AVP Hawaii 2019: Men's Tournament

Dear Readers~


From September 20-22, 2019 the AVP had their last tournament of 2019. This one was on the beaches of Waikiki in Hawaii. The two men's teams I'll be covering are #10 ranked Avery Drost with Chase Frishman and #4 ranked Jeremy Casebeer with Chaim Schalk. Jeremy and Chaim will be first followed by Chase and Avery.

Jeremy and Chaim's first match was against the #13 ranked team of Sean Rosenthal and Brian Cook, husband of Olympic bronze medalist Kelsey Robinson. The first set endd at 21-17 with Casebeer and Chalk taking that set. The second set ended at 21-16 with Casebeer and Schalk taking that set and knocking Cook and Rosenthal into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #5 ranked team of Tim Bomgren and Troy Field. The first set ended at 21-17 with Jeremy and Chaim taking that set. The second set ended at 21-14 with Jeremy and Chaim taking that set as well and knocking Tim and Troy into the contender's bracket. The pair's third game was against the #1 team of Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena. The first set ended at 21-18 with Jeremy and Chaim taking that set. The second set ended at 21-19 with Jeremy and Chaim taking that set as well and putting another team into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #2 ranked team of Taylor Crabb and Jake Gibb. Since this game was the semifinals, it will be covered in a later blog. Now it's time to see how Avery and Chase did in Hawaii.

 

Jeremy is on the right and Chaim is on the left. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @shakesbeer and @chaimer

Chase and Avery's first game was against the #7 ranked team of Miles Evans and Ryan Doherty. The first set ended at 21-14 with Doherty and Evans taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with Chase and Avery pushing a third set. The third set ended at 15-9 with Doherty and Evans taking that set and moving on while Chase and Avery were put in the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #15 ranked team of Miles Partain and Lev Priima. The first set ended at 21-13 with Chase and Avery taking that set. The second set ended at 21-14 with Chase and Avery taking that set as well and knocking Partain and Priima out of the tournament. Their next match was against the #5 ranked team of Tim Bomgren and Troy Field. The first set ended at 21-18 with Tim and Troy taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with Tim and Troy taking that set as well and knocking Chase and Avery out of the tournament.

 

Chase is facing the camera with Avery having his back to the camera. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @averydrost and @chase_frish

That concludes two teams from the men's bracket. Stay tuned for next time when I cover two teams from the women's bracket. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller

AVP Chicago 2019: Semifinals and Finals

Dear Readers~


I hoped you liked my blog covering the teams of Bill Kolinske and Eric Beranek along with the team of Kelley Larsen and Emily Stockman. This blog covers how the semifinals and finals of each bracket did. The semifinalists for the men were Casey Patterson and Chase Budinger taking on Jake Gibb and Taylor Crabb along with Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena taking on Jeremy Casebeer and Chaim Schalk while the women's semifinals had Alix Klineman and April Ross taking on Sarah Hughes and Brandi Wilkerson along with Emily Day and Betsi Flint taking on Sarah Sponcil and Kelly Claes.

Up first on the women's side is April and Alix against Sarah Hughes and Brandie Wilkerson. The first set ended at 21-15 with April and Alix taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with April and Alix taking that set as well and moving on to the finals.

Next up was Emily Day and Betsi Flint against Kelly Claes and Sara Sponcil. The first set ended at 22-20 with Kelly and Sara taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with Emily and Betsi taking that set and causing a third set. The third set ended at 15-7 with Emily and Betsi taking that set and moving to face April and Alix in the finals.

Up first on the men's side is Casey and Chase against Jake and Taylor. The first set ended at 22-20 with Taylor and Jake taking that set. The second set ended at 21-15 with Taylor and Jake taking that set as well and moving on to the finals.

Next up was Phil and Nick against Jeremy and Chaim. The first set ended at 21-15 with Jeremy and Chaim taking that set. The second set ended at 21-15 as well with Phil and Nick taking that set and causing a third set to happen. That third set ended at 16-14 with Phil and Nick taking that set and moving on to face Taylor and Jake in the finals.

