STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford wrapped up its 2017 home schedule with a 5-0 loss against No. 1 USC on Tuesday afternoon at the Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium.
"There were two big takeaways from today -- the long, arduous process of becoming an elite program isn't magic. It's done over time with hard, consistent work, and I think USC really epitomizes that," said first-year head coach Andrew Fuller. "Secondly, I was really proud of our team pushing themselves to improve their games against experienced, high-level teams like USC."
The Cardinal (12-6 overall, 3-3 Pac-12) finished the season 10-4 at home, dropping its second 5-0 decision of the season – both sweeps came against teams ranked in the top five of the AVCA poll (Hawaii, March 26).
The Trojans (26-0, 8-0) took a 2-0 lead after the first round of matches. Stanford's fifth pair of Courtney Bowen and Kat Anderson dropped a 21-17, 21-13 decision before No. 4 Shannon Richardson and Catherine Raquel lost by a score of 21-12, 21-12.
USC clinched the dual with a 21-16, 21-13 win at the No. 2 position over Ivana Vanjak and Payton Chang. Stanford's top pair of Kathryn Plummer and Jenna Gray nearly forced a third set, but fell 21-14, 22-20 to USC's top pair of Sara Hughes and Kelly Claes – prior to last week, the Trojan duo had won 103 consecutive matches.
No. 3 Morgan Hentz and Caitlin Keefe dropped a 21-14, 21-17 decision to make the final score 5-0 in favor of USC. Stanford's exhibition pair of Chelsea Red-Horse Mohl and Jennifer DiSanto were also in action, losing by a score of 21-16, 21-10.
"I'm so thankful for Ivana Vanjak – this was her last home competition for Stanford," added Fuller. "As a chemical engineering major, she's done a deep dive into her academic pursuits while being a tremendously compassionate, hard-working and dedicated teammate. We are hugely grateful to have her as part of the Stanford legacy."
Stanford returns to action this upcoming weekend when it wraps up the regular season with a trip to Arizona. The Cardinal takes on Arizona at 6 p.m. PT in Tuscon, Arizona, on Friday before traveling to Tempe, Arizona, to face Arizona State on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Full Results
1. Claes/Hughes (USC) def. Plummer/Gray (Stan) 21-14, 22-20
2. Bukovec/Wheeler (USC) def. Vanjak/Chang (Stan) 21-16, 21-13
3. Cannon/Martin (USC) def. Hentz/Keefe (Stan) 21-14, 21-17
4. Bustamante/Dennis (USC) def. Raquel/Richardson (Stan) 21-12, 21-12
5. Belton/Kremer (USC) def. Bowen/Anderson (Stan) 21-17, 21-13
Exh. Kernochan/Dunn (USC) def. Red-Horse Mohl/DiSanto 21-16, 21-10