Stanford beach volleyball claims MPSF Championship
Stanford beach volleyball upended powerhouses No. 1 UCLA and No. 5 USC to claim its first-ever conference title at the MPSF Championship Friday.
The second-seeded Cardinal opened in Huntington Beach, California on Wednesday with a confident 4-0 win over No. 7 Oregon. Day two brought on the SoCal sweep, as Stanford toppled third-seeded USC 3-0 and first-seeded UCLA 3-1. In a rematch against USC in Friday’s final, the Cardinal capped their championship run with a nail-biting 3-2 victory over the Trojans.
The conference clash offered a preview of the high-stakes battle ahead at the NCAA Championships, where UCLA and USC remain the top contenders for the national title. Together, the two Los Angeles powerhouses have won all eight NCAA Championships to date. The MPSF tournament also invited other high-ranked teams, like No. 9 California, No. 13 Grand Canyon and No. 19 Washington.
This year marked the inaugural MPSF Championship, which was established following the dismantling of the Pac-12 conference last year. The tournament was played in a double-elimination format, a contrast to the single-elimination format of the national championships.
Stanford had lost in all three of its previous meetings against top-ranked UCLA. In Friday’s semifinal match, however, the Cardinal pushed the Bruins out of rhythm early, with sophomore Chloe Hoffman and freshman Logan Tusher opening with a quick win on court four.
Despite losing in straight sets in their last meeting with UCLA, freshman Avery Jackson and sophomore Brooke Rockwell locked in Stanford’s second point on court two. Junior Kelly Belardi and freshman Charlotta Bell followed with a narrow 16-14 victory in their third set, clinching the upset and sending Stanford into the championship match.
Although Stanford had swept USC earlier in the tournament, Friday’s final was much closer against the four-time defending national champions. USC had upset the Bruins earlier in the day to make it into the final.
Stanford and USC traded blows to start but deadlocked at 1-1 after the first two matches. Senior Taylor Wilson and sophomore Ruby Sorra helped Stanford reclaim the lead, winning their sets 21-18 and 21-15 on court one. USC responded with a straight-set win of their own on court five, tying up the match.
With the two teams stuck again at 2-2, the pressure shifted to Stanford’s Belardi and Bell on court three, who had dropped their first set. Comfortable with the pressure, the pair rebounded back, forcing a third set and clinching the conference win with a dominant 15-9 third-set performance.
If any team were primed to end the Southern California dominance on the national stage for the first time, it would be Stanford. With their MPSF Championship win, the Cardinal received an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, which will take place May 2 through May 4 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
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