MATCH STATS

#3 Stanford def. #12 USC, 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 26-24)

Stanford improves to 15-2, 8-0 Pac-12; USC falls to 14-5, 6-2 Pac-12

Los Angeles, California

Attendance: 2469

Box score

LOS ANGELES – In the match to decide early supremacy in the Pac-12, Stanford won a hard-fought match at the Galen Center at USC in four sets. The result was still in doubt late in the fourth, as USC took a 20-18 lead after a 7-0 run that included four USC kills and three attack errors from Stanford, including two from Kathryn Plummer. During the run, coach Kevin Hambly burned both of his time-outs. USC even had set point at 24-22, but a 4-0 run by Stanford, which included two kills and a ball handling error, led to match point for the Cardinal. Meghan McClure then aced Khalia Lanier to end the match and win their 10th straight on the season.

For Stanford, it was a rare error-prone night for Kathryn Plummer, finishing with a less-than-efficient night of 13 kills and hitting .073 with 3 service errors. The Cardinal had huge contributions from others, including a huge night from Merete Lutz with an impressive match-high of 15 kills, hitting .609 on the afternoon with only 1 hitting error. Lutz also added 5 blocks. Audriana Fitzmorris added 11 kills and a match-high 8 blocks. Libero Morgan Hentz scooped a team-high 14 digs and added 2 aces. Sophomore setter Jenna Gray ran the efficient offense (60-18-132, .318) with 45 assists.

For the Women of Troy, four attackers finished in double-digit kills. Khalia Lanier led USC with 14 kills, but was also inefficient on the night. The Stanford block overwhelmed her, as 8 of her 11 hitting errors were blocks by the Cardinal. Brittany Abercrombie picked up some of the slack with 12 kills of her own, hitting .370 and adding 3 blocks. Niki Withers, a three-rotation opposite, had arguably the best night for USC, chipping in 11 kills with one hitting error, hitting .556 on the afternoon. Her night was punctuated by a solo block on Kathryn Plummer, who is 6 inches taller. Alyse Ford rounded out the double-digit kill performers with 10 kills and added 7 digs. Libero Victoria Garrick had a match-high 15 digs.

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy of Stanford Athletics

LOS ANGELES – Merete Lutz tallied a match-high 15 kills as No. 3 Stanford defeated No. 19 USC, Sunday, at the Galen Center.

Stanford (15-2) won its 10th straight match and remains in first place in the Pac-12 Conference at 8-0. USC (14-5) fell to 6-2 in the conference. The Cardinal is now 62-24 against the Trojans.

Lutz hit .609 with just one error on the day and registered five blocks. Sophomore Kathryn Plummer added 13 kills, while sophomore Audriana Fitzmorris had 11 kills and tied her season-high with eight blocks.

The Cardinal hit .318 as a team, totaled 11.5 blocks and eight service aces. The Trojans posted a .234 attack percentage and had eight blocks and three aces.

Sophomore setter Jenna Gray recorded 45 assists and was 5-0-8 (.625) offensively. Sophomore libero Morgan Hentz collected 14 digs and put down two aces, while freshman defensive specialist Kate Formico finished with six digs and two aces.

Stanford was cruising in the fourth, up 18-13, before USC ripped off eight straight points to take the lead. The Cardinal fought from behind and tied it 24-24 on Plummer’s 13th kill. After a Trojan error gave the Cardinal match-point, freshman Meghan McClure served an ace of the match to clinch the win.

Junior Tami Alade had nine kills on .538 hitting and two blocks, while McClure added seven kills, 11 digs and matched her career-high with three aces.

USC was led by sophomore Khalia Lanier who had 14 kills and five digs, while opposite Brittany Abercrombie chipped in with 12 kills on .370 hitting.

Courtesy of USC Athletics

LOS ANGELES – The 19th-ranked USC women’s volleyball team (14-5, 6-2 Pac-12) lost in four sets (25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 26-24) to No. 3 Stanford (15-2, 8-0) at Galen Center on Sunday, Oct. 15. It was the first home loss of the season for the Women of Troy, who had previously won six consecutive home contests.

Four Trojans scored at least 10 kills in the match led by sophomore outside hitter Khalia Lanier ‘s 14-kill outing. Lanier also had five digs and a block. Senior opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie added 12 kills (2e, 27att) and hit .370 to go with three blocks. Senior outside hitter Niki Withers finished the night with 11 kills (1e, 18att) and posted a stellar .556 hitting rate. Withers also had two blocks (one solo) for a total of 12.5 points. Junior outside hitter Alyse Ford had 10 kills to go with seven digs.

USC hit .234 in the match with 52 kills (22e, 128att) and saw action from three setters. Senior Reni Meyer-Whalley had 22 assists and four digs. Sophomore Cindy Marina had 18 assists and served two aces. Freshman Brooke Botkin came in to set during the fourth set and put up four assists. Defensively, junior Victoria Garrick had 15 digs.

For the Cardinal Merete Lutz had 15 kills (1e, 23att) with a .609 hitting percentage. Audriana Fitzmorris had 11 kills (3e, 22att, .364) with eight blocks. Kathryn Plummer finished with 13 kills (10e, 41att, .073). Jenna Gray set Stanford to a .318 hitting percentage and had 45 assists with five kills, an ace, and two blocks.

The Cardinal hit .500 in the opening frame and got five kills from Plummer; four from Fitzmorris, and three from Lutz. USC collected 13 kills and hit .276 (5e, 29att) but had three reception errors and two blocking errors in the 25-18 loss. The Trojans led by as many as three in the second set, but the Cardinal came back and took a three point led itself at 23-20. Lanier’s kill followed by a block by senior middle blocker Jordan Dunn and Abercrombie and another Lanier kill knotted the score for a sixth time. Plummer went wide on her next offering before Meyer-Whalley put an ace off the tape for the 25-23 win.

Stanford raced ahead to open the third set, but the Trojans took a brief 11-9 lead before the Cardinal ripped through a 6-0 run to lead for the last time. Lutz scored seven kills in frame and helped the Cardinal hit .325. The Women of Troy earned the first lead of the fourth set but serving woes on both sides of the net swung the momentum in Stanford’s favor. The Cardinal’s 7-0 run put Stanford on top, 17-12, but the Trojans had an answer as Botkin came in to set the offense. USC fought through the belly of the fourth set and claimed set point at 24-22 on a kill by Abercrombie, but Stanford scored the final four points to close out the 26-24 win.