Stanford University’s women’s beach volleyball team won two matches against top-ranked opponents on March 27 at the Texas Invitational in Austin. The Cardinal, ranked No. 2 nationally, defeated No. 12 Louisiana State University and host No. 6 Texas by identical scores of 4-1.
The event was notable as senior Kelly Belardi achieved her 100th career victory, becoming the first Stanford beach volleyball player to reach this milestone. Belardi partnered with Avery Jackson on court one to secure the decisive point against LSU, finishing with a score of 27-25, 21-12.
In their opening match against LSU, Stanford started strong with Clara Stowell and Indigo Clarke winning in straight sets on court four (21-16, 21-13). Chloe Hoffman and Elena Fisher overcame a comeback attempt from LSU to win on court five (21-12, 19-21, 15-9). After Belardi and Jackson clinched the match for Stanford on court one, Charlotta Bell and Logan Tusher added another point with a two-set victory on court three (21-10, 21-16).
Later in the day against Texas, Stowell and Clarke again set an early lead for Stanford by winning their second straight-set match (21-14, 21-18) on court four. Hoffman and Fisher secured another point after three sets (23-21, 17-21, 15-7) on court five. The pair of Belardi and Jackson clinched the overall victory over Texas’ Piersma/Hashman duo (21-17, 21-18), while Bell and Tusher closed out scoring with a three-set win (21-13, 15-21, 15-12) on court three.
Stanford extended its winning streak to seven matches overall—including six wins over top-twenty ranked teams—and improved its season record to nineteen wins and two losses.
Looking ahead at the tournament in Austin this Saturday at ATX Beach facility, Stanford is scheduled to play No.16 Florida Atlantic followed by No.17 North Florida; both matches will take place without live scoring or streaming coverage.
