Gray, a three-time NCAA javelin finalist, leads Cardinal to 17th all-time volleyball championship match with sweep of Minnesota, as Stanford looks to add to Division 1 record with ninth national title Saturday against Wisconsin

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Stanford two-sport star Jenna Gray, a six-time NCAA Division 1 All-American, helped the No. 3 Cardinal reach a third women’s volleyball championship match in four seasons Thursday with a 25-19, 25-22, 25-22 victory over seventh-seeded Minnesota (27-6) at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Penn.

Gray, a three-time Division 1 finalist in the javelin throw, helped reigning champion Stanford (29-4) advance to its 17th all-time championship match. The three-time first-team All-America setter accumulated five kills, 41 assists, five blocks and eight digs to help the Cardinal atone for a 27-25, 27-25, 23-25, 25-20 loss Sept. 14 to the Golden Gophers that snapped Stanford’s program-record 37-match winning streak.

The Cardinal will look to add to its Division 1 record with a ninth title at 5 p.m. PST Saturday against No. 4 Wisconsin (27-6), which advanced to its third final in program history with a 25-27, 25-21, 25-17, 25-19 victory Thursday over top-seeded Baylor (29-2).

Wisconsin is seeking its first national championship after losses in 2013 to Penn State and 2000 to Nebraska. The last time the Badgers faced Stanford was in the round of 16 in 2017, a four-set victory for the Cardinal.

Stanford, which improved to 10-1 all-time against Minnesota, is looking to capture three titles in a four-year span for the second time in program history, along with national championships in 1994, 1996 and 1997.

Gray, who has helped Stanford accumulate a 120-16 record during her four-year run, enters the final with 5,447 career assists, which ranks second in program history. She boasts 1,356 assists, 235 digs, 112 kills, 92 blocks and 28 aces in 117 sets this season.