PALO ALTO, Calif. – A massive fourth-set comeback and a career-night from Madi Kingdon were not enough as No. 1 Stanford held on to beat No. 16 Arizona volleyball in five sets (25-20, 23-25, 25-16, 22-25, 15-9) on Friday night in Maples Pavilion.
Kingdon had 25 kills to go along with 30 digs in the match, becoming the seventh player in Arizona history with 30 digs in a match, and the first to do so while also picking up 25 kills. The senior's 30 digs were a career high while her 25 kills were three off her career best.
Arizona (18-7, 7-6 Pac-12) dug 106 balls in the match, tied for seventh most in program history and three off a season high.
In addition to Kingdon's stellar night, senior outside hitter Taylor Arizobal turned in a 13-kill performance, eight of which came during the second set. Other than the two seniors, though, Arizona was unable to find much offensive consistency with sophomore Ashley Harris dealing with injury. Arizona hit just .140 in the match.
The top-ranked Cardinal (23-0, 13-0) appeared to be too much for Arizona in the fourth set. After Arizona won the second set to tie the match at one, Stanford dominated the third set 25-16 and were leading the fourth 14-7. Arizona would score 11 of the next 13 points to take a 17-16 lead, helping UA take the fourth 25-22.
Arizona hung tough in the first, battling the Cardinal even through the match's first 38 points. Stanford scored five of the game's final six points to win the first 25-20 despite nine kills from Madi Kingdon.
The Wildcats opened the second hot, leading the Cardinal 6-1 and then 17-11 before six straight Stanford points tied the match. After the teams traded 2-0 runs, Arizona and Stanford traded points, with UA taking a 23-22 lead. UA would score two of the final three points for the 25-23 victory. Arizobal had eight kills in the set.
The Cats carried the momentum into the third, scoring four of the first five points before Stanford ran away with it. The Cardinal dominated the rest of the way, winning the set 25-16.
Stanford appeared poised to run away with the match as it was dominating in the early going in the fourth. Arizona used an 11-2 run to turn a 14-7 deficit into an 18-16 lead. Stanford scored the next five before Arizona answered with three straight. UA would go on to win the set 25-22.
An early 4-0 Stanford run helped the Cardinal take control of the fifth. The Cardinal won the set 15-9.
Arizona is back in action on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. PST at California. The game will be broadcast live by the Pac-12 Networks.
For continued coverage of Arizona volleyball, visit www.arizonawildcats.com and be sure to follow the team on Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/arizonavball) as well as check out the team's YouTube account (https://www.youtube.com/user/arizonavolleyball)