In the women's finals it was April and Alix against Emily and Betsi. The first set ended at 21-12 with April and Alix taking that set. The second set ended at 21-15 with April and Alix taking that set as well and becoming the 2019 AVP Chicago Open Champions on the women's side.

 

April Ross (left) and Alix Klineman (right) hold up the trophies they just won at the event. Don't forget to follow the pair on Instagram: @aprilrossbeach and @alixklineman

The final match of the tournament was the men's final of Phil and Nick against Jake and Taylor. The first set ended at 21-19 with Jake and Taylor taking that set. The second set ended at 21-10 with Jake and Taylor taking that set as well and becoming the 2019 AVP Chicago Open champions on the men's side.

 

The men's champions celebrating after the victory. Taylor is in the middle and Jake is in the hat while their coach and Olympic gold medalist, Rich Lambourne, is on the left. Don't forget to follow the three over on Instagram: @tcrabbs, @jakesgibb, and @richyusa

That concludes the blog covering the semifinals and finals of the 2019 AVP Chicago Open. Tune in next week for the blog covering the men's tournament of the 2019 AVP Hawaii Open. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller

AVP Chicago 2019: Teams 4 & 13

Dear Readers~


So in my last blog I covered the top teams of Chicago. They were April Ross with Alix Klineman and Casey Patterson with Chase Budinger. This blog will cover #4 on the women's side, Emily Stockman and Kelley Larsen along with #13 on the men's side, Eric Berenak and Bill Kolinske. So in the last blog I also said I would explain why the blogs on Chicago are split up like this, and I will cover that, but first let's see how these two teams did.

Up first is Kelley and Emily. Their first match was against the #20 team of Carly Wopat and Traci Callahan. The first set ended at 21-10 with Emily and Kelley taking that set. The second set ended at 21-19 with Kelley and Emily taking that set as well and knocking Carly and Traci into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil. The first set ended at 21-18 with Kelly and Sarah taking that set. The second set ended at 21-13 with Sarah and Kelly taking that set as well and knocking Emily and Kelley into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #9 ranked team of Kim Hildreth and Sarah Scharmerhorn. The first set ended at 21-14 with Kelley and Emily taking that set. The second set ended at 21-10 with Kelley and Emily taking that set and knocking Sarah and Kim out of the tournament. Their next match was against the #8 team of Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes. The first set ended at 21-19 with Melissa nad Sarah taking that set. The second set ended at 25-23 with Sarah and Melissa taking that set as well and knocking Kelley and Emily out of the tournament. The pair left Chicago with a 7th place finish after having to miss the Manhattan Beach Open for an FIVB event.

Emily (left) and Kelley (right) working on a game plan. If you follow them on Instagram (@kelleylarsen and @estock2) you can find this picture and see what the real caption is. It's totally worth it.

Now it's time to see how the #13 ranked team of Bill and Eric did. Their first match was against the #20 team of Paul Lotman and Miles Partain. The first set eneded at 23-21 with Lotman and Partain taking that set. The second set ended at 21-18 with Kolinske and Beranek taking that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended at 15-13 with Lotman and Partain taking that set and knocking Beranek and Kolinske into the contender's bracket after only one match. Their next match was against the #14 ranked team of Riley and Maddison Mckibbin. The first set ended at 23-21 with Riley and Maddison taking that set. The second set ended at 21-14 with Riley and Maddison taking that set as well. After only playing two matches, Bill and Eric got knocked out of the tournament. The pair left Chicago with a 17th place, after making it all the way to the semifinals in Manhattan Beach.

Bill (left) and Eric (right) ready for Chicago. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @billkolinske and @ericberanek_beachvolley

Now you're still probably wondering why I have the #4 team on the women's side and the #13 team on the men's side in the same blog. For those that follow any of these four players, or the AVP, over on isntagram, you'll know the reason. The reason is because Bill and Kelley are dating and at the Chicago Open, Bill got Kelley on the sands of stadium court and he proposed to her and she said yes! That is the reason as to why the Chicago blogs are split up the way they are.

