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Alvin Chow

Sophomore middle blocker Matt Ceran goes for a kill against Long Beach, after Miki Groppi sets the ball.

The No. 15 Sanford men’s volleyball team saw both extremes of the spectrum this past week, losing to the country’s top-ranked squad only one night after sweeping the conference’s last-place team.

The Cardinal dealt UC-San Diego a 30-25, 30-27, 30-26 loss Thursday night before dropping a 30-22, 30-21, 27-30, 30-22 decision to No. 1 Long Beach State Friday at Maples Pavilion.

Long Beach (7-0, 3-0 MPSF) dominated Stanford in games one and two, out-hitting the Cardinal .400 to .100 and .379 to .320. Stanford attempted to challenge the 49ers’ middle blockers early on, but the visitors adjusted by making their strong outside hitters the focal point of their attack. Unable to block the outside, the Cardinal (2-6, 1-3 MPSF) quickly found themselves in deep deficits and incapable of climbing back.

“We’re just playing to get better each day,” head coach Don Shaw said. “We have a lot of work to do. Technically, we got some weaknesses. Long Beach, being as good a team as they are, exploited some of those weaknesses.”

Game three was a different story for Stanford, who mixed around the lineup with the addition of freshmen setter Miki Groppi and junior middle-blocker Brandon Williams. The team looked like a different group, establishing its largest lead of the match at 17-10.

The 49ers clawed back to within one in the game’s closing moments at 27-26, but a combination of late Long Beach hitting errors and a kill from senior outside hitter William Clayton sealed the deal for Stanford.

“We made a couple of changes in the lineup, and I think they gave us a little more enthusiasm out there,” Shaw said. “Guys got really fired up. We served a lot tougher and passed a lot better. We did a much better job passing and serving in the later games, but those guys inserted a lot of energy into the lineup.”

The 49ers never trailed in game four, leading by as many as eight. Stanford continued to fight, but the nation’s top offense proved too much for the Cardinal as Long Beach’s Tyler Hildebrand notched a kill to put the match away.

Senior opposite Ben Reddy again fueled Stanford’s attack with 18 kills. Groppi collected 35 sets, and the Cardinal hit .264 collectively, while the 49ers’ Robert Tarr nabbed 21 kills as Long Beach hit .403.

“We came out flat in game four, probably because we were carried away with the win in game three,” Reddy said. “We just need to put together an entire match of good play. [The 49ers] are the top team in the country, and there’s a lot we can learn from playing against them. They do a lot of things well that we need to work on.”

One night before falling to Long Beach, Stanford made easy work of last-place UC-San Diego (0-5, 0-3 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation). The first game saw the two teams exchange blows before the Cardinal established a permanent lead at 19-18. The second game featured five ties, including one late in the game, at 26-26. Sophomore outside hitter Jesse Meredith’s kill allowed Stanford to escape with the victory.

The Cardinal responded to the Tritons’ early game-three advantage by posting their own 15-9 lead. UCSD climbed to within two at 26-24 before kills from Meredith and Reddy iced the game.

Reddy notched 14 kills to lead the match, while Meredith collected 12. UCSD’s Chris Sayers’ 10 kills led the Tritons.

“We played pretty well, but I think we can absolutely do better,” Groppi said. “We played with enthusiasm. We are going to keep working during the week and get better with every single practice. I believe in this team, I believe in this environment, and I believe in these guys.”

Shaw echoed Groppi’s optimism.

“We’re going to keep working at it,” he said. “We’re going to try to get better. We’re a very inexperienced team, so with every match we’re gaining valuable experience.”