Preview: No. 5 Stanford Women’s Volleyball welcomes Florida State to The Farm
On Thursday at 7:00 PM PT on ACCNX, No. 5 Stanford women’s volleyball welcomes Florida State to The Farm. Stanford comes in at 14-3 overall and 5-1 in the ACC while Florida State comes in at 8-7 overall and 2-4 in the ACC.
Last time out: Stanford defeated both Boston College and Syracuse 3-0 on the road last weekend. Stanford freshman libero Spencer Etzler was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week as a result of her performance.
RECAP: No.5 Stanford Women’s Volleyball dominates Boston College & Syracuse
On Florida State: The Seminoles are currently riding a three match losing streak, having lost to NC State, No. 10 SMU, and No. 4 Pittsburgh. With Stanford coming up next, this will be their third straight top 10 opponent, so they are going through a tough portion of their schedule. Their two ACC wins are over Clemson and Wake Forest and then they also have a wins over a couple of SEC teams in Auburn and South Carolina.
The Seminoles are led by senior outside hitter Ian Henke, who is averaging 4.43 kills per set. Junior outside hitter Kyleene Filimaua is right behind her, averaging 3.63 kills per set. The two of them form a nice tandem that is difficult to contain. They certainly will be atop Stanford’s scouting report. Freshman middle blocker Nenu Kpea is also bringing it with 1.93 kills and 1.16 blocks per set.
As a team, the Seminoles average 12.72 kills, 11.93 assists, 1.35 service aces, 14.04 digs, and 2.25 blocks per set while hitting .227. Their opponents are averaging 12.93 kills, 12.16 assists, 0.96 service aces, 14.18 digs, and 2.15 blocks per set while hitting .203.
Keys to the match: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is get their middle blockers going. The Seminoles do a nice job blocking shots as they usually win that department. If Erika Sayer and Lizzy Andrew lead Stanford to more blocks, they should be fine.
Secondly, Stanford needs Elia Rubin to have an efficient night. While she is doing a good job of amassing a lot of kills with 3.33 per set, she’s only hitting .294. if Rubin can hit above .350 in his match and be more efficient with her swings, that would be huge.
Finally, Stanford needs to contain Henke. She’s the engine that makes this Seminoles team go. If Stanford wants to ensure a smooth victory, it has to start with containing Henke and forcing others to step up.
Prediction: I gotta roll with Stanford in this one. I think it’ll be a 3-0 sweep. Especially with the match being played at Maples Pavilion.
CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter), & Bluesky: @StanfordRivals
Ben Parker on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter), YouTube, & Bluesky: @slamdunk406
Email: [email protected]
