On Friday evening in McKale Center, Arizona Volleyball accomplished something it had not done since 2005, and did so in impressive, dominant fashion. For the first time in 16 years, Arizona defeated Stanford at home, sweeping the defending national champion and seventh-ranked Cardinal (25-17, 25-16, 25-14).
The commanding victory was not only rare, but it was completely unprecedented. On Friday, Arizona became the first team ever to defeat Stanford in straight sets while holding the Cardinal to fewer than 20 points in every set since rally scoring was introduced in NCAA Volleyball in 2001.
The victory was Arizona's ninth in 79 all-time meetings vs. the Cardinal, and the first straight-set win since Oct. 26, 2000. On Sunday, the Wildcats (1-4, 1-4 Pac-12), will go for their first sweep of the Cardinal (0-1, 0-1 Pac-12) since the 2005 season. The loss marked Stanford's first since Oct. 25, 2019, ending a 17-match winning streak for the Cardinal.
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The Wildcats hit .274 in the match while holding Stanford to an .057 mark for the night. Arizona was better offensively, defensively, from the service line and everywhere in between. The Cats aced the Cardinal eight times, including a career-high-tying three from Dilara Gedikoglu, and had a 38-29 dig advantage, led by Kamaile Hiapo's eight.
Arizona was led offensively once again by a pair of freshmen, continuing their early-season success. Sofia Maldonado Diaz led the Cats with 11 kills on .318 hitting while Jaelyn Hodge finished second on the team with eight kills. Senior Paige Whipple added seven kills for the Cats.
Freshman setter Emery Herman was terrific once again for the Cats, finishing with 24 assists, four kills, three digs and two blocks on the night.
The Wildcats will look to carry this momentum into Sunday's match with the Cardinal, when the two teams meet again at 11 a.m. MST in McKale.
Match Leaders
KILLS » Sofia Maldonado Diaz (11)
ASSISTS » Emery Herman (24)
ACES » Dilara Gedikoglu (3)
DIGS » Kamaile Hiapo (11)
BLOCKS » Zyonna Fellows (3)
