The women’s team of Stanford Volleyball traded blows with the Houston Cougars on 2 December at the Maples Pavilion in Stanford. Both sides were competing in the second round of the NCAA playoffs, as the Stanford Cardinal picked up a nail-biting victory.
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Stanford Volleyball and the Houston Cougars were evenly matched on all fronts. While the Cougars initially struggled to keep their head up, they retaliated hard in the third and the fourth sets. In fact, what initially looked like a clean sweep ended up becoming a fifth-set win for Stanford.
Stanford Volleyball halts Houston’s run
Stanford Volleyball tweeted about the nail-biting win its women’s team earned after a near-defeat battle. The tweet carried the caption, “FEELIN’ SUPER SWEET.” The Stanford Cardinal has won its 28th match of the tournament and extended its winning streak to 10 wins. But, the Houston Cougars were no easy opponents to take down.
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FEELIN' SUPER SWEET 🍭#GoStanford x @wellsfargo pic.twitter.com/Cf9QP5wVbI
— Stanford Women's Volleyball (@StanfordWVB) December 3, 2023
Stanford Volleyball easily dominated Houston in the first two sets, with scores of 25-15 and 25-20. However, Houston took Stanford by surprise in the third set. In fact, while Houston reached 22 points in the third set, the Cardinal lagged behind at 15 points. While Stanaford Volleyball hit the sixth gear after that, Houston won the set by the time Stanford scored 22 points of their own.
Houston carried its momentum forward in set four and beat Stanford with a score of 25-22 once again. It was the fifth set where Stanford Volleyball and Houston battled for both supremacy and survival. It was Stanford that reached 15 points first when the dust settled. Although the match was technically won by Stanford, it was anybody’s match. While Stanford led the match in kills, the highest kill scorer belonged to the team of Houston.
A true clash of Titans in the second round
The five-set thriller between Stanford Volleyball and the Houston Cougars produced phenomenal numbers on the scoreboard. However, while the players of Houston had a better individual record, Stanford won because of a more united and cohesive effort. Because of this, while Houston led in individual numbers like service aces, Stanford led in kills, digs, and assists.
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Houston’s Kenna Sauer was the leading kill scorer of the game, who was closely followed by Elia Rubin’s 23 kills for Stanford Volleyball. As Stanford now heads into the regional finals, they’ll look forward to making the most of their win against Houston. Will the Stanford Cardinal be able to win the NCAA Championship in 2023 like it did in 2019?
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BHUJAYA RAY CHOWDHURY