Preview: No. 4 Stanford Women’s Volleyball welcomes Notre Dame to The Farm
On Friday at 7:00 PM PT on ACCNX, No. 4 Stanford women’s volleyball will welcome Notre Dame to The Farm. Stanford comes in at 11-2 overall and 2-0 in the ACC while Notre Dame comes in at 4-6 overall and 1-1 in the ACC.
Last time out: Stanford defeated both Virginia and Virginia Tech last week on the road to open up ACC play.
RECAP: No. 4 Stanford Women’s Volleyball takes care of business in the Old Dominion
On Notre Dame: The Irish are having a rough season as their record indicates. They haven’t beaten anybody of consequence, but they do at least have one league win under their belt with a 3-0 home sweep over Boston College in their most recent match.
The Irish are led by sophomore outside hitter Morgan Gaerte, who is averaging 4.73 kills per set while hitting .263. The number two player in terms of kills per set is senior outside hitter Avery Ross, who is averaging 3.67 kills per set. The two of them form a pretty solid duo. The problem is they’re not getting much help from anyone else.
As a team, the Irish average 12.03 kills, 10.84 assists, 1.59 service aces, 12.43 digs, and 2.35 blocks per set while hitting .198. Their opponents are averaging 12.19 kills, 11.27 assists, 1.43 service aces, 13.00 digs, and 2.16 blocks per set while hitting .201.
Keys to the match: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is contain Gaerte. She’s the top player on this Irish team. If they can contain her and slow her down, that would do wonders towards stopping the Irish.
Secondly, Stanford needs to get their middle blockers going. When their middles are going, especially Lizzy Andrew, Stanford is a really difficult team to stop. If they get another strong night from Andrew, they should win with little trouble.
Finally, Stanford needs to make sure they spread the ball around in general and not rely too much on one person. When Jordyn Harvey, Elia Rubin, Ipar Kurt, and others are all getting in the mix, there just becomes too many weapons for most teams to stop.
Prediction: I gotta roll with Stanford in this one. I see a 3-0 sweep. If this were on the road, maybe the Irish get a set, but with this being at Maples I can’t help but seeing Stanford get it done in straight sets.
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