Notables
- No.5 Stanford readies for its third consecutive weekend of home action, welcoming Saint Mary's, Utah and Texas A&M Corpus Christi to The Farm for four weekend matchups. the Cardinal battles the Islanders and Utes on Friday at 1 and 3 p.m., followed by a rematch with the Islanders and a bout with the Gaels Saturday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
- All 4 matches will be streamed on B1G+ with live results updated on Statbroadcast.
- The Cardinal comes off of a 2-2 weekend at the MPSF Mid-Season Rumble. No. 5 Stanford split its first day of action hosting the MPSF Mid-Season Rumble, topping Oregon 5-0 while falling to No. 1 UCLA 4-1. On the final day of the MPSF Mid-Season Rumble, Stanford was in the middle of high-intensity beach volleyball, dropping a close 3-2 decision to No. 3 USC before beating No. 9 California 3-2 in dramatic fashion to secure a split on the day.
- At the MPSF Mid-Season Rumble, the Cardinal stuck with the same five pairs for action in all four matches. Those pairs records at the MPSF Mid-Season Rumble:
- No. 5 Emmy Sharp and Daria Gusarova: 4-0
- No. 3 Kelly Belardi and Avery Jackson: 3-1
- No. 2 Charlotta Bell and Taylor Wilson: 2-2
- No. 4 Chloe Hoffman and Clara Stowell: 1-3
- No. 1 Brooke Rockwell and Ruby Sorra: 1-3
- Stanford has played a top-10 opponent in 7 of its first 14 matches of the season. All of Stanford's losses have come to a team ranked at least in the top 7 of the AVCA Beach Volleyball Poll, with two losses coming from No. 1 UCLA, one from No. 3 USC, one from No. 7 LMU and one from then No. 2 TCU.
- The 2024 season cemented Stanford beach volleyball’s position as one of the best programs in the country, guided by its best-ever record and countless wins over top-ranked teams from across the nation. The Cardinal made its fourth consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championship, earning the second-highest at large bid behind UCLA, and won its first-round match at the national title chase 3-0, just the second national championship tournament victory in program history.
- The nation and conference both celebrated the Cardinal’s incredible 2024 season, as Stanford tabbed seven conference honors, four all-America selections and two top-flight awards. Then-freshman Brooke Rockwell was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and was also selected as a member of the Pac-12 All-Conference First Team with partner senior Xolani Hodel and fellow freshman Ruby Sorra. Junior Taylor Wilson was named to the all-conference second team. Rockwell was also part of the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and was joined by Sorra. Rockwell is the Cardinal's first conference player yearly award winner since 2017, when Kathryn Plummer won the same award. Stanford's three first-team selections and two pairs (Hodel and Rockwell, Wilson and Sorra) earning honors both marked new program-bests.
- For the first time in program history, four members of the Stanford beach volleyball program were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America Teams. Rockwell and Hodel were each named to the All-America First Team while Wilson and Sorra each earned second-team honors. Hodel became a four-time all-American with this year's honor, selected to the first team last year and the second team in 2021 and 2022, while Rockwell, Sorra, and Wilson each earned their first all-American recognition. Rockwell was the lone freshman on this year's first team and her and Sorra made up half of all freshmen selected as All-Americans in 2024.
- Sorra and Wilson, alongside Belardi and Hoffman, each were honored as AVCA 2024 Top Flight award winners. The Top Flight program, now in its sixth year, recognizes beach pairs who compete in at least 15 matches together at a specific flight and win at least 75% of their matches
- Stanford's momentum for the future continues to be bright with a youth-dominated program and a strong recruiting class joining as freshmen for the 2025 season. Joining the Cardinal on The Farm this season are Charlotta Bell, Indigo Clarke (sister of junior Phoenix Clarke), Babi Gubbins, Elena Fisher, Avery Jackson, Ofure Odigie and Logan Tusher.
- Next up, Stanford takes a week off of playing action for finals week, next competing at the Death Volley Invitational in Baton Rouge, La. March 28-29.