Stanford University’s women’s beach volleyball team split its matches on April 10 at the Center of Effort Challenge in San Luis Obispo, California. The Cardinal lost to No. 4 University of Southern California (USC) but rebounded with a win over No. 7 Loyola Marymount University (LMU).
The day’s events marked the end of Stanford’s program-best 15-match winning streak, which was snapped by USC in a close contest that ended 3-2. Stanford has only lost this season to second-ranked UCLA and fourth-ranked USC.
In the match against USC, Stanford dropped four out of five first sets. The Trojans’ pair Coakley and Henson earned the first point by defeating Stanford’s Kelly Belardi and Avery Jackson in straight sets. Stanford responded with a straight-set victory from Charlotta Bell and Logan Tusher on court three, but USC clinched the overall win with victories on courts four and five. Brooke Rockwell and Ruby Sorra secured another point for Stanford after rallying from behind.
Later in the day, Stanford swept LMU with a decisive 5-0 result. Indigo Clarke and Clara Stowell secured the team’s first point, while Elena Fisher and Chloe Hoffman added another win on court five. Belardi and Jackson bounced back from their earlier loss to earn a victory over Stevenson and Pelloi. Bell and Tusher finished undefeated for the day after edging Rabitsch and Trailovic in three sets, while Sorra and Rockwell also came back from an initial set loss to defeat Hooker and Piret.
Stanford is scheduled to play two more matches at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Saturday, starting against No. 8 Texas Christian University at 11:30 a.m., with their final opponent determined by pool play results.
