No. 17 Stanford women’s volleyball (8-4, 3-1 Pac-12) travels to Corvallis to take on Oregon State (2-12, 0-4 Pac-12) Friday night. The Cardinal will look to make quick work of a struggling Beavers squad that has dropped six straight matches.

All six of the Beavers’ recent losses came in straight sets, and four of the defeats were by fellow Pac-12 foes: Oregon, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.

Meanwhile, Stanford heads to Oregon fresh off a home sweep of the Arizona teams; last Friday, the Cardinal bested the Arizona State Sun Devils 3-1, and on Sunday, beat the Arizona Wildcats in straight sets. 

Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Caitie Baird and junior opposite Kendall Kipp were Stanford’s most productive hitters. For the two matches, Baird and Kipp combined for a staggering 60 kills. Baird posted a .419 hitting percentage, while Kipp hit at a .362 clip. The Oregon State defense will need to slow Baird and Kipp down to have any chance to upset Stanford.

Freshman setter Kami Miner has been the backbone of the Cardinal offense all season. Earlier this week, she was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the third time, and her statistics indicate why: Miner averages 11.83 assists per set — the third-most in the NCAA — and hits at a .343 percentage.

After sitting out the first six matches of the season, freshman outside hitter Sami Francis has opened her collegiate career on a tear. The 6’6″ freshman has averaged three kills per set, the third-most on the team behind Baird and Kipp.

Since sophomore libero Elena Oglivie has been sidelined following an injury sustained against UCLA, freshman defensive specialist Taylor Beaven has stepped up. Against Arizona State, Beaven made her first career start at libero and recorded a career-high 18 digs. She collected 10 more digs against Arizona to go along with three assists.

Stanford’s middle blocker duo of senior Holly Campbell and redshirt sophomore McKenna Vicini will pose a formidable challenge for Oregon State at the net. The two lead Stanford in blocks for the season, and Vicini recently posted a 14-block performance against UCLA.

After winning three of four conference matches, Stanford sits in a five-way tie atop the Pac-12 standings. Alongside the Cardinal, No. 14 Oregon, No. 15 Utah, No. 16 UCLA and Arizona all share a 3-1 record. Stanford will look to improve upon its position in the standings during its Oregon road trip. 

First serve against the Beavers is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT. Stanford women’s volleyball boasts a 66-0 all-time record against Oregon State.