Preview: No. 5 Stanford Women’s Volleyball welcomes No. 15 UNC & Duke to Maples
This weekend, No. 5 Stanford women’s volleyball will welcome No. 15 North Carolina and Duke to Maples Pavilion. Stanford comes in at 20-3 overall and 11-1 in the ACC. North Carolina comes in at 17-4 overall and 10-2 in the ACC while Duke comes in at 5-18 overall and 2-10 in the ACC. Stanford will face North Carolina on Friday at 7:00 PM PT on ACCNX and Duke on Saturday at 7:00 PM PT on ACCNX.
Last time out: Stanford is coming off a four-match road trip in which they notched wins at Clemson, Georgia Tech, NC State, and Wake Forest. Stanford now has only two road matches left in the regular season.
RECAP: No. 5 Stanford Women’s Volleyball sweeps Clemson, Georgia Tech, NC State, and Wake Forest
On UNC: The Tarheels are having a stellar season. 6-1 on the road and 1-0 in neutral site matches, making them 7-1 away from Chapel Hill. They’ve actually been more beatable at home, which is kinda crazy. They’re coming off a tough five set loss at home to No.4 Pittsburgh, so they’ll be eager to bounce back tonight though facing No. 5 Stanford on the road isn’t exactly an easy task.
Junior outside hitter Safi Hampton is balling out with 3.81 kills per set, doing a great job of leading the way. Redshirt junior opposite/outside hitter Chelsea Thorpe (2.63 kills), junior right side hitter Hailey Pearce (2.53 kills), freshman outside hitter Bridget Malone (2.33 kills), and sophomore outside hitter/opposite Laynie Smith (2.09 kills per set) are all averaging 2+ kills per set as well. So there’s a ton of weapons on this Tarheels team. Junior setter Zoe Behrendt is doing a great job passing the ball, averaging 5.93 assists per set.
On Duke: The Blue Devils have had a rough season as their record indicates. They have lost six matches in a row and are 1-7 on the road and 1-3 in neutral site matches, making them 2-10 away from home. Their two ACC wins are at Clemson (3-0) and at home against NC State (3-1). They won both of those matches handily.
The Blue Devils do have a pair of players averaging 3+ kills per set in freshman outside hitter Ashby Zubchevich (3.18 kills per set) and sophomore outside hitter Taylor Williams (3.01 kills per set). Both players are from the Golden State, Williams playing just down the road at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View.
The problem the Blue Devils have is outside of Williams and Zubchevich, they don’t have many other legit weapons. Where they could use a boost at is middle blocker and then just in general, they’re not a very deep team.
Keys to the weekend: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is contain the top hitters on both teams. North Carolina is tough because they got so many weapons, but even so, Hampton is clearly their top player and it all starts with her. As for Duke, if Stanford can contain their top two outside hitters in Zubchevich and Williams, they should be fine.
Secondly, Stanford needs to set the tone early in both matches. Especially against North Carolina. North Carolina is going to look to come out swinging and make the first set interesting. If Stanford can take the opening set against them, that should really help send a message. And then against Duke, you don’t wanna give them any belief whatsoever.
Third, Stanford needs to get their middle blockers going. When Stanford gets players like Erika Sayer and Lizzy Andrew going, that really takes a lot of pressure off the outside hitters. That way Jordyn Harvey, Ipar Kurt, Julia Blyashov, and Elia Rubin don’t feel like they have to do too much.
Finally, Stanford needs to win the service pressure battle. When they win that department, they are especially tough to stop. They need to out-serve both North Carolina and Duke this weekend. If they do, they should be fine.
Prediction: I’m gonna say Stanford defeats North Carolina in five sets and defeats Duke in straight sets. I think the Tarheels are gonna give Stanford all they can handle and then come Saturday, they’ll take care of business handily against the Blue Devils.
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