Oct. 13, 2006
Los Angeles, Calif. - No. 6 Stanford (15-2, 6-1) handed No. 3 UCLA (20-1, 7-1) its first loss of the season at Pauley Pavilion after upsetting No. 4 USC last night. The Cardinal took down the Bruins in five games before a near-record crowd, 30-27, 27-30, 25-30, 30-25, 15-10. Sophomore outside hitter Cynthia Barboza and senior outside hitter Kristin Richards had 21 kills each, followed by sophomore middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo with another 18 kills. Junior Bryn Kehoe collected a season-high 66 assists for the Cardinal.
The Bruins opened game one with a 4-0 run, including two aces by Rachell Johnson. The Cardinal bounced back with its own 2-0 streak on a kill from junior Franci Girard. UCLA continued to attack, posting another 3-1 run until a block solo from Girard spurred back-to-back points for the Cardinal, 7-5. Richards then registered three kills as Stanford pulled out 6-4 streak to tie the game at 11. The game remained tight until a powerful kill by Barboza on the left side gave Stanford its first lead, 14-13. The Cardinal pulled away on a 4-1 run that included an ace by Akinradewo and a tip down the line from Kehoe, 17-14. The Bruins rebounded to tie the game at 17 on a kill by Katie Carter and held a narrow lead until Richards put the Cardinal ahead with a quick kill in the middle, 21-20. Powerful hitting on both sides kept the game within a point until Barboza put Stanford in the lead with a block, 26-24. A 3-1 Bruin spurt tied the game again at 27, but a serving error and ace by Girard put the game within a point for the Cardinal. Following a UCLA timeout, Stanford claimed game one on a block by Akinradewo and sophomore Erin Waller, 30-27. The Cardinal hit .400 in game one, which featured 12 score ties and three lead changes.
UCLA opened game two with a brief lead until kills by Barboza and an ace by Kehoe pushed Stanford into the lead at 3-2. The game remained tight until Stanford moved ahead, 8-6, with a 3-0 run on scrappy defense and an ace by senior Nji Nnamani. The Cardinal held its lead with kills by Barboza and Richards until UCLA tied with game with an ace by Sather, 10-10. The Bruins went on to hold a narrow lead with two kills by Carter, 15-13. Following a timeout, UCLA continued on a 3-0 streak to gap the Cardinal, 17-13. Kills from Richards and Kehoe, as well as another ace by Nnamani, pulled Stanford within one, 18-17. The Cardinal tied the game at 21 on a block solo by Girard, but the Bruins pulled back into the lead on a kill by Colby Lyman, 23-21. A 4-1 run later put the Bruins closer to gamepoint, but Stanford answered with a block solo and kill by Barboza to trail by one, 27-26. Nellie Spicer closed game two in UCLA's favor with a kill, 30-27.
In game three, Barboza collected a kill and an ace to put Stanford ahead, 2-1. UCLA's hitting kept the game close, but Stanford held an 8-6 lead off of an ace by Richards and a kill from Akinradewo on the right side. Girard tallied two kills in the middle as Stanford pulled out a 4-0 run, 12-7. Following a timeout, UCLA bounced back within two points with a kill from Johnson, 16-14, and later overtook the lead on kills by Carter and Lyman, 17-16. Stanford came out of a timeout with a 3-0 run sparked by a kill from Akinradewo on the right side, 19-17. UCLA followed with its own 2-0 streak to tie the game again at 19, eventually taking the lead on another 5-1 run, 24-21. The Bruins held their lead with another 4-1 streak on kills by Machado and Meriwether, 28-23. Smith put UCLA at gamepoint with an ace, and Carter's kill from the left side was blocked out of bounds to give UCLA game three, 30-25.
Stanford jumped to a 5-2 lead in game four thanks to two kills and a tip by Kehoe. UCLA bounced back to tie the game at 6 on a kill by Johnson. UCLA tied the game two more times, but the Cardinal maintained its lead on a kill by Girard in the middle, 10-9. The Bruins took over the lead, 11-10, as Meriwether placed a kill on the left line. Stanford rallied past UCLA with a 6-1 run on three kills, then Akinradewo increased Stanford's lead with an ace, 20-13. The Bruins pulled out a 4-1 run after a timeout to pull within four, 21-17. Aces by Barboza and Girard put Stanford ahead, 25-19. Stanford continued to edge away on a kill by Richards from the left side, 28-22. Girard ended game four with a kill on the slide, 30-25.
In game five, UCLA opened with a 2-1 lead on two kills from Meriwether. Richards answered with a massive kill from the middle as Stanford pulled out a 4-1 run to overtake the lead, 5-3. Kehoe later ended a marathon rally with a tip, 6-4, to lead Stanford on a 4-0 run. UCLA hung within four points with a kill by Meriwether, sparking a 2-0 streak. Richards ended the run with a powerful kill 12-8. Akinradewo and Kehoe followed with kills to put Stanford within a point of the match. Richards' ace cinched the match for the Cardinal, 15-10.
Stanford now returns to The Farm to host Oregon State and Oregon next Thursday and Friday at 7:00 pm.
GAME SCORES12345TEAM RECORDS Stanford (3)302725301515-2, 6-1 UCLA(0)273030251020-1, 7-1