Blocked by Penn State – Stanford University Athletics

MINNEAPOLIS – A double-double from Kendall Kipp was not enough as No. 11 Stanford dropped a 16-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 10-15 decision to No. 20 Penn State, Friday, in the opening match of the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge at Maturi Pavilion.

Kipp finished with a match and season-high 20 kills on .395 hitting and had a season-best 10 digs for the first double-double by a Cardinal player this season. The opposite also registered four blocks and a pair of aces.

Penn State (7-0) snapped a five-match losing streak to the Cardinal (3-2) despite being out hit .186 to .139. The Nittany Lions proved to be physical at the net, recording 21.0 blocks, while Stanford finished with 13.5.

Sophomore setter Kami Miner guided the Cardinal offense, tallying a season-high 53 assists to go with seven digs, two blocks and a kill. Junior libero Elena Oglivie posted a match and season-high 17 digs.

Stanford struggled to put together long runs, finishing with a sideout rate of 54 percent for the match. In total, there were 29 tie scores and 11 leads changes in the five sets.

Redshirt junior middle blocker McKenna Vicini hit .538 with eight kills on 13 swings with just one error to go with six blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Sami Francis added nine kills on .375 hitting, three digs and a team-high seven blocks.

Redshirt junior Caitie Baird notched 17 kills, seven digs and two blocks, while freshman Elia Rubin totaled seven kills, six digs and had a career-high six blocks.

Sophomore defensive specialist Taylor Beaven came off the bench as a serving sub in all five sets, collecting a season-high four digs and an assist.

Penn State was led by Kashauna Williams’ 16 kills, while Anjelina Starck chipped in with 12 kills and nine digs. Middle Taylor Trammell had a match-best 11 blocks.

Stanford is back in action on Saturday, facing host and third-ranked Minnesota at 5 p.m. PT on BTN+.