Stanford is a volleyball powerhouse for many reasons. The talent, the poise and Cynthia Barboza are all good examples of why the Cardinal stayed undefeated Friday night.
All that is true and Oregon was still right there.
Using another standout performance from Gorana Maricic, who had 18 kills, Oregon kept the games close in a three-game loss (27-30, 30-32, 20-30) to Stanford at McArthur Court before 1,598 fans.
“This is definitely good for us,” setter Rachel Morris said. “They are expected to win a national championship and for us to stick with them is very good for us.”
The heavy hitters for Stanford (16-0, 5-0 Pacific-10 Conference) produced with outside hitter Barboza and Alix Klineman each having 18 kills.

Morris, who shares time with Nevena Djordjevic, knows the freshman Klineman’s game intimately. They have played against each other for 11 years, and played together for four years in club volleyball. Both Morris and Klineman are from Manhattan Beach, Calif.
“You can try and block her but she is a smart player,” Morris said. “If she can’t hit the ball hard, she uses her shots and it works for her. She knows how to play the game.”
Even as Barboza held a hitting percentage of .455, and Klineman was nearby at .424, the Ducks (14-4, 3-3) had chances to win games 1 and 2. Game 1 was tied at 27 and in game 2, Oregon held a 29-27 lead with libero Katie Swoboda serving for the win.
“We are right there with what I think is the best team in the country right now,” Oregon coach Jim Moore said. “The first two games we’re right there and we’re actually right there in the third game. I’m really unhappy that we stopped playing at the end. I’m not happy about that at all.”
Moore referred to a final stretch in game 3 when the Cardinal, ahead 24-19, used a 7-1 run for a 30-20 match-clinching win.
“We have to close out games,” he said. “We’re losing focus or we’re doing silly things at the end of a game and we have to stop doing that.”
Oregon held a 22-21 lead in game 1 on a Stanford attack error. After the Cardinal regained the lead, the Ducks evened the score at 27 on a kill by Kristen Forristall, who matched her career high in kills Friday with nine kills, while hitting a team-high .438.
But a kill by Klineman, a service ace by Bryn Kehoe and a block by Klineman and Franci Girard gave Stanford game 1.
Oregon led much of the second half of game 2, and after the score was tied at 27, the Ducks took a 29-27 lead on a Kehoe service error and Sonja Newcombe kill. A Barboza kill began a 3-0 Stanford run for a 30-29 lead.
A Netecia Enesi block tied it at 30, but a kill by Girard and a setting error by Oregon gave Stanford game 2.
Whether the first two games took something out of the Ducks or not, Stanford had an easier time in game 3, taking a 9-4 lead early and led the rest of the deciding game.
“I think we played very well,” Morris said. “I think we could have come out stronger in that third game … but we let up a little towards the middle of the game but we’ll bounce back.”
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