CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team (15-7, 6-5) took the five-set victory over the No. 5 Stanford Cardinal (16-4, 8-3) on Friday night in the Knight Sports Complex. This marks their second top-five win of the season.
The Hurricanes tallied 73 kills, 61 digs, nine blocks and six service aces. Sophomore Grace Lopez tallied a season-high 27 kills on a .407 clip, 13 digs, four blocks and 29.5 points.
The teams were tied at 10 to kick things off. Lopez and junior Dalia Wilson earned back-to-back kills, but Stanford began to pull away with a 20-16 lead. The Cardinal took set one, 25-18.
Miami got off to a hot 15-5 start on a 7-0 scoring run after 6 kills from four different Hurricanes. Stanford gained momentum and cut the deficit to only a 18-13 lead for Miami. The Hurricanes tallied their first four blocks of the match to claim set two, 25-21.
Stanford bounced back to open set three, leading 10-5 with no hitting errors. Miami came back to only trail 12-10 after a 4-0 run due to a solo block from redshirt freshman Ariana Rodriguez. The Cardinal kept rolling for 22-16 advantage until ultimately earning the 25-20 set win.
Set four started close, tied at eight-all after junior Flormarie Heredia Colon tallied two kills within four points to send Miami on a 4-0 run. The Hurricanes didn’t slow down, with three players earning double-digit kills for the 16-14 lead. Stanford tied it at 22-all, then the teams battled past 25 for Miami to gain the 31-29 set win, their longest of the season.
Miami earned the 11-10 lead in the fifth set after eight kills, but Stanford took the 13-12 lead. The Hurricanes then tallied back-to-back kills and secured the final set, 16-14.
– MiamiHurricanes.com –
