Sand volleyball hosts invitational this weekend

After dealing with unfavorable conditions in last weekend’s Surf ‘n Turf Invitational, Stanford sand volleyball will return to familiar territory when it hosts its invitational tournament this weekend

Despite beating Carson Newman and Webber International in Miami, the Cardinal suffered two losses against Florida Atlantic and No. 6 Florida International. But the tournament didn’t provide easy conditions for the Cardinal — the team had to wake up at 3 a.m. Pacific time for three straight days.

Junior setter Madi Bugg (left) is proud of the changes that the sand volleyball team has made. (DON FERIA/isiphotos.com)

In addition, the wind on South Beach added a new element that the Stanford team was not used to.

“It brings in a whole different set of variables and changes the strategy involved, so that was difficult to adjust to and I was really proud of how quickly we made those changes,” said junior setter Madi Bugg.

However, the Cardinal won’t need to worry about the wind this weekend on the friendly sands of the Farm. Seven sand volleyball teams — California, Cal Poly, Oregon, Saint Mary’s, Stanford, No. 8 UCLA and Washington — will compete this weekend for the Stanford Invitational.

The team is excited for a home tournament and to have its fans supporting it, but it can be hard to concentrate as well.

“It is [hard finding] the balance between relaxed and focused, especially outside when it kind of has the atmosphere of a barbecue, we have to constantly work to stay totally on our game,” Bugg said.

Stanford will begin play against the Ducks on Friday, April 10 at 2 p.m. at the stadium courts. The Ducks have had a rough start to their season, having lost their first dual matchup 5-0 to the University of Washington on April 4.

On Saturday, the Cardinal will go on to play what should be their toughest competitor, No. 8 UCLA, at 9 a.m. at the stadium courts. The Bruins (5-1) lost their first dual matchup of the season on April 4 when they were swept by Long Beach State.

Stanford will conclude the team tournament with the Mustangs (2-11) Saturday at 3 p.m. The pairs tournament will be held on Sunday, April 12.

Contact Laura Stickells at lauraczs ‘at’ stanford.edu.