AVP Hermosa 2019: Women's Tournament

Dear Readers~


For those that saw my previous blog covering the 2019 AVP Hermosa Beach Open, you'll know that the event happened from July 26-28, 2019 in Hermosa Beach, California. In my previous blog I covered the men's side of the bracket which included the #1 ranked team of Tim Bomgren and Troy Field, as well as the #10 ranked team of Ryan Doherty and Miles Evans. This blog will cover the women's side of the bracket. The two teams I chose were #19 ranked Audrey and Nicole Nourse as well as #22 ranked Delaynie Maple and Megan Kraft.

The first team I'll be covering is Audrey and Nicole. Their first game was against #14 ranked Kerri Schuh and Nicolette Martin. That first set ended 21-16 with Audrey and Nicole taking that set. The second set ended at 21-8 with Nicolette and Kerri taking that set and causing a third set. The third set ended at 15-13 with Audrey and Nicole taking that set and knocking Nicolette and Kerri into the contender's bracket. Their next game was against the #3 ranked team of Amanda Dowdy and Corinne Quiggle. The first set ended at 21-19 with Dowdy and Quiggle taking that set. The second set ended at 21-13 with Dowdy and Quiggle taking that set as well and knocking Audrey and Anna into the contender's bracket. Their next game was against the  #20 ranked team of Lauren De Turk and Sasha Karelou. The first set ended at 21-17 with Lauren and Sasha taking that set. The second set ended at 21-14 with Lauren and Sasha taking that set as well and knocking Audrey and Nicole out of the tournament.

Here are Audrey and Nicole Nourse celebrating after a nice play. Give them a follow on Instagram: @audreynourse and @nicolenourse as well as their team Instagram account: @beachvolleyballtwins

The other women's team I'll be covering is Maple and Kraft. They made it into the Hermosa Open ranked #22, not far behind Audrey and Nicole. Maple and Kraft's first match was against the #11 ranked team of Geena Urango and Emily Hartong. The first set ended at 21-17 with Maple and Kraft taking that set. The second set ended at 21-18 with Urango and Hartong taking that set and causing a third set to happen. That third set ended at 15-6 with Kraft and Maple taking that third set and knocking Urango and Hartong into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #6 ranked team of Brittany Howard and Alexa Strange. The first set ended at 21-12 with Kraft and Maple taking that set. The second set ended at 21-13 with Kraft and Maple taking that set as well and knocking the #6 ranked team into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #3 ranked team of Dowdy and Quiggle. The first set ended at 21-18 with Kraft and Maple taking that set. The second set ended at 21-11 with Kraft and Maple taking that set and knocking another team into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against #18 ranked team of Sheila Shaw and Kenzie Ponnet. The first set ended at 22-20 with Sheila and Kenzie taking that set. The second set ended at 23-21 with Maple and Kraft taking that set, and leading to a third set. The third set ended at 15-11 with Shaw and Ponnet taking that set and knocking Maple and Kraft into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against #24 ranked Zana Muno and Crissy Jones. The first set ended at 21-17 with Kraft and Maple taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with Muno and Jones taking that set, and causing a third set. The third set ended at 16-14 with Muno and Jones taking that set and moving on. Kraft and Maple would leave the 2019 AVP Hermosa Beach Open with a 5th place, up from the 13th place they received just a few months ago at the 2019 AVP Huntington Beach Open. Keep in mind that these two are still in high school and have many more years of playing to compete in.

 Megan (left) and Delaynie (right) are smiling after a victory in Hermosa. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram as they progress on their beach volleyball careers: @delayniemaple and @megan_kraft

That concludes the women's bracket from the 2019 AVP Hermosa Beach Open. Stay tuned for next time when I cover the finals and semifinals of the men and women. If you know how the AVP works then you'll know that had Maple and Kraft won they would be playing in the semifinals but with Jones and Muno beating them, the teenagers won't be in the next blog. Don't forget to mark your calendar for September 20-22, 2019 when the AVP makes it's final stop in Hawaii for the 2019 AVP Hawaii Open. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller

AVP Hermosa 2019: Men's Tournament

Dear Readers~

From July 26-28, 2019 the second half of the AVP season began in Hermosa Beach, California. This blog will cover the men's side of the tournament. The two teams are #1 ranked Troy Field with Tim Bomgren and #10 ranked Ryan Doherty and Miles Evans. Up first is Tim and Troy.

