Just when things were beginning to look up for the Stanford men’s volleyball team, an injury threw a wrench into the works. With the Cardinal leading in the second game against No. 6 UC-Santa Barbara Saturday night, junior Jesse Meredith went down with an ankle injury. Stanford lost its momentum and eventually the match, remaining winless after its first weekend of Mountain Pacific Conference play.

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Sophomore Miki Groppi jumps for a set against No. 6 UC-Santa Barbara on Saturday. The Cardinal lost in three games after junior Jesse Meredith suffered an injury in the second. #gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/6687
Alvin Chow

Sophomore Miki Groppi jumps for a set against No. 6 UC-Santa Barbara on Saturday. The Cardinal lost in three games after junior Jesse Meredith suffered an injury in the second.

The Cardinal (0-5, 0-2 MPSF) fell in four games in Friday’s home opener against No. 8 Cal State-Northridge, 30-20, 30-23, 26-30, 30-22, and then lost in three games to UCSB, 30-21, 30-25, 30-21, the following night.

Playing in Maples Pavilion on Friday, Stanford came out swinging against the Matadors to take a lead early in the first game, but Northridge (2-3, 1-1) quickly closed the gap. The Cardinal led 9-8 but gave up the following point, losing its lead for good. The Matadors went on an 8-1 run to put the game out of reach, and although Stanford closed the gap to six several times, the Cardinal came no closer, dropping the first frame, 30-20.

In the second half, the teams traded points early on until Northridge pulled ahead on back-to-back Stanford errors and a kill on an overpass, putting the Matadors up 10-7. Northridge slowly stretched its lead to eight points. The Cardinal held off one game point with a kill by freshman Ed Howell, but a missed serve ended the game 30-23.

The Stanford offense struggled in the game, with 11 errors nearly canceling out 12 kills, while Northridge hit .481 with only two errors.

In a must-win third game, the Cardinal refused to give up runs and kept the game tight. Northridge opened on a 4-1 run, but Stanford battled back to tie before taking the lead, 8-7, on a solo block by sophomore middle blocker Brandon Williams. The Matadors tied the score twice and led once down the stretch, at 20-19, but three straight points put Stanford on top for good. Stanford took the game, 30-26, on a kill by junior outside hitter Matt Ceran.

The fourth game began with the familiar ties and one-point leads, before Northridge inched ahead, forcing a Stanford timeout at 12-9. The lead ballooned to six as the Cardinal started making mistakes. Nevertheless, Stanford kept fighting and came within three points when an ace by freshman setter Kawika Shoji made it 24-21. Out of a timeout, the Matadors’ Kevin McKniff took over the game, scoring four of the six points his team needed for the 30-22 victory.

McKniff finished the match with 12 kills, one of four Matadors in double digits. Stanford outside hitter Meredith led all players with 19 kills, hitting .500 on the night. Ceran and freshman opposite Evan Romero recorded 12 apiece. Meredith also recorded 11 digs while senior libero Brian Lindberg had a team-high 14. Williams led the Cardinal blockers with five total, including two solo, while Northridge middle blocker James Lischer had a match-high seven.

The beginning of the UCSB match on Saturday night looked just like the Northridge match, with the score close until the midway point. Stanford could not quite tie the score after 10-10, but stayed only a point or two behind until the Matadors put together a three-point lead followed quickly by four straight. As it had from the first point, the Gauchos (4-1, 2-0) dominated from the middle, with the final three points of their 30-21 win scored from the center.

The Cardinal could not stop UCSB middle blockers Theo Brunner and David Kennedy, who combined for 14 kills and only a single error in the frame.

In the second game however, Stanford adjusted to the middle attack and held Brunner and Kennedy to only four points. The Cardinal did not trail by more than two points and had led by as much as four when Meredith was injured. After playing a tight ball, he landed under the net and hurt his right ankle. With Meredith out, Stanford held onto the lead for a few more points, but had obviously lost its momentum. The Gauchos pulled ahead 25-24 and then rolled to the 30-25 win.

The Cardinal adjusted their lineup to begin the third game, with Shoji moving to outside hitter in Meredith’s spot and sophomore Miki Groppi taking over setting duties. However, there was no slowing down the Gauchos, who steadily expanded their lead through the game, winning 30-21.

Romero and Ceran led the Cardinal attack with 13 kills apiece while Williams chipped in 10. UCSB’s Evan Patak had a match-high 15 kills and Brunner and Kennedy scored 12 each.

After two tough matches this weekend, the Cardinal’s life will not get any easier next weekend, as Stanford hosts the undefeated, No. 2 Brigham Young Cougars in two matches.