STANFORD, Calif. - No. 6 Stanford fell to Loyola Marymount 28-26, 25-16, 25-23 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Maples Pavilion.
It is only the third time in the last 15 seasons in which the Cardinal failed to advance to the NCAA regional round, and the first loss to the Lions in program history.
"I think (LMU) played really well tonight," Stanford head coach John Dunning said. "Especially played well against us; I thought they did some really good things. I'm really proud of our team for all that we went through this year."
| NCAA Tournament Central » Maples Pavilion » Dec. 3-4 | ||||
| Match | Date/Time (PT) | Team 1 | Team 2 | Details |
| 1 | Dec. 3 - 4:30 p.m. | (RV) Loyola Marymount 3 | No. 13 Colorado State 1 | Box Score | Quotes |
| 2 | Dec. 3 - 7 p.m. | (8) No. 6 Stanford 3 | New Mexico State 0 | Box Score | Quotes |
| 3 | Dec. 4 - 7 p.m. | (RV) Loyola Marymount 3 | (8) No. 6 Stanford 0 | Box Score | Quotes |
Stanford struggled to find an offensive rhythm for most of the first set, and, despite a late rally and two set points, lost the opener 28-26. LMU led by as many as five and was two points away from victory at 23-19 before the Cardinal made a push. Keyed by two Brittany Howard kills and block apiece from the Los Altos native and Ivana Vanjak, the Cardinal evened the score at 23-23.
An LMU attack error gave Stanford a game point, but it wasn't able to capitalize. Vanjak's second kill of the set brought the Maples faithful to its feet once more, but a service error gave the Lions new life. A kill from Rachelle Suaava, her fourth, clinched the win, sending the Cardinal to its first opening-set loss since Oct. 21 against Washington.
Jamie Lea and Sarah Sponcil notched five kills each as the Lions outhit Stanford .205 to .189 and recorded eight more kills (18-11) than the hosts. Howard smashed five kills of her own and Vanjak was active at the net with four blocks.
LMU benefitted from two key runs in the second, using separate 7-2 and 9-5 spurts to win 25-16 and take a 2-0 set lead. The Suaava-Sponcil-Lea attack continued to give Stanford problems, with the trio combined for 10 of its team's 14 kills. The Lions also committed just two errors, hitting .571 in the second while also continuing to match the Cardinal at the net with five blocks. Jordan Burgess poured in four kills and Lutz and Hayley Hodson added three each, but Stanford wasn't able to dig itself out of the hole.
"Jordan's a very special player," Dunning said. "She is one of the people who is willing to work harder than anyone else in the gym every day. I thought today she stepped up, I thought she really, really did good job."
Sponcil was in top form in the third, recording seven kills as LMU finished off the sweep 25-23. Though Stanford twice led by five points--at 13-8 and 16-11--the Lions battled back on the arms of Sponcil and Suaava, eventually tying the set at 20. Dunning called for time to stop the bleeding, yet LMU kept its momentum rolling, scoring three straight out the break to put the Cardinal on the ropes.
Kills from Hodson and Burgess pulled the Card within one, but a kill by Hannah Tedrow pushed Stanford to the brink, and Lea closed it out with her 12th kill of the match.
It was the first time Stanford was swept at home since Oct. 29, 2011 versus UCLA.
Lutz led the Cardinal with 10 kills, including five in the final set, and was one of three Stanford players with four blocks. Sponcil, Suaava and Lea finished with 15, 13 and 12 kills, respectively, and the Lions won the hit percentage battle .331 to .212.
Stanford's senior class, which includes Howard, Burgess and Madi Bugg, finished 61-3 in its career (which included winning two Pac-12 championships) at Maples Pavilion.
"Very proud of (the seniors)," Dunning said. "They've had amazing career here. What more could you ask or get from a group of people than what they brought here. Their legacy is huge."