Their first game was against the #16 ranked team of Christian Honer and Brian Miller. The first set ended at 21-10 with Tim an Troy taking that set. The second set ended at 21-16 with Tim and Troy taking that set as well and moving on in the winner's bracket. Their next game was against two Olympians. This was the #8 ranked team of Sean Rosenthal and David Lee. The first set ended at 21-19 with Sean and David taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with David and Sean taking that set as well and knocking the #1 ranked team into the contender's bracket. Their next game was against the #11 ranked team of Maddison and Riley Mckibbin. The first set ended at 21-18 with Tim and Troy taking that set. The second set ended at 21-14 with Tim and Troy taking that set as well and knocking the McKibbin brothers out of the tournament. Their next game was against #10 Ryan Doherty and Miles Evans. The first set ended at 21-13 with Ryan and Miles taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with Miles and Ryan taking that set as well and knocking the #1 team out of the tournament. Tim and Troy left Hermosa with a 5th place finish.

 

Tim (black hat) receives serve as Troy (Pink hat) prepares for the set. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @troyfield_beach and @timbomgren

Up next is the #10 ranked team of Doherty and Evans. Their first game was against #23 ranked team of Garrett Roberts and Garet Wessberg. The first set ended 21-18 with Doherty and Evans taking that set. The second set ended at 21-13 with Doherty and Evans taking that set as well and knocking the #23 ranked team into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #7 ranked team of Avery Drost and Chase Frishman. The first set ended at 21-18 with Doherty and Evans taking that set. The second set ended at 21-15 with Doherty and Evans taking that set as well and knocking another team into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #18 ranked team of Dylan Maarek and Dave Palm. The first set ended at 21-16 with Doherty and Evans taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with Doherty and Evans taking that set as well and knocking another team into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #3 ranked team of Casey Patterson and Chase Budinger. The first set ended 22-20 with Casey and Chase taking that set. The second set ended at 21-16with Casey and Chase taking that set as well as knocking Doherty and Evans into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #1 ranked team of Tim Bomgren and Troy Field. The first set ended at 21-13 with Doherty and Evans taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with Doherty and Evans taking that set as well and knocking the #1 ranked team out of the tournament. By knocking Tim and Troy out of the tournament, Doherty an Evans made it to the semifinals to take on the #8 ranked team of two Olympians, Sean Rosenthal and David Lee. That game will be covered in the blog covering the semifinals and finals, so stay tuned for that.

 

Miles (back) and Ryan (front) compete in their first AVP semifinal together. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram for more: @ryandvolley and @milesevansbeachvolley

That concludes the Men's tournament from the 2019 AVP Hermosa Beach Open. Stay tuned for when I cover the women's bracket next. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller

AVP Seattle 2019: Semifinals/Finals

Dear Readers~


For those that have seen my previous blogs on the AVP stop in Seattle, you'll know that the event started on June 21st and ended on June 23rd. June 23rd had the semifinals and finals, which will be covered in this blog. The teams on the women's side include #4 Karissa Cook and Jace Prdon taking on #3 Emily Day and Betsi Flint while the other women's semifinal was #1 Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil taking on #2 Kelley Larsen and Emily Stockman. The men's semifinal consisted of #1 Taylor Crabb and Jake Gibb against #7 Billy Allen and Stafford Slick with the other men's semifinal having #3 Jeremy Casebeer and Chaim Schalk against #4 Casey Patterson and Chase Budinger. Up first is the women's semifinal in Seattle.

