Stanford women’s volleyball has formally announced their incoming class for the 2022 season which consists of five freshmen and one graduate transfer. The freshmen are outside hitter Elia Rubin (Marymount High School, Los Angeles, CA), setter Kelly Belardi (Marymount High School, Los Angeles, CA), defensive specialist Anna Pringle (Cathedral Catholic High School, Del Mar, CA), outside Line Andersson (Jonkoping, Sweden), and defensive specialist Christina Armoni (Chalkida, Greece). The graduate transfer is outside hitter Emily Teehan, who played in the Ivy League at Columbia and originally hails from Toronto, Ontario.
In the team release put out by Stanford Athletics, head coach Kevin Hambly provided a breakdown of the class and what he expects this incoming group to bring:
"We are excited to welcome the 2026 class to The Farm. Adding six athletes to the roster provides tremendous ability and depth to an already talented group. Initially, it was just going to be a class of three, but we were pleasantly surprised to add three more as the year progressed.
"Elia brings a high level of skill and athleticism to the outside position. She is one of the best pass-hitters in her class and is a potent attacker who possesses an elite arm. Elia is also a proven winner at both the club and high school levels, playing together with Kelly Belardi in high school and for the past two years at the club level.
“Kelly will bring depth to the setting position as she is a natural leader who knows how to guide her team. She is undoubtedly a skilled setter, but her tenacity and cunning play stand out. Anna is a highly skilled defensive specialist with excellent athleticism and size. She is a proven passer and defender and will compete immediately in our gym.
"The great surprises were Emily Teehan, Line Andersson, and Christina Armoni. Emily is a grad transfer who will bring experience to a young team on the outside. Line is also a very accomplished beach and indoor player who will bring more depth to the outside position. Both are pass-hitters that have proven they can handle the load required for the outside position. Christina will compete to be a defensive specialist.
"All in all, we feel that this class has filled both our needs and wants for the upcoming year, and we are looking forward to integrating them into our group that has been making tremendous gains this spring.”
The Cardinal are coming off a 2021 campaign in which they went 19-11 overall and 13-7 in the Pac-12. They reached the NCAA tournament, falling to #12 Minnesota in the second round. While most programs would consider a trip to the NCAA tournament a successful season, by Stanford’s standards, last season fell short of expectations. They have won nine national championships in their history and won their three most recent titles in 2016, 2018, and 2019.
Redshirt junior outside hitter Caitie Baird and senior opposite Kendall Kipp were both named second-team All-Americans last season and will look to be the anchors of the 2022 squad. If Stanford is going to have the kind of success they’re hoping to have and make a deeper run in the NCAA tournament, it’s going to start with them delivering the goods.
Overall, Stanford appears to be in a good position right now. They have a strong incoming class and are returning their two All-Americans from last season. It’ll be interesting to see how the 2022 season shapes up. The potential to have a strong season is definitely there.
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