Volleyball nets Stanford sweep


Arizona Daily Wildcat
Monday, November 14, 2005

There was no doubt the odds were stacked against the No. 6 Arizona volleyball team on Friday night against No. 4 Stanford.

The Wildcats entered the match 1-25 all-time at Maples Pavilion, and the last time Arizona defeated Stanford twice in one season was in 2000.

Arizona managed to put expectations aside and defeat the Cardinal in five games (30-26, 17-30, 30-22, 26-30, 18-16) in Palo Alto, Calif., to complete the season sweep.

Arizona (18-5, 10-4 Pacific 10 Conference) beat Stanford (22-5, 11-4) the first time in five games on Oct. 13 in McKale Center.

The Wildcats bettered the Cardinal in almost every statistical category Friday, including hitting percentage (.253 to .220), kills (79 to 62), digs (56 to 42) and blocks (14.5 to 10). Stanford, however, held itself to five serving and 29 attack errors, compared to Arizona's nine and 37, respectively.

The Cardinal had three match-point opportunities in the fifth game but was unable to capitalize, as Arizona scored the final three points to secure the victory.

Senior outside hitter Kim Glass led the charge with a career-high 33 kills. Glass has 1,952 kills in her career, moving her ahead of two-time national Player of the Year Logan Tom for fourth place all-time in the Pac-10. Glass also added six digs and three service aces.

Fellow senior outside hitter Jennifer Abernathy contributed 22 kills and 12 digs for her 12th double-double of the season.

Sophomore setter Amy Dyck had 64 assists in addition to six digs and five kills, while freshman libero Brittany Leonard finished with a match-high 18 digs.

Arizona fell in four games (30-26, 27-30, 23-30, 27-30) to No. 18 California (16-7, 9-5) Thursday night at Haas Pavilion.

Service errors doomed the Wildcats, as they recorded 16 to the Golden Bears' eight.

Glass tallied 25 kills and 12 digs for her 15th double-double of the season, while Abernathy had 14 kills, 14 digs and four blocks.

Senior middle blocker Bre Ladd added nine kills and two service aces, and junior opposite hitter Kristina Baum added a team-high 18 digs and seven kills.

Dyck dished out 28 assists, as junior setter Stephanie Butkus (18 assists) contributed in a significant way for the first time since injuring her knee on Sept. 8 against UC-Santa Barbara.

The Wildcats host their final home games of the season this weekend, taking on No. 15 Southern California and No. 21 UCLA on Friday and Saturday, respectively, in McKale Center.