With just five days until the start of Stanford's 2023 Beach Volleyball season, the Cardinal looks to its six newest additions– Line Andersson, Kelly Belardi, Phoenix Clarke, Daria Gusarova, Sophie Kubiak, and Ashley Vincent– to bring new depth and skill to the sand for the upcoming campaign.
Learn a bit more about the newest beach players to don the Cardinal uniform and hear from head coach Andrew Fuller on what each newcomer brings to the sand.
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Hometown: Jonkoping, Sweden
High School: Allebergsgymnasiet
Also a member of the Stanford Women's Indoor Volleyball Team
Prior to Stanford
A 2022 graduate of Ållebergsgymnasiet in Vastra Gotaland
Also competed in Soccer, Floorball, and Tennis in high school
Earned a bronze medal at the U16 Swedish Club Team Tennis Championships
National Team
Member of the Swedish indoor volleyball national team
Selected to NEVZA U17 team in 2019
Selected to NEVZA U19 select team in 2021 (unable to participate)
Member of the Swedish beach volleyball national team
Competed at the 2021 and 2022 U20 Beach Volleyball European Championships for Sweden
Personal
Parents are Malin and Manne Andersson
Has two siblings, Einar and Elmer
Fuller on Andersson: " Line has been a wonderful addition to the program. She brings an intense competitive spirit and game sense beyond her years. Line's skill set is really refined, notably with hand setting and blocking. She can play really high over the net and is able to use her length from the service line in a big-time way, as well."
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Hometown: Manhattan Beach, Calif.
High School: Marymount
Also a member of the Stanford Women's Indoor Volleyball Team
Prior to Stanford
Graduate of Marymount High School in Los Angeles, Calif.
Played for Marymount's indoor volleyball team
CIF Southern Section, region, state, and national champions in 2021
Led high school team to a 35-0 record and No. 1 national ranking as a senior
First undefeated season in school history
Mission League champions (2021)
PrepVolleyball First Team All-American (2021)
MaxPreps All-America First Team (2021)
Club participation: Elite Beach Volleyball (2018-2022)
15 National/ State Championships
Three-time inductee into California Beach Volleyball Association (CBVA) Hall of Fame
Highest adult player rating (AAA) since age 13
National Team
Member of USA Volleyball A1 High-Performance Team for seven consecutive years
Three-time winner of USAV High-Performance National Championship
Personal
Parents are Jim and Leslie Belardi
Has two siblings, John Belardi and Davis Waugh
Father, Jim competed at Stanford as a part of the men's swimming team and was a 1976 and 1098 Olympic Swimming Trials participant
Brother, Davis competed in Water Polo at LMU
Aunt, Christa, competed as a swimmer at UCLA and participated in the 1972 Olympic Swimming Trials
Uncle, Steve competed in both football and tennis at Cal State Fullerton
Fuller on Belardi: "Kelly has a fantastic balance of competitive intensity and humor that brings out the best in her partners. She's building on a prolific run in the juniors game, in which she consistently won multi-day tournaments with 50+ teams. Her defensive range is really big and she's consistently in system with outstanding passing. Kelly wins a lot through stingy defense and a rangy and a low-error side out game."
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Hometown: Kailua, Hawaii
High School: Punahou School
Prior to Stanford
Graduate of Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawai'i
Also competed in gymnastics (2009-17), water polo (2016-19), paddling (2017-2022) and indoor volleyball (2016-2021)
Goalie for the 2018 USA Water Polo Development National Team
Punahou was Hawaii State Water Polo Champions in 2019
2019 ILH Paddling All-Star, Mixed division
2022 ILH Paddling All-Star, Girls division
Two-time Hawaii state team paddling champion (2019, 2022) in both girls and mixed divisions
Did not finish below first place in all paddling races during the regular season throughout her high school career
Club participation: Outrigger Canoe Club Beach Volleyball Team (2019-2022), Ku'ikahi Volleyball Team (2020-2021)
2022 BVCA National Championships TIER 2 Open Division 3v3 Champion
2022 BVCA National Championships U18 pairs ninth-place finisher
National Team
Part of USA Beach Volleyball's National Team Development Program (USABV NTDP)
Trained at the 2019 USA Beach Volleyball Holiday Training Program in Manhattan Beach
Participated in the 2021 USABV NTDP Summer Training Series in Ft. Lauderdale
Participated in the 2021 USABV NTDP Fall Training Series in Manhattan Beach
Participated in the 2021 USABV NTDP Winter Training Series in Manhattan Beach
Participated in the 2022 USABV NTDP Spring Training in Dockweiler
Personal
Parents are James and Nancy Clarke
Has three siblings, Indigo, Sage, and Skye
Fuller on Clarke: "Phoenix brings incredible poise alongside her adaptable and smooth game. Phoenix has developed great flow during her youth in Hawaii, which is critical for the dynamics of beach volleyball. We know that Phoenix will be able to adapt to wide-ranging conditions during her time at Stanford. With enough length to play over the net and great balance to pull off the net, Phoenix is a versatile blocker who can find lots of paths to victory."
