Stanford came out sharp to open up the first set, scoring five of the first six points and forcing the Huskies into a quick timeout as UW helped them with several errors. It was 1-9 before Bajema got the first kill of the match for the Huskies. The Huskies picked up some momentum with a 4-0 run to get into the mix at 6-11 Cardinal. Powell and Niece started the run with a block then Bajema finished a McPherson set and two points later Bajema and Niece stuffed another. Drechsel pounded one kill down from the left and then had a second straight on a Stanford net violation to get to 8-12, but the Cardinal responded with a 6-1 run to retake control of the set. Shannon Crenshaw subbed in and killed her first swing to give the Huskies a spark. Bajema had a couple powerful kills late but UW got no closer than seven points the rest of the way as Stanford won the set, 25-16. Washington made five service errors in the set without an ace while Stanford had three aces and two service errors. Bajema had five kills for UW and McPherson was on fire with 13 digs in the frame.

SET 2: Sanders finished a slide set from Powell for the first point and it was 3-3 through the first six points. But Stanford quickly reeled off four points in a row to force UW into a timeout. Bajema hit one through the block on the right out of the break, and then two straight kills from Hoffman got the Huskies on a mini-run. Sanders and Powell teamed up to stuff Stanford on the right for 8-10 Cardinal. The Cardinal scored a couple back, but Powell spiked down an overpass and then Bajema broke through the block for 10-12. At 11-13, Stanford went on another run, scoring four straight, until freshman Marin Grote subbed in and got a kill to end it for 12-17. The Huskies had a 4-1 run to pull within three points at 16-19, Hoffman getting a kill off the block and then Stanford missing two. But the Huskies let a tip fall in the middle to kill their momentum and Stanford followed that with two more points to push it to 16-22. Stanford reached set point at 17-24. Julye saved the first with a kill from the back row but Crenshaw served into the net on the next point to end it, 18-25. Stanford hit .324 in the set while the Huskies hit .128.

SET 3: Washington picked up its first ace of the match on the first point as Powell's serve caught tape and fell over. The teams traded sideouts back and forth in the early going, with Hoffman tapping down an overpass and Drechsel tooling the block for 4-4. Sanders and Powell had a stuff and then Bajema pounded one straight to the floor from the left for 6-all. Powell got a second ace to move the Huskies up one, 8-7. A quick kill from Niece and an ace for Bajema made it 10-9, but the Cardinal scored three-straight for a 10-12 lead and the Huskies took the first timeout. A Stanford service error and the third ace of the set, this one from McPherson, tied it at 12-all. But quickly Stanford countered again with a 4-0 run as UW's passing fell off, and UW used its last timeout. The Cardinal aced the Dawgs out of the break before Drechsel tipped for a kill to snap the run for 13-17. Sanders and Powell rejected one on the right to get within three. Bajema's 12th kill got it to 17-20, but the Cardinal then scored the next three for 17-23. Drechsel hit one through the block and Bajema aced the Cardinal for 19-23, but she then missed her next serve to set up match point. Drechsel tipped one out of bounds to end it, 19-25. Stanford hit .400 in the final set while UW hurt itself with errors, hitting just .029, keeping it close thanks to the five aces in the set.