Welcome to “This Week in Sports.” We are Kenneth King and Charis Charitsis from The Daily’s sports section, and we will be walking you through the major games, events and stories from the past week.
Women’s volleyball
Women’s volleyball improved its record to 11-2, 4-0 Pac-12 last week. Stanford is yet to drop a set in Pac-12 action. Last Sunday, the team beat Colorado (9-6, 2-3 Pac-12) on the road in straight sets (25-20, 25-21, 25-20). Fifth-year opposite hitter Kendall Kipp recorded 18 kills, four blocks and two aces, and junior middle blocker Sami Francis added a season-high 11 kills and a season-best eight blocks. On Friday, the Cardinal returned to the Farm, where they swept No. 25 Arizona State (15-1, 3-1 Pac-12) by scores of 25-19, 25-18, 25-12 at Maples. Kipp led the team with 15 kills, a season-high 11 digs, three blocks and two aces. Sophomore outside hitter Elia Rubin also turned in a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Redshirt senior McKenna Vicini hit a career milestone, registering her 400th block. On Sunday, Stanford overpowered Arizona (5-10, 0-4 Pac-12) in three sets by scores of 25-8, 25-1 and 25-23, in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. Kipp recorded 20 kills, eight blocks and two aces, while Rubin added 17 kills, two blocks and 15 digs in her fifth double-double for the season.
Women’s soccer
On Thursday, No. 3 women’s soccer (10-0-1, 3-0 Pac-12) beat Arizona State 2-1 at Cagan Stadium. Freshman forward Erica Grilione opened the scoring after capitalizing on a cross from senior forward Samantha Williams. The Sun Devils managed to even the contest before sophomore midfielder Jasmine Aikey scored the winning goal for the Cardinal with eight minutes remaining. Three days later, the team had a convincing 3-0 home victory over Arizona. Fifth-year midfielder Maya Doms, freshman forward Maryn Wolf and sophomore defender Elise Evans scored the goals in the Cardinal’s blowout.
Football
Stanford (1-4, 0-3 Pac-12) fell to No. 9 Oregon (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) by a score of 6-42. The Cardinal defense kept the Ducks without a first down for nearly 20 minutes. However, their early 6-0 lead was short-lived, as they were unable to find answers for the Duck’s explosive offense, led by Heisman-trophy candidate, quarterback Bo Nix.
Sailing
On Sept. 24, sophomore skipper Jack Baldwin captured the PCCSC Single-Handed Open Championship. This past weekend, Stanford took first place after 17 races in both the A and B divisions of the Women’s ACC Championships in Maryland. Sophomore Vanessa Lahrkamp and senior Gwendolyn Donahue took charge in the A division with 57 points, leaving Dartmouth in second with 64 points. Then, senior Hannah Freeman and sophomore Isabelle McNabb finished first in the B division. The pair scored 86 points, 13 less than Boston College, which finished second.
Men’s water polo
No. 4 Stanford (9-4, 0-1 Pac-12) lost 12-13 in overtime against No. 3 USC (10-2, 0-1 Pac-12) in Los Angeles. The Cardinal held the game’s largest lead at 11-8 with 5:23 left in the fourth quarter, but USC responded with three goals in the next three and a half minutes, which sent the game to overtime. The Trojans scored their winning goal with a second left on the clock. Seniors Ethan Parrish and Jackson Painter each scored three goals for the Cardinal. Five days later, Stanford bounced back with a 20-11 win against No. 14 Santa Clara in its home opener. Painter scored five goals, senior Tanner Pulice and freshman Alex Gheorghe added three goals each.
Men’s soccer
No. 6 men’s soccer (5-1-3, 0-1-3 Pac-12) battled to a 2-2 tie against UCLA (4-2-2, 1-0-1 Pac-12) in Los Angeles. The Cardinal fought back twice from one goal deficit. Redshirt sophomores Shane de Flores and Jackson Kiil scored the goals for Stanford. On Sunday, the team fought to a scoreless draw on the road against No. 17 San Diego State.
Cross country
On Friday, a week after the women’s team placed third in the Virginia Invitational, freshman Milo Skapinsky placed fourth in the Pacific Collegiate Invitational in his collegiate debut.
Field hockey
Stanford (3-8, 0-4 Pac-12) faced Cal twice this past week. On Friday, the Cardinal dropped the away leg of the home-and-home tilt, falling to the Golden Bears 5-1. However, the team bounced back on Senior Day, beating their rivals 4-3 on home soil. In the second half, the Cardinal fought their way back after a two-goal deficit, with freshman Star Horlock scoring twice. That leveled the score before senior Haley Mossmer netted the team’s winning goal.
Men’s and women’s golf
Men’s and women’s golf dropped the annual Big Match against Cal at Menlo Country Club. With the score tied 3-3, it came down to the final pairing, but Cal was able to escape and reclaim the trophy with a 4-3 victory. The match was highlighted by senior Karl Vilips’s hole-in-one on the par-three, 120-yard 16th hole, prolonging the contest.
Women’s tennis
The preseason action continued for women’s tennis. Junior Connie Ma won the singles title in the Milwaukee Tennis Classic with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 victory over 45th-ranked Amelia Honer of U.C. Santa Barbara. Ma and graduate student Angelica Blake finished as runners-up in doubles, losing 8-5 to in the final to Oklahoma State. This past weekend, freshman Eleana Yu had an impressive debut in the Cal Fall Invitational at Berkeley, where she reached the semifinals. She also reached the semifinals in doubles alongside junior Valencia Xu.