The first women's semifinal was Emily and Betsi taking on Jace and Karissa. with Emily and Betsi having won the previous Seattle stop in 2018 as well as Karissa and Jace winning the 2019 Austin stop, both teams wanted to make it to the finals. The first set ended 21-19 in favor of Karissa and Jace while the second set ended at 21-19 as well with Betsi and Emily taking that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended 15-11 with Emily and Betsi coming out on top and making it to the finals.

The second women's semifinal had Kelly and Sarah taking on Emily and Kelley. The first set ended at 21-18 with Kelly and Sarah taking that set while the second set ended at 21-17 with Kelley and Emily taking that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended at 17-15 with Kelley and Emily taking that set and advancing to the finals to play against Emily and Betsi.

The first men's semifinal was Taylor and Jake against Billy and Stafford. The first set was close until the end when the score ended at 21-18 with Taylor and Jake taking that first set. The second set ended with similar score of 21-17 with Taylor and Jake taking that set as well and advancing to the finals.

The second men's semifinal had Chase and Casey taking on Jeremy and Chaim. The first set ended 21-13 with Jeremy and Chaim taking that first set. The second set was much closer. It ended at 21-19 with Jeremy and Chaim taking that set as well and advancing to the final to play against Jake and Taylor.

The women's finals had Emily and Betsi taking on Emily and Kelley. The first set was close, ending at 21-17  in favor of Kelley and Emily. The second set ended at 21-12, also in favor of Kelley and Emily. In only two sets, Emily Stockman and Kelley Larsen become the 2019 AVP Seattle champions on the women's side.

Emily (left) and Kelley (right) smile big after winning the 2019 AVP Seattle Open. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @kelleylarsen and @estock2

The men's final had Jeremy and Chaim taking on Taylor and Jake. The whole game was intense. The first set ended at 21-19 with Jeremy and Chaim taking that set. The second set ended at 21-18 with Jeremy and Chaim also taking that set and becoming the 2019 AVP Seattle champions in only two sets against the #1 ranked team in Seattle.

Chaim (left) and Jeremy (right) smile big after they become the 2019 AVP Seattle Open winners. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @shakesbeer_ and @chaimer

That concludes the semifinals and finals of the 2019 AVP stop in Seattle. With half of the AVP season covered, that leaves only 4 more events to cover. They are Hermosa, Manhattan, Chicago, and Hawaii. With Chicago as the next stop, be sure to mark your calendars for August 30-September 1, 2019 when the AVP heads to Chicago for Gold Series stop #3 and the Championship or you can watch all the action on Amazon Prime Video. Until next time, Miller out.

~J. Miller

AVP Seattle 2019: Women's tournament

Dear Readers~


If you've seen my previous blog covering the men's side of the bracket, you'll know that from June 20-23, 2019 the AVP had their 4th stop of the 2019 season in Seattle, Washington. In my last blog I covered the men's teams of Chase Budinger with Casey Patterson as well as Chase Frishman with Piotr Marciniak. In this blog I'll be covering the women's side of the tournament. The two teams I chose were #9 ranked Amanda Dowdy with Corinne Quiggle and #10 ranked Kim DiCello with Kelly Reeves.

Up first is Corinne and Amada as the #9 ranked team on the women's side. Their first match was against the #8 ranked team of Caitlin Ledoux and Geena Urango. The first set ended 21-17 with Ledoux and Urango taking that set. The second set ended at 21-18 with Corinne and Amanda taking that set and causing a third set. The third set ended at 15-13 with Ledoux and Urango taking that set and knocking Amanda and Corinne into the contender's bracket. Their first game in the contender's bracket was against #16 ranked Piper Monk-Heidrich and Abby Van Winkle. The first set ended 21-16 with Amanda and Corinne taking that set The second set ended 21-12 with Amanda and Corinne taking that set as well and knocking Piper and Abby out of the tournament. Their next game was against #6 ranked Brittany Howard and Katie Spieler. The first set ended at 21-15 with Amanda and Corinne taking that set. The second set ended at 21-14 with Amanda and Corinne taking that set as well and knocking another team out of the tournament. Their next game was against the #5 ranked team of Irene Pollock and Terese Cannon. The first set ended at 21-15 in favor of Amanda and Corinne. The second set ended at 21-16, also in favor of Amanda and Corinne. The pair has just knocked another team out of the tournament and are ready to take on the #1 ranked team of Kelly Claes and Sara Sponcil. The first set ended at 21-17 with Claes and Sponcil taking that set. The second set ended at 21-19 with Amanda and Corinne taking that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended at 16-11 with Claes and Sponcil taking that set and knocking Amanda and Corinne out of the tournament. The pair would leave Seattle with a 5th place finish.

