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Sammy Abusrur

Foluke Akinradewo propelled Stanford into the lead for good with a pair of kills in the third game against USC, breaking an 11-11 tie. The Cardinal women next get set to host No. 5 UCLA tonight at Maples Pavilion.

The Stanford women’s volleyball team proved last night that it deserves the No. 2 rating it has earned in the national poll, sweeping No. 4 USC, 30-21, 30-27, 30-21. Both teams came into the match undefeated, but it was the Cardinal who left that way.

Junior middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo hit .680 with a match-high 18 kills, and freshman libero Gabi Ailes had 18 digs in the three-game victory. Stanford improved to 13-0 overall and 2-0 in the Pac-10, while USC fell to 12-1, 2-1.

The Cardinal got off to a quick start, going up 7-3 on back-to-back USC errors. The Trojans closed to within two, but Stanford quickly pushed the lead back to six and forced a second USC timeout. Stanford reached game point after two aces by Barboza, and Akinradewo finished the game with a kill, 30-21.

Barboza took over the offensive load in the second game, swatting eight kills. Stanford again built a large lead early on, but the Trojans closed the gap this time, taking their first lead at 20-19. After trading points down the stretch, the Cardinal finally pulled away and won on a block by Girard and Klineman.

Despite the momentum of a two-game lead, Stanford found itself down at the start of the third game. Akinradewo broke an 11-11 tie with a pair of kills, and the Cardinal held the lead the rest of the way. Junior right side hitter Erin Waller pounded the ball down the line to end the match and hand the Trojans their first loss of 2007.

Joining Akinradewo in double digits on offense, Barboza tallied 15 kills, and Klineman chipped in 12. Klineman recorded a double-double with 10 digs. She and Barboza also led the Stanford serving effort with two and three aces, respectively.

Stanford had 12 blocks in the three games, led by Klineman with two solos and three assists, and Kehoe and Girard with five assists each.

USC senior Asia Kaczor led the Trojans with 12 kills, and Jessica Gysin had 10.

Tonight, Stanford will play host to a second top-five team as No. 5 UCLA visits Maples. The Bruins came back from two games down to win in five over Cal in Berkeley last night.

Stanford holds only a slight edge in the all-time series, but head coach John Dunning has not lost to UCLA in his six seasons on the Farm. That match will start at 7 p.m., with free admission for students, and will feature the annual Dig for the Cure breast cancer research fundraiser.