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Hometown: Nicosia, Cyprus
High School: American International School Cyprus
Prior to Stanford
Graduate of American International School in Cyprus
Also competed in track and field and soccer
Top-10 in Cyprus' U18 5 km run in 2018
Team captain and goalkeeper of American International School's soccer team for the 2018-19 season
National Team
Member of Cyprus' Women's National Team since 2013
Gold medal winner at 2017, 2018, and 2020 Cyprus Beach Volleyball National Championships
Bronze medal finish at the 2019 Small Countries Division Zonal Tour
Runner-up finish at the 2019 Continental Cup Olympic Qualification Round 1
Runner-up at 2021 World Tour 1* in Hungary
Finished in the top eight of the 2019 U18 European Championships
Personal
Parents are Elena Gusarova and Victor Gusarov
Has three siblings, Kirill Rudenko, Kirill Gusarov, and Sasha Gusarova
Brother, Kirill Rudenko, played for UC San Diego Men's Volleyball team and the Cyprus National Team
Formerly studied ballet for seven years
Fuller on Gusarova:"Daria's understanding of and skill in beach volleyball is what you'd expect from someone who's been playing FIVB World Tour events since she was 15 years old. Her ability to read on defense, strategize and execute game plans is fantastic. Daria's wisdom is a boon for the whole program and we love picking her brain in group settings."
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Hometown: Louisville, Colo.
High School: Monarch
Prior to Stanford
Graduate of Monarch High School in Louisville, Colo.
Four-year indoor volleyball letter winner at Monarch
Named Team MVP for the 2019-2022 seasons
Team Captain 2022
CCGS All-State Team, 2022
First-Team Front Range All-Conference 2021, 2022
CHSAA First-team Academic All-State, 2018-2022
Club participation: Indoor volleyball (2014-2019), Lab Beach Volleyball Club (2019-2022)
Defensive player of the tournament- 2022 BVCA Club Challenge
Runner-up at 2022 AVP West Coast Championships
Runner-up at USAV U19 World Championship Trials
National Team
Selected to the USABV National Training Development Program- Winter 2021
Member of 2022 USA U19 Beach National Team
Personal
Parents are Laura and Matt Kubiak
Has one sister, Julia
Fuller on Kubiak: "Sophie had a fantastic summer leading into her first year at Stanford. Earning a 4th place finish at U19 World Championships (going 7-2 along the way), Sophie's game has grown tremendously, building on her already impressive speed and skill. She's climbed to another level of poise and ability to adjust mid-game."
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Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
High School: The Westminster Schools
Prior to Stanford
Graduate of The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Ga.
Also competed in lacrosse and indoor volleyball
Team captain, indoor volleyball (2021)
Indoor volleyball was Georgia state champion in 2020, runner-up in 2019
Named first-team all-state in 2019, 2020 by Georgia Volleyball Coaches Association
2019, 2020 first-team all-area
2019 Rookie of the Year
Club participation: S3 Volleyball (2016-2022)
2019 AVP Next National Champion
2022 BVCA National Championships Runner-Up
2022 AAU Junior Olympics Championship Runner-Up
JVA Club of the Month- June 2019
AVP Juniors Athlete of the Week (Feb. 3, 2021)
Class of 2022 JVA Best in Beach
2020 Volleyballmag.com 20 Underclassmen to Watch List
National Team
2018- 2021 NTDP A1 High-Performance Team
2021 NTDP Beach Volleyball Girls U19 National Champion
Personal
Parents are Brittney and Matt Vincent
Has three siblings, Haley, Lindsay, Brady
Aunt, Meredith swam at Emory University
Fuller on Vincent: "Ashley has developed a cannon arm, which we're excited to see her use in a variety of different ways - obviously in sideout, but building in a robust on-two game, attacking from the service line and generally looking for every opportunity to score quickly. With a steady and fun demeanor, Ashley brings out the best in her teammates and we're excited to watch her compete."