College: Belardi played beach volleyball at Stanford. She had 28 wins (28-7) as a freshman, marking the second most wins in a season by an individual and most ever by a pair in program history, playing exclusively with Ashley Vincent on courts three and four. As a sophomore she again had a 28-7 record, splitting time between Chloe Hoffmann and Ashley Vincent on courts two through four. In her junior season she collected 31 wins (31-7), which was the second most in a single season at Stanford, with most of those coming alongside Charlotta Bell and Avery Jackson on court three. In her senior season she went 26-15 primarily on court one to improve her career record to 113-36, becoming the first Stanford player to eclipse 100 victories.

Personal: Belardi comes from an athletic family as her father Jim swam at Stanford and was a two-time Olympic Swimming Trials participant. She has two brothers, John and Davis Waugh, who was a water polo player at Loyola Marymount University. Her uncle, Steve, competed in both football and tennis at Cal State Fullerton while her aunt, Christa, swam at UCLA and was a participant in the Olympic Swimming Trials. Belardi played indoor volleyball in high school, and in her senior season she was a First Team All-American for her team that ranked first nationally with a 35-0 record. Belardi earned her AAA beach rating at the age of 13.