On Saturday, No. 6 seed Cal Poly stunned No. 3 seed Stanford with a 3-1 upset to claim the spot in the NCAA Championship semifinals. After splitting the opening two matches, the Mustangs pulled away from the Cardinal with dominant straight-set wins on courts four and five, taking all but one set by four or more points.

Just a day earlier, the Cardinal opened its fifth NCAA Championship appearance in Gulf Shores, Ala. with a 3-0 sweep over No. 14 seed Boise State. Stanford entered the tournament riding the momentum of earning its first-ever conference title, where the team defeated powerhouses UCLA and USC to win the highly-competitive MPSF Championship. Of the 16 teams in the NCAA field, four came from the MPSF conference. 

Stanford’s loss to Cal Poly wasn’t the only surprise of the NCAA Championships. No. 4 seed LMU also upset top-seeded UCLA in the semifinals to advance to the final against No. 2 seed TCU. The Horned Frogs went on to win 3-2, becoming the first school in history other than USC and UCLA to capture the NCAA title.

Last season, Stanford also entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed but fell to No. 11 seed LSU in the quarterfinals. Although history repeated itself, the Cardinal’s 2025 campaign was still one to remember. Finishing 32-9, Stanford matched the program record for most wins in a single season and tied its highest-ever national tournament seed – both achievements first set last year.

This season also saw historic individual milestones. Sophomore Ruby Sorra and senior Taylor Wilson, Stanford’s ones pair at the NCAA championship, became the winningest duo in program history with 43 career wins together. Junior Kelly Belardi added another win to her individual career total over the weekend, reinforcing her position as Stanford’s third-most winningest player with 87 career victories.

The Cardinal fielded one of the youngest lineups at NCAA Championships, featuring true freshmen Avery Jackson, Charlotta Bell and Logan Tusher while maintaining a spot within the tournament’s top seeds. Of the ten who competed in Gulf Shores, eight are set to return next season, poised to serve up another shot at the national title.