 

Corinne is ready to bump set the ball with Amanda ready for the kill. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram as their 2019 season progresses: @corinnequiggle and @adowdy11

The other team I'll be covering is Kim DiCello with Kelly Reeves. Their first game was against #7 ranked Brittany Hochevar and Carly Wopat. The first set ended at 21-19 with Kelly and Kim taking that set. The second set ended with a similar score of 21-17 with Kelly and Kim taking that set as well and knocking Wopat and Hochevar into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against #2 ranked Emily Stockman and Kelly Larsen. The first set ended at 21-13 with Larsen and stockman taking that set. The second set wasn't much better as it ended at 21-9, in favor of Larsen and Stockman. That knocked Kim and Kelly into the contender's bracket where they played the #5 ranked team of Terese Cannon and Irene Pollock next. The first set ended at 21-14 with Kim and Kelly taking that set. The second set ended at 21-19 with Cannon and Pollock taking that set and causing a third set. The third set ended at 17-15 with Cannon and Pollock taking that set and knocking Kim and Kelly out of the tournament.

 

Kelly is back to serve with Kim ready at the net. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram as they progress on their 2019 AVP season: @kellyreeves02 and @kimdicello

That concludes the women's side of the bracket from the 2019 AVP Seattle Open. Don't forget to tune in on Amazon Prim Video from August 16-18, 2019 or go to Manhattan Beach, California for the 2019 AVP Manhattan Beach Open for stop #2 of the Gold Series as well as stop #6 of the 2019 AVP season. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller

AVP Seattle 2019: Men's Tournament

Dear Readers~


From June 20-23, 2019 the AVP had their next stop of the 2019 season. This was stop #5 of the season and took place in Seattle, Washington. The Seattle stop was hard for so many since it was the first stop since the passing of AVP pro, Eric Zaun. In the end, the AVP did their best to make Zaun proud, and they succeeded. The two men's teams I decided to cover was Chase Budinger and his partner Casey Patterson as well as Chase Frishman and his partner Piotr Marciniak. Budinger and Patterson were ranked #4 while Frishman and Marciniak were ranked #9.

The first team I'll cover is Patterson and Budinger. Their first match was against #13 ranked Kyle Friend and Duncan Budinger, Chase's older brother. The first and second sets were  very close, since the two brothers get very competitive. The first set ended at 21-19 while the second set ended at 21-18. Patterson and Budinger won both set and knocked Friend and Budinger into the contender's bracket. If you don't know how intense the brotherly competition between Duncan and Chase is, board games were banned by their parents at a very young age. I wish I was joking but that's no joke. Go to the 5:15 mark of this video by Riley and Maddison Mckibbin from their vlog of the 2018 AVP Manhattan Beach Open: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82Kg9vwpFWg In Budinger and Patterson's next game they took on the #5 ranked team of Ed Ratledge and Rafu Rodriguez, the winners from the 2018 AVP San Francisco Open. The first set ended 21-17 with Patterson and Budinger taking that set. The second set ended 21-16 with Budinger and Patterson taking that set as well and knocking another team into the contender's bracket. Their third game of the tournament was against the #1 ranked team of Taylor Crabb and Jake Gibb. Both sets ended at 21-19 with Taylor and Jake taking both sets and knocking Casey and Chase into the contender's bracket. Their next game was against the #2 ranked team of Tim Bomgren and Troy Field. The first set was close, ending at 21-16 with Budinger and Patterson taking that set. The second set was even closer. That set ended at 28-25 with Budinger and Patterson taking that set as wll and knocking Tim and Troy out of the tournament. After winning that game, Budinger and Patterson were in the semifinals against the #3 ranked team of Jeremy Casebeer and Chaim Schalk. With this being the semifinals, you'll have to wait for the semifinals and finals blog to come out with that score.

