Stanford laid a collective egg in its highly anticipated Mountain Pacific Sports Federation showdown at No. 1 USC, getting blown out in the first two sets before coming up a bit short in the third and final game, ultimately falling in a 3-0 sweep.

The No. 4 Cardinal (9-4, 6-4 MPSF) has had a rough time recently in the MPSF, going 2-2 in their last four conference matches, and it got no easier against the conference-leading Trojans (7-1, 7-1).

Senior outside hitter Spencer McLachlin had a good game with a team-high 11 kills, nine digs and a .364 hitting percentage, while outside hitter Garrett Dobbs, a redshirt junior, provided a nice boost off the bench with six kills on nine attempts. But besides junior outside hitter Brad Lawson’s 10 kills, the Cardinal couldn’t find any offense.

Stanford had 15 attack errors to USC’s eight, and the Trojans’ .407 hitting percentage was almost double the Cardinal’s .213.

USC had five players with at least five kills, led by outside hitter Tony Ciarelli, who had a match-high 12 kills on just 18 attempts with no errors for a .667 hitting percentage. Two-time AVCA All-American Murphy Troy had an off night with just seven kills on 20 attack attempts, but it was plenty to get past the Cardinal defense that struggled to sideout all night.

Junior libero Erik Shoji had 10 digs, and junior setter Evan Barry had 30 assists, but Stanford was outblocked 17-2 and was in trouble from the middle of the first set.

After trading points early on, the Cardinal took an 8-7 lead, but it would be the last Stanford lead until midway through the final set. USC went on several runs as it ran away to a 25-15 margin in set one.

The second game wasn’t close after the first few points, as the Trojans hit .632 in the set with four kills from Tri Bourne.

Stanford finally got its act together in the third game, and after trading points early on, clung to a 17-14 lead after an attack error from Austin Zahn. But the lead was short-lived. USC went on a six-point run to put the game, and the match, out of reach.

Coach John Kosty couldn’t find an answer to Stanford’s problems, and the Cardinal freshmen, who had recently been providing a big boost to the lineup, fell flat on Thursday. Starting outside hitter Brian Cook did not register a kill and had three attack errors for a -.249 hitting percentage. Fellow freshman outside hitter Eric Mochalski had just one kill, and even a solid contribution from freshman middle blocker Denny Falls (three kills, one block) were lost in the carnage of Stanford’s third road loss in four conference matches away from home.

The Cardinal will need to regroup quickly to get ready for its matchup against Pepperdine, which will face No. 15 Pacific tonight before hosting Stanford on Saturday night.

The No. 9 Waves are just 2-5 in MPSF play, but recently defeated USC, 3-2, last weekend. The match is set for 7 p.m. from Firestone Fieldhouse.