Stanford volleyball: Freshman Lutz makes big impact

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It wasn’t easy to crack the Stanford volleyball lineup. The Cardinal had several two-year starters back this season.

Yet in the fourth match of the season, against then-No. 9 Illinois, redshirt freshman Merete Lutz had nine kills and six blocks. Five days later, she made her first start and pounded 13 kills against then-No. 20 Duke.

A quick learner, this middle blocker. Going into Friday’s first round of the NCAA tournament, she leads the Pac-12 and is fourth in the nation with a .446 attack percentage. She’s fifth in the conference with 1.18 blocks per set.

She’s talented, she’s powerful, and she’s 6-foot-8.

Lutz and the rest of the top-seeded Cardinal (29-1) play WAC champion Cal State Bakersfield (16-14) at Maples Pavilion at 7 p.m. In a 4:30 p.m. match, Loyola Marymount (23-7) plays Michigan State (18-13). The winners meet Saturday at 7 p.m.

If Stanford advances, it would play in the Ames (Iowa) Regional on Dec. 12-13. The semifinals and finals are in Oklahoma City on Dec. 18-20. The Cardinal have won the national title six times and have reached the semifinals in 18 of the tournament’s 33 years.

The Stanford coaches didn’t have to break much of a sweat to recruit Lutz, whose first name is pronounced “muh-RET-uh.’’ Both of her 6-foot-4 parents went to school on the Farm. Her 6-5 brother is a Stanford senior. “I only had eyes for Stanford,’’ she said.

Once the Stanford coaches saw her in a club tournament, they had eyes for her as well.

“People talk about the fact that she’s tall because that’s the most noticeable thing,’’ head coach John Dunning said. “But the other part is that she’s very talented, has a very fast arm and adjusts well on the court.

Redshirt freshman middle blocker Merete Lutz (17) has been front and center for the No. 1 Cardinal, who open NCAA tournament play Friday. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Merete Lutz (17) has been front and center for the No. 1 Cardinal, who open NCAA tournament play Friday. Photo: Stanford Athletics / Stanford Athletics Photo: Stanford Athletics / Stanford Athletics Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Stanford volleyball: Freshman Lutz makes big impact 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

“She has one of the highest hitting percentages in the country. That’s impressive for somebody who hasn’t played at a high level until this year. Whether it’s maturity or whatever, she has delivered.’’

Lutz had played basketball since kindergarten but switched to volleyball in eighth grade. “It was so much more fun,’’ she said. “I didn’t enjoy the physical aspect of basketball — the bumping and fighting.’’

She preferred the speed of volleyball. “You have to react to everything more quickly,’’ she said. “There’s so much more thinking, especially in college volleyball.’’

Lutz played two years of volleyball at Lamar High in Houston, then competed exclusively for her club team, Southwest Juniors. “I wanted to give my body a break,’’ she said. “If you play both high school and club, you’d get two weeks off.’’

Since Lutz hadn’t played much on the junior national team level, Dunning was afraid she might be at risk for a shoulder or knee problem without a full weights program. So she redshirted last season, and that was fine with her.

“The longer we went in her freshman year,’’ Dunning said, “the more impressed I was. She’s a pretty remarkable athlete. As soon as she started playing, she was leading us in kills in practice.’’

She sprained her ankle before this year’s opener at Iowa State, then played a little against Nebraska. Once the early season tournaments started, though, she became a tower of strength — like a few other Houstonians who came to the Farm, including football great Andrew Luck and basketball’s Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike.

Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald

NCAA women’s volleyball

At Maples Pavilion

Friday: Loyola Marymount (23-7) vs. Michigan State (18-13), 4:30 p.m.; Cal State Bakersfield (16-14) vs. No. 1 Stanford (29-1), 7 p.m.

Saturday: LMU-MSU winner vs. CS Bakersfield-Stanford winner, 7 p.m.