This was the big moment on stadium court. If you follow these two, or the AVP, on Instagram, you've seen this pic before. Bill is right with Kelley on the left. Don't forget to follow the pair on Instagram: @kelleylarsen and @billkolinske

That concludes the latest blog covering the 2019 AVP Chicago Open. Stay tuned for next time when I cover the semifinals and finals of the 2019 AVP Chicago Open. Until next time, Miller out.

~J. Miller

AVP Chicago 2019: #1 Teams

Dear Readers~

From August 30, 2019 to September 1, 2019 the second to last stop of the 2019 AVP season happened in Chicago, Illinois. The blogs covering this stop will be a little different because this blog will have the #1 ranked teams of each gender while the next blog will have the other men's and women's teams I'm covering for this AVP stop. The #1 ranked teams are Casey Patterson and Chase Budinger for the men along with April Ross and Alix Klineman for the women. The first team I'll cover will be Chase and Casey so let's get into this blog for Chicago.

Chase and Casey's first match was aginst #16 ranked Mark Burick and Piotr Marciniak. The first set ended at 21-15 with Chase and Casey taking that set. The second set ended at 21-15 as well with Burick and Marciniak taking that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended at 15-9 with Chase and Casey taking that set as well and moving on in the winner's bracket. Their next game was against Casey's partner for the 2018 season, Stafford Slick, and his current partner, Billy Allen. With Casey and Chase ranked #1 while Billy and Stafford were ranked #8, it was an intense match. The first set ended close at 23-21 with Casey and Chase taking that set. The second set ended at 21-14 with Casey and Chase taking that set and knocking Stafford and Billy into the contender's bracket. Casey and Chase's third match of the tournament was against the #20 ranked team of Paul Lotman and Miles Partain. With the winner of this match advancing to the semifinals, the game was itnese. The first set ended at 21-19 with Casey and Chase taking that set. The second set was just as close, ending at 23-21 with Casey and Chase taking that set as well and knocking Lotman and Partain into the contender's bracket. Casey and Chase's next match was against the #2 team of Jake Gibb and Taylor Crabb. With this match being the semifinals, you'll have to wait for the blog covering the semifinals and finals to see who won that match.

Chase (left) and Casey (right) high five between points during their match against Stafford and Billy. Don't forget to follow the pair on Instagram: @caseypatt and @budinger10

Next up is the #1 team on the women's side, April Ross and Alix Klineman. Their first match was against the #16 team of Zana Muno and Chrissy Jones. The first set ended at 21-8 with April and Alix taking that set. The second set ended at 22-20 with April and Alix taking that set as well and knocking Zana and Chrissy into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #8 team of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan. With Sarah and Melissa beating April and Alix for the Manhattan Beach Championship, April and Alix really wanted revenge. the first set ended at 21-8 with April and Alix taking that set. The second set ended at 21-19 in favor of April and Alix. That means that the pair knocked the winners of the previous stop into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #5 team of Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil. with the winner automatically moving on to the semifinals, the pressure was on for both teams. The first set ended at 21-10 with April and Alix taking that set. The second set ended at 21-16 with April and Alix taking that set as well and moving on to the semifinals. April and Alix took on Sarah Hughes and Brandie Wilkerson in the semifinals so that game will be in a later blog covering the semifinals and finals of Chicago.

April (left) and Alix (right) celebrate after getting the point to win a match. Don't forget to follow the pair, as well as their coach Jennifer Kessy, on Instagram: @aprilrossbeach, @alixklineman, and @jenniferkessy

Stay tuned for my next blog covering #4 on the women's side, Emily Stockman and Kelley Larsen, as well as #13 on the men's side, Bill Kolinske and Eric Beranek. For those still wondering about why I didn't split the Chicago blogs into Men's and Women's like earlier in the season, you'll have to check out the next blog explaining that. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller