Stanford University’s women’s beach volleyball team extended its winning streak to 13 matches with victories over No. 10 Long Beach State and No. 2 UCLA on April 3 during the Best in the West tournament in Laguna Beach, California.
The Cardinal, ranked No. 1 nationally, defeated Long Beach State by a score of 4-1 before securing a close 3-2 win against UCLA. These results improved Stanford’s season record to 25-2.
Against Long Beach State, Stanford dropped the first point but quickly responded by taking courts one and four. Senior Kelly Belardi and sophomore Avery Jackson moved to an undefeated record as a pair this season with their win on court one, while sophomore Indigo Clarke and junior Clara Stowell secured their nineteenth victory together on court four. Junior Chloe Hoffman and redshirt freshman Elena Fisher clinched the match for Stanford with their twentieth win as a duo this year, followed by Charlotta Bell and Logan Tusher adding another point for the Cardinal.
In their match against UCLA—the third meeting between these teams this season—Stanford avenged an earlier loss from March by claiming two quick points on courts two and five through wins from Ruby Sorra/Brooke Rockwell and Fisher/Hoffman. After UCLA tied the contest with victories on courts three and one, Clarke/Stowell came back from losing their first set to win both remaining sets decisively on court four.
Stanford is scheduled to play two more matches Saturday at the same tournament: first against No. 4 USC at 9:30 a.m., then concluding its Southern California road trip facing No. 6 Cal Poly at 2:30 p.m.
