STANFORD, Calif. – No. 11 Stanford beach volleyball lost a thrilling match against No. 5 Loyola Marymount on Saturday, falling 3-2 to the Lions.
The Cardinal dropped a match at No. 2 to begin, but then Emmy Sharp and Amelia Smith picked up a win at No. 4, their eighth consecutive victory to improve to 14-2 as a pair on the season.
The Lions then won at No. 5 before Xolani Hodel and Sunny Villapando picked up a three-set win at No. 1 to tie the match at 2-2.
At the No. 3 spot, the Cardinal won the first set, 21-18, before dropping set two, 21-9. The third set was a back-and-forth affair, but LMU pulled out a 16-14 win to take the match, 3-2.
Stanford (18-9) will play its final two regular season matches of the season on Sunday. The Cardinal will take on No. 8 Grand Canyon at 1 p.m. before a 5 p.m. Senior Day match against San Jose State.
No. 5 LMU 3, No. 11 Stanford 2
Flight #1: Xolani Hodel/Sunny Villapando (Stanford) def. Reka Orsi Toth/Selina Marolf (LMU) 18-21, 21-14, 15-12
Flight #2: Jessie Prichard/Savannah Slattery (LMU) def. Maddi Kriz/Kate Reilly (Stanford) 26-24, 21-15
Flight #3: Iya Lindhal/Megan Rice (LMU) def. Charlie Ekstrom/Maya Harvey (Stanford) 18-21, 21-9, 16-14
Flight #4: Emmy Sharp/Amelia Smith (Stanford def. Emma Doud/Madi Firnett (LMU) 24-22, 17-21, 15-12
Flight #5: Jacinda Ramirez/Darby Dunn (LMU) def. Maddie Dailey/Jordan McKinney (Stanford) 21-16, 21-14
Order of finish: 2, 4, 5, 1, 3
