In a highly competitive men’s volleyball match-up between No. 6 UC Irvine (19-10) and No. 9 Stanford (14-12), the Cardinal fell in three straight sets. The Saturday night match came after Stanford had already suffered a loss to the Anteaters the night before.
The first set began as a tight contest, with Stanford holding a slight edge early on. This advantage was partly due to Stanford’s strategy of tipping the ball over the net. The Cardinal worked to maintain a narrow lead, tying with Irvine multiple times before losing their edge at 17 points. The Anteaters preserved their lead as the set neared its conclusion. With Irvine at set point for several rallies, Stanford fought back from 19-24 to a tense 23-24. Ultimately, however, Irvine secured the set.
At the start of the second set, both teams struggled to gain a substantial lead. The set saw five ties within the first eight points for each team. As the match progressed, Irvine began to pull ahead, gaining a 9-8 lead and maintaining it until the end of the set. Despite Stanford’s efforts in the middle of the set, including several impressive kills, Irvine took the set 25-18.
In the third set, Stanford came out strong. Although Irvine responded with points of their own, the Cardinal held an early lead through their first four points. Once again, the teams exchanged ties throughout the set. Stanford took control at 12 points, maintaining their advantage with a combination of kills and Irvine errors. The Anteaters trailed but remained within striking distance.
As the set reached its climax, Irvine fought to tie the score at 23. The Anteaters then took the 24-23 lead. Stanford, however, pushed back and reached set point at 25-24. The intense exchange continued, with both teams holding multiple match points. In one particularly stressful rally, Irvine initially won game point, but Stanford successfully challenged the call to tie the score at 29-29 — the 13th tie of the set. After a hard-fought battle, Stanford ultimately fell 33-31.
Despite the loss, the Cardinal put forth a valiant effort in their attempt to regain the lead throughout each set. Junior outside hitter Theo Snoey led Stanford with 15 kills and a .350 hitting percentage. Freshman middle blocker Reed Wainwright paced the team with six blocks. Up next, Stanford will face No. 7 University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (23-7) in Honolulu.