Stanford beach volleyball’s historic season did not have a fairytale ending as they fell one victory short of a national championship on Sunday.

The top-seeded Cardinal (39-4) fell 3-0 to No. 3 seed UCLA (34-6) in the NCAA Championship dual match at Gulf Shores, Ala., closing the best postseason run in program history. The Bruins earned their third NCAA title and first since 2019, while Stanford remains on the hunt for its first national title. 

Sunday’s final was the fifth meeting between the two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) rivals this season and the first matchup decided by a sweep. Stanford and UCLA split the first four meetings, with the Cardinal winning 3-2 in Hawaii on Feb. 20 and 3-2 in Laguna Beach on April 3 while the Bruins answered with a 4-1 in in Los Angeles on March 7 and a 3-1 win in the MPSF Championship semifinals on April 24.

The Bruins cruised to a title, taking control early on Court 2, where Kaley Matthews and Ensley Alden defeated junior Brooke Rockwell and junior Ruby Sorra 21-16, 21-11. UCLA then moved within one point of the title on Court 4, as their pair held off Stanford’s sophomore Indigo Clarke and junior Clara Stowell 21-17, 25-23.

The championship-clinching point came at Court 1. UCLA’s Sally Perez and Maggie Boyd defeated sophomore Avery Jackson and senior Kelly Belardi 21-11, 21-19. The two unfinished matches were also leaning toward UCLA when the dual ended. On all five courts, the Bruins snatched the opening sets and never looked back.

The unfortunate finish on Sunday did not erase Stanford’s breakthrough weekend. Making its sixth straight NCAA Championship appearance, Stanford entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, the highest seeding in program history. The Cardinal opened tournament play with a 3-0 sweep of No. 16 Chattanooga on Friday before earning its first quarterfinal and semifinal wins at the NCAA Championship. The Cardinal beat No. 8 Cal in the quarterfinals, then followed up with a win against No. 5 Florida State on Saturday to reach its first championship duel. 

The runner-up finish caps off the most decorated season in the program’s history. Belardi and Jackson were named AVCA first-team All-Americans, while Sorra earned second-team honors. Sophomores Charlotta Bell and Logan Tusher, Clarke and Stowell and redshirt freshman Elena Fisher and junior Chloe Hoffman also received AVCA Top Flight honors after becoming three of Stanford’s most reliable pairs throughout this season.

Stanford finally broke through and played in a championship duel. Now, they will aim to come back stronger next season and break through with its first national championship.