Chase prepares to receive the ball as Casey gets ready for the set. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram as their 2019 AVP season progresses: @caseypatt and @budinger10

The next team on the men's side I'm covering is Frishman and Marciniak. Their first match was against the 8 ranked team of Sean Rosenthal and Ricardo Santos. The first set ended at 21-19 with Rosenthal and Ricardo taking that set. The second set ended similar at 21-18 with Rosenthal and Ricardo taking that set as well and knocking Frishman and Marciniak into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #16 ranked tam of David Lee and Raffe Paulis. The first set ended 21-19 with Lee and Paulis taking that set. The second set ended 21-14 with Frishman and Marciniak taking that set and causing third set to happen. The third set ended at 15-9 with Frishman and Marciniak taking that set and knocking Lee and Paulis out of the tournament. Their next match was against the #6 ranked team of Ryan Doherty and John Hyden. Both sets ended at 21-15 with Hyden and Doherty taking both sets and knocking Frishman and Marciniak out of the tournament. The pair left seattle with a 9th place finish.

Marciniak (sunglasses) and Frishman (back to camera) celebrate after a victory in Seattle. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram as the AVP season progresses: @chase_Frish and @piotrmarciniak_probeachvolley

That concludes the results of the men's side of the bracket. Stay tuned as the women's side will be out next followed by the semifinals and finals of both genders. Don't forget to mark your calendars for the 2019 AVP Manhattan Beach Open happening August 16-18. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller

AVP NYC 2019: Semifinals/Finals

Dear Readers~


If you've seen my previous blogs covering the men's and women's brackets of the 2019 AVP New York City Open, you'll know that from June 7-9, 2019 the AVP had their third stop of the 2019 season. On the men's side of the bracket, I covered Sean Rosenthal with Ricardo Santos as well as Avery Drost with Eric Zaun. On the women's side of the bracket, I covered Brooke Sweat with Brandie Wilkerson as well as Irene Pollock with Terese Cannon. Now it's time to start with the women's semifinal in New York.

The first women's semifinal had #1 ranked Alix Klineman and April Ross taking on #3 ranked Kelley Larsen and Emily Stockman. The first set ended at 22-20 with Kelley and Emily taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with April and Alix taking that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended at 15-13 with April and Alix taking that set and advancing to the finals.

The second women's semifinal had #5 ranked Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil taking on #2 ranked Sara Hughes and Summer Ross. The first set ended 21-12 with Kelly and Sarah taking that set. The second set ended at 21-13 with Kelly and Sarah taking that set as well and advancing to the finals to take on April and Alix.

The first men's semifinal had #7 ranked Tim Bomgren and Troy Field taking on #12 ranked Sean Rosenthal and Ricardo Santos. The first set ened 21-19 with Bomgren and Field taking that set. The second set ended at 21-19 with Bomgren and Field taking that set as well and advancing to the finals.

The second men's semifinal had #1 ranked Taylor Crabb and Jake Gibb take on #2 ranked Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena. The first set ended 25-23 with Taylor and Jake taking that set. The second set ended 21-16 with Nick and Phil taking that set and causing a third set. The third set ended at 18-16 with Phil and Nick taking that set and advancing to the finals to take on Bomgren and Field for the championship.

The women's semifinal had #1 taking on #5. The first set ended at 21-19 with April and Alix taking that set. The second set ended at 22-20 with April and Alix taking that set as well and becoming the 2019 AVP NYC Open champions on the women's side.

