STANFORD, Calif. – Building on last year’s conference title, the Cardinal beach volleyball program entered its 14th season with a mission to keep rewriting school history.
Stanford achieved exactly that in 2026, finishing as NCAA Runner-Up and setting new standards along the way. The Cardinal earned its first-ever No. 1 national ranking, made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championship Dual Match, and captured its first quarterfinal and semifinal wins at the NCAA Championship tournament while breaking long-standing team records along the way.
Senior Kelly Belardi became the first Cardinal player to surpass 100 career victories, ending her tenure with 113. Sophomore Charlotta Bell broke the single-season wins record with 37, and, in partnership with Logan Tusher, set a new Stanford pairs win record with 34 victories.
Stanford started ranked No. 2 nationally and opened its campaign for the fifth consecutive season in Hawaii at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Classic, earning five top-16 wins, including an upset over the No. 1 team to secure the tournament’s team cup. Avery Jackson was recognized as the tournament’s best attacker, the first Stanford player to win the award at the highly competitive tournament. After the season’s opening weekend, the Cardinal moved to No. 1 in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Poll and remained in the top two for the rest of the year.
The regular season was Stanford’s best yet with a program-record 34 wins in 37 matches. The team achieved undefeated runs at the Texas Invitational, defeating four top-17 teams, and at the Best in the West tournament in Laguna Beach, where it dominated an all-top-10 field and clinched the event title for the first time. Recognition for an incredible regular season by the Cardinal followed: three Stanford players were named AVCA All-Americans, three pairs earned AVCA Top Flight status, and seven athletes received All-MPSF honors. Two pairs were named AVCA and MPSF Pair of the Week: Jackson and Belardi (March 31, after the 2026 Texas Invitational) and Clarke and Stowell (April 7, after the Best in the West Tournament).
Stanford’s postseason began with a third-place finish at the MPSF Championship. The Cardinal advanced past Washington (3-0) and USC (3-2), but a loss to UCLA (3-1) ended its defense of the program’s 2025 title.
Motivated by the conference championship tournament setback, Stanford entered the NCAA Championship Tournament as the top seed, aiming to reach new heights on the national stage. The Cardinal progressed through No. 16 Chattanooga (3-0), No. 8 California (3-1), and No. 5 Florida State (3-1) to reach its first NCAA title dual match. Stanford’s historic run concluded with a 3-0 loss to UCLA in the NCAA Championship Tournament's championship dual match.
Finishing with a 39-5 record, Stanford surpassed its previous wins record by seven and made its deepest NCAA tournament run, winning three matches in Gulf Shores in 2026 to match its total from the five prior NCAA appearances. With all but one member of its championship lineup returning, the Cardinal is primed to continue its pursuit of a national title in 2027.
Awards
AVCA All-Americans (3)
| Name | Team |
| Kelly Belardi | First |
| Avery Jackson | First |
| Ruby Sorra | Second |
NCAA All-Tournament Team (1 pair)
| Name | Position/Court |
| Indigo Clarke/Clara Stowell | Court 4 |
All-MPSF (7)
| Name | Team |
| Kelly Belardi | First |
| Charlotta Bell | Second |
| Avery Jackson | First |
| Brooke Rockwell | Second |
| Ruby Sorra | Second |
| Clara Stowell | Second |
| Logan Tusher | Second |
AVCA Top Flight Award (3 Pairs)
| Name | Court |
| Charlotta Bell/Logan Tusher | 3 |
| Clara Stowell/Indigo Clarke | 4 |
| Elena Fisher/Chloe Hoffman | 5 |
AVCA/MPSF Pair of the Week (2 Pairs)
| Name | Date |
| Kelly Belardi/Avery Jackson | March 31, 2026 |
| Indigo Clarke/Clara Stowell | April 7, 2026 |
MPSF All-Academic (10)
| Name | Year |
| Kelly Belardi | Sr. |
| Charlotta Bell | So. |
| Indigo Clarke | So. |
| Elena Fisher | R-Fr. |
| Chloe Hoffman | Jr. |
| Avery Jackson | So. |
| Brooke Rockwell | Jr. |
| Ruby Sorra | Jr. |
| Clara Stowell | Jr. |
| Logan Tusher | So. |