It’s been a season of mixed results for the No. 9 Stanford men’s volleyball team, and this weekend was no different. After a strong victory over No. 13 UC-Santa Barbara on Friday, 3-1 (30-25, 23-30, 30-21, 30-18), the Cardinal fell to No. 7 Cal State Northridge the next night, 3-0 (30-19, 30-18, 30-27). Stanford is now 8-5 overall, and 4-5 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF).

A number of Cardinal players came out strong in the first game of the weekend. Sophomore Evan Romero and senior Matt Ceran each had 15 kills, with Ceran posting 15 kills out of 22 attacks for a .522 hitting percentage. Freshman Spencer McLachlin returned from injury to record 11 kills, while sophomore Kawika Shoji led the team in assists at 29; he also had nine kills of his own. Freshman Charley Henrickson posted six kills out of 10 attempts for a .600 hitting percentage.

The first game saw the Cardinal and the Gauchos nearly neck-and-neck until about midway through, when kills from McLachlin and Shoji in combination with a number of Gaucho attack errors brought the score to 20-16. The Cardinal continued to rally, bringing the score to 24-20 on a kill by Romero. A Gauchos attack error prompted a UCSB timeout at 25-20. Following the timeout, attack and service errors on both sides rounded out the game at 30-25.

In game two, the Gauchos took an early lead at 4-0, and Theo Brunner posted five kills in the next eight rallies to extend the lead to 9-4. The Gauchos never looked back, with Brunner, Scott Slaughter, and Jeff Menzel dominating at the net. UCSB posted a .375 hitting percentage that game, by far its best of the night. The game ended at 30-23, evening the match score at 1-1.

Game three saw the Cardinal take an early lead at 4-3. A pair of kills from Ceran and a Guachos error brought the score to 7-3, prompting a UCSB timeout. The Gauchos rallied back to within three points at 11-8, but the Cardinal answered with a rally of its own. Kills from Shoji, Ceran, and Henrickson, and a service ace from Romero brought the score to 20-11, and another service ace from Romero ended the game at 30-23, giving the Cardinal a 2-1 match lead.

Just as in the third game, the Cardinal took an early lead in the fourth and never relinquished it. Romero and Ceran dominated, with Romero posting nine kills and Ceran seven. The Cardinal rounded out the game at a resounding 30-18, taking the match 3-1.

Saturday, however, played out a little differently. Cal State Northridge played exceptionally well, averaging more than a .300 hitting percentage in every game. Cody Loe posted 14 kills in just 20 attempts for a .600 hitting percentage. Eric Vance had 12 kills at .391, and Kevin McKniff had eight at .636. The team also had 10 total blocks.

Stanford, in contrast, was not hitting well at all, averaging just .148 on the night. The team was led by Romero, who had 12 kills. McLachin had eight kills, and Ceran and Hendrickson each had six.

Games one and two were rough for the Cardinal, as the Matadors attacked throughout and the Cardinal committed a number of attack errors. The Matadors won both easily, 30-19 and 30-18.

In the third game, the Cardinal looked to be rebounding. Kills by Henrickson and Romero gave the team an early lead at 4-3, but the Matadors rallied back to tie the score at 5-5, 8-8, and again at 10-10. A kill from McLachlin gave the Cardinal another lead at 12-10, but the Matadors again tied the game at 14-14. Northridge scored next to take the lead, and held it for most of the rest of the way, rounding out the victory with a kill from McKniff, 30-27, and sweeping the match 3-0.

Stanford returns to action against the University of the Pacific next Friday in Stockton, Calif. The following week, the team faces Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.