It was yet another weekend of mixed results for the Stanford men’s volleyball team — but it also featured some of the best volleyball the Cardinal has played all season.

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Alex Oppenheimer

Sophomore opposite Evan Romero notched 10 kills in Stanford’s five-game loss to top-ranked BYU on Friday and followed that with 14 kills in a three-game win on Saturday. He currently leads the team with 240 kills on the season.

After a very close loss to then-undefeated No. 1 Brigham Young by a score of 3-2 (30-28, 28-30, 30-18, 27-30, 15-12) on Friday, No. 9 Stanford rebounded to sweep the top-ranked Cougars the next night, 35-33, 30-22, 31-29. The Cougars’ loss was their first of the season, and just their second at home in two seasons.

Having come so close the night before, Stanford was determined to not let victory elude them on Saturday.

Three Cardinal hitters went into double digits: Freshman outside hitter Spencer McLachlin led the team for the second night in a row, with 16 kills and a .310 attack percentage. Senior outside hitter Matt Ceran and sophomore opposite Evan Romero were not far behind with 15 and 14 kills, respectively.

Sophomore setter Kawika Shoji posted 53 assists and 15 digs. On defense, freshman libero Jordan Inafuku had a career- and team-high 16 digs. McLachlin posted a team-high 8 blocks while sophomore middle blocker Garrett Werner added 6.

The team attack percentage hovered around .300 in every game. Stanford accumulated 26 blocks compared to just 16 from the Cougars. Also, the Cardinal did not allow a single service ace, while notching four itself.

The first game was close the entire way through, with 11 lead changes and neither team ever leading by more than two points. Extra points were needed to decide the winner. A Cougars error brought the score to 33-33, and a pair of kills from McLachlin finally ended the game at 35-33. It was only the fourth time all season that the Cougars had lost an opening game.

The second game also started out very close as well, with numerous ties in the opening rallies. A pair of Cougar kills from sophomore Andrew Stewart and Holmes brought the score to 16-12 and forced a Stanford timeout. Following the timeout, the Cardinal rallied back to tie the game at 21-21. A seven-point rally, including kills from McLachlin, Ceran, and junior middle blocker Brandon Williams, gave the Cardinal the lead at 28-21. A pair of kills from Williams capped off the game at 30-22.

With a two-game deficit, the Cougars had much to lose. They opened up the third game with a lead at 9-6, but the Cardinal came back with kills from McLachlin and Ceran to tie at 15 apiece. From there, the team took the lead and held it until 23-20. The Cougars, however, caught up to tie the game four more times. Finally, another pair of kills from McLachlin ended the game at 31-29 and gave Stanford the upset sweep.

During Friday’s loss, McLachlin and Ceran led the team in kills with 18 apiece; McLachlin notched 18 kills out of 37 attempts with only three errors to post an impressive .405 hitting percentage.

The first game saw the Cardinal post an early 4-2 lead on a kill by Romero. The Cougars tied the game on a kill by senior Russell Holmes and a Cardinal attack error. They took a four-point lead at 13-9 and furthered their lead to end the game at 30-22.

The second game was much more hotly contested. The Cougars took a 7-4 lead on a kill from senior Ivan Perez and a Cardinal attack error, but Stanford rallied back to tie the game at seven points apiece with a kill from Ceran and a Cougars attack error. The Cougars continued to take small leads, forcing the Cardinal to play catch up, until late in the game when a kill from McLachlin gave the Cardinal the lead at 22-21. Stanford held the lead until the Cougars tied the game at 28-28, but they were able to pull out a 30-28 win to tie the match.

In the third game, the Cougars played very well. Senior setter Brian Congelliere set the Cougars for 17 kills and only three errors — good for a .696 team hitting percentage. They took the game with little trouble at 30-18.

Undiscouraged, the Cardinal battled back in the fourth. A pair of kills from McLachlin gave the Cardinal an early 6-4 lead.

The score remained close until midway through the game, when a number of Cougar errors and a kill from Romero brought the score to 21-16. The Cardinal maintained the lead and, on another kill from Romero, put away the game at 30-27 and forced a deciding fifth.

The final game saw a tremendous effort on both sides. The Cougars took the lead at 10-7, but the Cardinal pressed on and tied the game at 11-11 and then 12-12 on a pair of kills from Ceran. A pair of Cougar kills, however, ended the game at 15-12, giving BYU the win.

After upsetting the nation’s top team, Stanford returns to action this Wednesday and Thursday against the University of Hawai’i at home. Both matches will be played in Burnham Pavilion.