SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – No. 1 Stanford completed its first day of action at the Center of Effort Challenge held at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Friday, falling to No. 4 USC, 3-2, before defeating No. 7 Loyola Marymount, 5-0.
The Cardinal (28-3) had a program-best 15-match winning streak snapped by the Women of Troy. Stanford has only lost this season to No. 2 UCLA (1) and No. 4 USC (2).
Stanford’s match with USC began with the Cardinal dropping four of five first sets. USC’s Coakley/Henson claimed the first point on court one, defeating senior Kelly Belardi and sophomore Avery Jackson, 21-17, 21-15. Stanford responded with a straight-set win on court three from sophomores Charlotta Bell and Logan Tusher, besting Satterwhite/Keefe 21-11, 21-18. USC clinched the overall victory with two-set wins on courts four and five. Juniors Brooke Rockwell and Ruby Sorra rallied after losing the first set to defeat USC’s Pater and Wood, 20-22, 21-14, 15-12, to give Stanford its second point.
Stanford bounced back with a sweep of LMU, securing its three match-clinching points in straight sets. Sophomore Indigo Clarke and junior Clara Stowell defeated Schaekel/Johnson, 21-18, 21-17, to put the first point on the board, and redshirt freshman Elena Fisher and junior Chloe Hoffman added a win on court five, 21-17, 21-19. Belardi and Jackson rebounded from their morning defeat to top Stevenson/Pelloi, 25-23, 21-19. Bell and Tusher moved to 2-0 on the day with a 19-21, 21-14, 16-14 win over Rabitsch and Trailovic on court three, and Sorra and Rockwell rallied for a 20-22, 22-20, 15-13 victory over Hooker and Piret.
Stanford plays two more matches in San Luis Obispo on Saturday. The Cardinal faces No. 8 TCU at 11:30 a.m., with its final match determined by pool play results.