The No. 3 Stanford women’s volleyball team played a pair of tough, back-and-forth matches in Los Angeles this weekend, overpowering No. 7 UCLA for its 20th win of the season and coming up short against No. 6 Southern California. Both matches ended with 3-1 scores as the Cardinal beat the Bruins for the 14th straight time and dropped only its second match of the season to the Trojans.

Junior middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo had an outstanding weekend, the Cardinal attack was balanced among all five hitters and freshman libero Gabi Ailes broke the Stanford single-match dig record, but Stanford (20-2, 9-1 Pac-10) nonetheless returned home with a weekend split.

Akinradewo had 34 kills on the weekend and hit .518. Ailes had 20 digs against UCLA (16-6, 6-5) and then notched 31 at USC (19-3, 8-3). The previous high for the Cardinal was 30 digs, held by Lisa Sharpley and Kerri Walsh who each had 30 in Stanford’s 3-2 win over Penn State in the 1997 NCAA final.

The Cardinal won the first game of both of this weekend’s matches by a score of 30-20 before losing the second. Against UCLA, Stanford bounced back and won the third and fourth, but the Cardinal found itself in early holes against USC and could not come back.

Stanford raced to a sizeable lead to start the match Friday, taking seven of the first eight points from the stunned Bruins. UCLA prevented any more Stanford runs in the game, but could not string together more than three points of their own. The Bruins made back-to-back errors and Stanford won the game, 30-20, on a kill by senior middle blocker Franci Girard.

After UCLA scored first in the second game, junior outside hitter Cynthia Barboza tallied three straight kills to put her team in front. The score was tied 13 times in the course of the game, as late as 24-all, but UCLA picked up its play at the right time to tie the match with a 30-28 win in the game.

Stanford again had the quicker start out of the halftime break and built a small lead, though the Bruins battled back to tie at 14. Junior right side Erin Waller served five straight points to stretch the Cardinal’s lead to 27-19, and Stanford put the game away, 30-22, on an ace by junior outside hitter Cynthia Barboza and a kill by freshman outside Alix Klineman.

The Cardinal looked to win the match easily in the fourth game, leaving UCLA behind early. The Bruins would not go down without a fight, though. With the Cardinal at match point at 29-21, UCLA reeled off six straight points before Waller finally got the kill Stanford needed, with a final game score of 30-27.

Klineman finished the match with 16 kills, leading four Stanford hitters in double digits. Akinradewo and Barboza had 14 each — and Akinradewo hit .565 — while Girard chipped in 11.

The Cardinal shook off the serving troubles that hounded the team in Arizona a week ago, serving eight aces while only missing six against the Bruins. Waller’s three aces were a match and season-high.

Ailes led the way with 20 digs in the match while Barboza had 18. The Cardinal got the majority of its 13 blocks in the final two games — Barboza and Klineman both finished with a match-high five, including two solos each.

The Cardinal again started quickly on Saturday, scoring six of the first seven points. Stanford led by double digits at 17-7 and, though the Trojans staged a late comeback, it was too little, too late. The game ended 30-20 on a kill by Waller.

The teams were neck-and-neck early in the second game, with USC holding a slight advantage. After a 20-20 tie, the Trojans used a 10-5 run to close out the game, 30-25, and even up the match, scoring three of the last four points on kills by Jessica Gysin.

Stanford again found itself trailing early in the third game and could not overcome a five-point deficit. The Cardinal fought to within two points, but lost 30-24.

In a must-win fourth game, the Cardinal pulled out in front, but the Trojans would not give up. The score was tied several times and the lead went back and forth, but USC had the final advantage, breaking a 28-28 tie and winning 30-28.

USC’s Asia Kaczor was the top hitter in the match with 28 kills, almost an entire game’s worth of points. For Stanford, Akinradewo had 20 to lead the way. In all, the Cardinal had five hitters in double digits — Akinradewo, Barboza with 18, Klineman with 14, Waller with 11 and Girard with 10.

Ailes’ 31 recorded the match high in digs and the Cardinal out-dug and out-blocked the Trojans. Akinradewo had five, including a solo, out of nine total for the team.

The seniors on Stanford’s team — Girard and setter Bryn Kehoe — are a perfect 8-0 in their careers against UCLA. The last time the Bruins beat the Cardinal was in 2000.

Stanford will attempt to rebound from the loss to the Trojans this week, hosting No. 16 Oregon and Oregon State on Thursday and Friday. The Cardinal swept both teams earlier this season.

Contact Rebecca Harlow at rcharlow@stanford.edu.