April (left) and Alix (right) are proud of their trophies from the stop in New York. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram to keep up with their 2019 season and beyond: @alixklineman and @aprilrossbeach (don't forget to follow their coach, Olympic Silver medalist Jennifer Kessy as well @jenniferkessy)

The men's final had #2 taking on #7. The first set ended at 21-14 with Phil and Nick taking that set. The second set ended at 21-16 with Phil and Nick taking that set as well. After only two sets, Phil and Nick became the 2019 AVP NYC Open champions.

Phil (right) and Nick (Left) smile big for the camera with their trophies from New York. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @phildalhausser and @njlucena as they keep traveling the world during their 2019 season

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That concludes the 2019 AVP NYC Open. Don't forget to mark your calendars for the next AVP event when it stops in Manhattan Beach, California August 16-18, 2019 for the 2019 AVP  Manhattan Beach Open, as well as gold stop #2 since New York was stop #1. Until next time, Miller out

~J. Miller

AVP NYC 2019: Women's tournament

Dear Readers~


In early June the AVP had their third stop of the 2019 season. I covered the men's side in my previous blog but now it's time to cover the women's side. The two women's teams I'll be covering are #8 ranked UCLA beach coach, Irene Pollock, and former USC beach player, Terese Cannon as one team while the other team is #7 ranked Brooke Sweat and Brandie Wilkerson. Up first will be Cannon and Pollock.

Their first match was against #9 ranked Brittany Howard and Katie Spieler. The first set ended 21-19 with Howard and Spieler taking that set. The second set ended at  21-18 with Cannon and Pollock taking that set and causing a third set to happen. the third set ended at 15-7 with Cannon and Pollock advancing while Howard and Spieler were moved to the contender's bracket. The next match for the #8 team was against the #1 team of April Ross and Alix Klineman. The first set ended 21-10 with Ross and Klineman taking that set. The second set ended 21-16 with Ross and Klineman taking that set as well and knocking Cannon and Pollock into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #11 ranked team of Geena Urango and Caitlin Ledoux. That game had some pretty close sets. The first set ended 21-19 with Ledoux and Urango taking that first set. The second set ended at 21-15 with Cannon and Pollock taking that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended at 16-14 with Ledoux and Urango taking that set and knocking Cannon and Pollock out of the 2019 AVP New York City Open.

 

Cannon (left) and Pollock (right) celebrate after winning a match at the 2019 AVP NYC Open

Now it's time to cover the #7 ranked team of Sweat and Wilkerson. Their first match was against #10 ranked Kelly Reeves and Allie Wheeler. The first set ended 21-14 with Sweat and Wilkerson taking that set. The second set ended at 21-18 with Reeves and Wheeler taking that set and causing a third set. The third set ended at 15-12 with Sweat and Wilkerson winning it and moving on while Reeves and Wheeler moved into the contender's bracket. The next game they played was against the #2 team of Sarah Hughes and Summer Ross. The firs set ended 21-11 with Ross and Hughes taking that set. The second set ended at 21-13 with Hughes and Ross taking that set as well and knocking Sweat and Wilkerson into the contender's bracket. Their next game was against #12 ranked Brittany Hochevar and Carly Wopat. The first set ended 21-15 in favor of Sweat and Wilkerson while the second set ended at 21-16 in favor of Sweat and Wilkerson, knocking Wopat and Hochevar out of the 2019 AVP NYC Open and advancing to the next game. Their next game was against #6 Karissa Cook and Jace Pardon, the winners from the previous stop in Austin. The first set ended at 21-15 with Cook and Pardon taking that set. The second set ended at 21-15 with Cook and Pardon taking that set as well and knocking Sweat and Wilkerson out of the 2019 AVP NYC Open.

 

Here is Wilkerson (front) and Sweat (back) in the ready position at the 2019 AVP NYC Open

That concludes two of the women's teams that competed in the 2019 AVP NYC Open. Stay tuned for the next blog covering the finals and semifinals of both the men's and women's brackets. Don't forget to tune in to the 2019 AVP Hermosa Beach Open in Hermosa Beach, California from July 26-28, 2019 either in person there in Hermosa Beach or on Amazon Prime. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller