Stanford beach volleyball head coach Andrew Fuller was named the 2021 AVCA Collegiate Beach Coach of the Year on Wednesday. Fuller guided Stanford to its first NCAA Championship appearance in school history in 2021.
"This award is really a testament to the entire program," Fuller began. "The Stanford players who have believed and battled, and the whole staff – past and present – Angela Rock, Summer Nash, Lauren Fendrick, Louise Bawden and Karissa Cook. Everything in sport is really interconnected and I'm just really excited about the trajectory of Stanford beach volleyball."
The Cardinal finished the season with a school record 23 wins, earning the No. 6 seed in Gulf Shores last weekend. Prior to the season, the Cardinal had never won more than 17 matches in a season and never been ranked higher than No. 9 in the AVCA Top 20.
Stanford defeated 11 ranked teams on the year, including five over Top-10 teams, another school record. Prior to this season, the Cardinal had never defeated multiple Top-10 teams in the same season.
The Cardinal set a program record with a 13-match winning streak that stretched more than a month. Led by seniors Sunny Villapando and Amelia Smith, who became the two winningest players in program history with 67 and 60 wins, respectively, Fuller guided Stanford to new heights.
With a talented roster returning and a strong incoming group of freshmen next year, the Cardinal expect to become a mainstain on the national scene.