MORAGA, Calif. — The No. 20 Cardinal dropped a 5-0 decision to No. 19 Saint Mary's Thursday afternoon at Jordan Kindy Shaw Court.
Stanford was competing short-handed with senior Courtney Bowen already out for the season due to injury and freshmen Tori Ashkinos, Maddie Dailey, Melissa Daniel, Charlie Ekstrom and Jordan McKinney serving a one-game suspension for behavior detrimental to team culture.
With six players unavailable, the Cardinal was forced to forfeit at the Nos. 2 and 5 positions, resulting in a two-point advantage for Saint Mary's.
The first match played was Stanford's No. 3 flight, which featured Kat Anderson and Shannon Richardson. The duo forced a third set, but fell 14-16 for Saint Mary's to clinch the dual.
Stanford returns to action on Saturday, hosting San Francisco at 5 p.m. at Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium. The dual is part of Cardinalpalooza, Stanford's annual spring sports festival. Information about the event can be found here.
No. 19 SAINT MARY'S 5, No. 20 STANFORD 0
1. Knudsen/Chase (SMC) D. Hentz/Villapando (STAN) -- 21-15, 21-18
2. Ashley/Pitts (SMC) d. (STAN) -- Cardinal Forfeited
3. Bible/Calvin (SMC) d. Sharp/Smith (STAN) -- 18-21, 22-20, 16-14
4. Parker/Young (SMC) d. Anderson/Richardson (STAN) -- 21-17, 15-21, 16-14
5. Laird/Cowell (SMC) d. (STAN) -- Cardinal Forfeited