STANFORD, Calif. -- 2023 was the year the Cardinal beach volleyball team continued to rewrite its history books.
With the program's first-ever win over UCLA and its first win at the NCAA Championships, Stanford carried on its longtime legacy of excellence in the 2023 season. The Cardinal ended its 2023 campaign with a 29-13 record, smashing its previous record of 24 wins (in a single season). 2023 is a year that the Cardinal continued its reign as one of the nation's top programs, shattering its previous records along the way.
Two Top-Five Upsets
The Cardinal handed two top-five programs losses late in the 2023 season, topping No. 5 LSU on its home courts and besting No. 1 UCLA at home during the 2023 Pac-12 Championship.
No. 10 Stanford had a spectacular first day of play at the Battle on the Bayou, upsetting No. 5 LSU 3-2 and topping North Florida 4-1 in Baton Rouge, La. Stanford's win over LSU is the program's first victory over a top-five ranked opponent this season and the Cardinal's first-ever win over the Tigers. Stanford's meeting with the Tigers was fierce from the start, with four of the five courts (and first two courts played) pushed to three sets to secure dual match points. Vincent and Belardi once again led the way with a three-set win on court four, but LSU quickly took a 2-1 lead with wins on courts five and three. Fifth-year Charlie Ekstrom and Maya Harvey tied the match back up at 2 with a gritty win on court two. Junior Xolani Hodel and senior Maddi Kriz clinched the dual victory, coming back from a first-set defeat to top the Tigers 18-21, 21-18, 15-11 on court one.
No. 8 Stanford earned its first-ever program dual-match win against No. 1 UCLA, upsetting the Bruins to move onto the winners bracket semifinals of the 2023 Pac-12 Championship. In the programs' fourth meeting of the season, the Cardinal edged out the Bruins with wins on courts one, three, and four. Freshman duo Kelly Belardi and Ashley Vincent topped the previously undefeated (as a pair) fours pair of the Bruins in Stanford's lone straight-set victory of the day, topping UCLA's Smith and Monserez 21-19, 21-18.
Program-First NCAA Championship VictoryThe Cardinal's third consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala. led the program to new heights, earning the team's first ever victory on the white sand beaches of the national championship tournament.
With the match on the line, freshman duo Kelly Belardi and Ashley Vincent pulled off a come-from-behind three-set victory on court four to help No. 9 Stanford upset No. 6 GCU 3-2. The Cardinal topped No. 6 GCU for the second time in the 2023 campaign and ended the Lopes' season in the first round of the national championship tournament. Stanford's first match point came on court three, as AVCA Top Flight duo of juniors Emmy Sharp and Kate Reilly swept GCU's pair of Anaya Evans and Cami Sanchez 21-17, 21-17. After the Lopes quickly took a 2-1 dual match lead with wins on courts one and two, the newly minted pair of sophomore Taylor Wilson and freshman Daria Gusarova came back from a first-set defeat to tie the dual match up at 2-2 with a three-set victory over GCU's Dana Roskic and Jessica Drake. Belardi and Vincent clinched the win with their 28th win as a pair, bettering their own school record for wins in a single season as a duo. The pair handled immense pressure with the team's season on the line and held off a Lopes' duo who battled back multiple times in the third set, including tying the match up at 13-13.
The Cardinal finished its historic season the next day, falling 3-0 to No. 2 Texas Christian.
Freshmen PhenomsBelardi and Vincent came to The Farm ready to make their marks in the history books in just their first years of collegiate action. Throughout the season, the duo set a new Stanford program record for wins as a pair in a single season (28), while Vincent set the program record for wins as an individual in a single season with 32 victories. Belardi sits second in the record books for the same laurel, earning 28 wins throughout her first-year campaign.
The duo both ended their prolific first seasons with All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors and a AVCA Top Flight award.
Alone at the TopWhen fifth year Charlie Ekstrom returned for her final season on The Farm, she sat at 59 career victories, eight away from the program's most wins by an individual.
Ekstrom smashed that record throughout her final collegiate campaign, finishing her time at Stanford with 82 career victories. The winningest player in program history also became Stanford's first ever four-time all-conference honoree with her selection to the All-Pac-12 second team.
Head Coach Andrew Fuller also solidifed his mark at the helm of the Cardinal during the 2023 season, earning his 100th win as the program's head coach on March 1, 2023. With the 2023 campaign under his belt, Fuller now holds 123 victories as the head coach of the Cardinal Beach Volleyball program.
Three Top Flight HonorsThe Top Flight program, run by the AVCA and now in its fifth year, recognizes beach pairs who compete in at least 15 matches together at a specific flight and win at least 75% of their matches. The Cardinal's ones pair of Xolani Hodel and Maddi Kriz, threes pair of juniors Kate Reilly and Emmy Sharp, and fours pair of Belardi and Vincent each earned the honor.
End of Year Conference HonorsJunior Xolani Hodel, senior Maddi Kriz, and fifth-year Charlie Ekstrom were each named to 2023 All-Pac-12 Conference teams, celebrating their successes on the sand throughout the 2023 campaign. Hodel was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team for the third consecutive season while her partner Kriz earned first team honors for the first time. Ekstrom recorded her fourth consecutive nod to the second team. Alongside Belardi and Vincent's freshman team honors, the Cardinal had five members of its squad honored by the conference for the third straight season.
The AVCA announced its 11th annual Collegiate Beach All-America Teams at the conclusion of the 2023 regular season, with Hodel and Kriz earning second-team honors.
Individual AccoladesKelly Belardi
- All-Pac-12 Freshman Team
- AVCA Top Flight AwardCharlie Ekstrom
- All-Pac-12 Second TeamXolani Hodel
- All-Pac-12 First Team
- AVCA Top Flight Award
- AVCA All-America Second Team
- Pac-12 Pair of the Week (April 25)Maddi Kriz
- All-Pac-12 Second Team
- AVCA Top Flight Award
- AVCA All-America Second Team
- Pac-12 Pair of the Week (April 25)Kate Reilly
- 2023 Pac-12 Championship All-Tournament Team
- AVCA Top Flight Award Emmy Sharp
- 2023 Pac-12 Championship All-Tournament Team
- AVCA Top Flight AwardAshley Vincent
- All-Pac-12 Freshman Team
- AVCA Top Flight Award