Kenna Sauer’s collegiate volleyball career has come to an end.
The former Ankeny Centennial star pounded 24 kills on Saturday night for her 10th career match with 20 or more, but it wasn’t enough as 24th-ranked Houston was outlasted by No. 2 and top-seeded Stanford in five sets in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif.
The Cougars overcame a two-set deficit before dropping a 25-15, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 15-7 decision before a crowd of 2,885. They finished the season with a 19-10 record.
Houston became just the fourth team to take Stanford (28-3) to a fifth set this season. The Cougars hit above .300 in three of the five sets while also adding 11 blocks, all in the last three sets.
The final set was tied at 5-5 before Stanford used a 6-0 run to pull away. The Cardinal closed out the match by winning eight of the last 10 points.
Sauer hit .280 on the night, committing just 10 hitting errors in 50 total attacks. She contributed nine digs, a block assist and an ace.
Sauer spent two seasons at Missouri and two more at Texas Tech before joining Houston this fall as a graduate transfer. She led the Cougars with 377 kills, including 18 in a 3-1 victory over UC Santa Barbara in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.
Sauer was earlier named to the all-Big 12 first team for the third consecutive year. She was honored in the previous two seasons while playing for Texas Tech.