Volleyball Clubs Camps and Beach

lildum — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:06:16 +0000

Nicole Branagh and Misty May-Treanor win bronze at the Beach Volleyball World Tour event held in Norway.

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/u-s-takes-beach-bronze/122kkriz

-MSN Video

Americans celebrate Independence Day with dual bronze medals in Norway

lildum — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:55:48 +0000

In another long weekend on the FIVB Tour, this time in Stavanger, Norway, AVP stars Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers celebrated Independence Day with their first bronze medal of the season. Dalhausser and Rogers lost early on day one for the second straight international event and perhaps this latest upset was just too much to overcome in pursuit of their fifth FIVB title of the year.

Case in point: their surprising three-set loss in the semifinals against Germans David Klemperer and Eric Koreng, a team they previously owned a perfect record against at 5-0, whom they’ve never even lost a set to, which can only be explained by fatigue. And not in years have Dalhausser and Rogers played as many matches in a two-week stretch as they did to end the month of June. After an uncharacteristic loss in the second round in Prague, nine matches were necessary for the reigning Olympic gold medalists to return from the dead and win; and in Belmar, six matches were required to emerge victorious, under what can only be described as extreme heat and humidity.

At some point, the extended travel and endless competition was going to eventually catch up with them, and from the looks of it, that point was coincidentally the same day our nation celebrated its independence. But as evidenced by their drubbing of the Spaniards, Adrian Gavira Collado and Pablo Herrera, 21-17, 21-16, in the bronze medal match later that day, Dalhausser and Rogers were able to find a second wind when they needed it to remain on the podium for an unprecedented sixth time this season. Look for similar results this coming week as big Phil returns home to his birth country of Switzerland for the 1to1 energy Grand Slam in Gstaad.

As for our other men’s teams in the draw, Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena continued their roller coaster season with a fantastic fifth-place finish that ended with a tough three-set loss to Spain in the quarters. This weekend will be the real test for Fuerby and Lucena as they determine whether the championship-winning team we saw in Virginia Beach can perform at the highest level more than one weekend in a row. And it all starts with two extra matches in the qualifier Wednesday morning.

As for Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, another taxing weekend on the FIVB, culminating in their third 17th-place finish of the season, may prove to be a sign of things to come. At some point, this team is going to need to sit down and have a conversation about its future. As good as both Gibb and Rosenthal are as individual players – each has a stellar resume, including their epic Olympic run in ’08 as partners – neither player enters the draw with hope of finishing in the top 10; instead they expect to. And never before this moment has there ever been a time when those expectations weren’t met on a consistent basis. Is Rosenthal still bouncing back from the wrist surgery? Is it still too soon to panic? Perhaps on both; but their long, difficult weekend in Belmar, where they finished in fifth place after a loss to Aaron Wachtfogel and Billy Strickland in the quarters, certainly didn’t leave spectators thinking this was a team on the up-and-up. Only the two athletes in question have the power to right the ship and fortunately for them, their next opportunity is only days away.

Casey Jennings and Brad Keenan also finished the tournament at a disappointing 17th place, especially after considering their spectacular run to the semifinals at the last Grand Slam in Moscow. Unfortunately for them, they ran into a red hot Norwegian team early in the elimination bracket that was on its way to the finals against Germany. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to play them in their home country as they rode the wave to their first FIVB championship match appearance. Jennings and Keenan will also look to rebound in Switzerland this week and hopefully see a more favorable draw after pool play.

For the women, the bronze medal was won by a relatively new recipient. Not that the winningest women’s player in history, Misty May-Treanor, is any sort of stranger to the podium, or her partner Nicole Branagh, but the two of them had never been on the medal stand together. After a closely fought two-set loss to Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca in the semifinals, May-Treanor and Branagh bounced back to defeat newcomers Lenka Hajeckova Felbabova and Hana Klapalova of the Czech Republic, 21-12, 16-21, 15-8, in the bronze medal match. The more I have watched these two play this season, the more impressed I am with their steady improvement. Expect additional great results as they continue to hit their stride.

The biggest surprise in the women’s draw came at 9th place in the elimination bracket when eventual gold medalists Juliana and Larissa battled with defending champions Jen Kessy and April Ross and sent them home without a medal for only the second time this season. Unfortunately for the Americans, their upset loss in pool play to Austria set up the eventual match-up between the world’s two top-ranked teams well before their normal meeting place in the finals. Kessy and Ross are just too good for 9th place to become a regular fixture on their score card, but every team experiences a lull at some point. How they bounce back from what they consider to be a disappointment is the only real question mark moving forward. My guess is a little rest will do the both of them wonders, and I expect nothing less than a podium in Gstaad.

Speaking of disappointments and surprises, our other regular top five finishers, Angie Akers and Tyra Turner, experienced a bit of a lull themselves in Norway. Only theirs took place before pool play even culminated. Failing to advance out of pool for the first time this season, Akers and Turner finished in 25th place. No doubt in my mind that result is an aberration, and one that won’t appear again with their names next to it for the rest of the year.

Our fourth American women’s team, Lauren Fendrick and Ashley Ivy, ran into a bit of a tough road as well. After advancing from pool play, they faced the No. 3 seeds, Talita Antunes and Maria Antonelli, in the first round of the elimination bracket. After a tough, three-set battle, they eventually fell, 11-15 in the third, and finished at 17th place. Their road begins tomorrow morning in the Swiss qualifier.

For tournament results throughout the week, click here for men and here for women. And as always, expect a full recap next Monday of all your favorite AVP stars on the international stage.

-Hans Stolfus

-Posted by Achieve Volleyball Club

Why San Diego’s beach community stands apart from the rest

lildum — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:49:11 +0000

As defined by my good friends at Dictionary.com, a “community” is a group of people having common interests or living in one locality, and “religion” is a belief in and worship of a God or other superhuman agency.

Therefore, by definition, the beach volleyball community is what can only be described as a “religious community.” Simply put, beach volleyball players gather in the same locale to pay homage to the same deity: the sport of beach volleyball. In fact, I’ve oftentimes referred to our community as a fun-loving cult; welcome to not only the exceptional athlete seen on ESPN2, but also the weekend warrior and sub-marginal Tuesday afternoon “bumper” who locks in an entire Sunday’s worth of DVR programming just to ensure they don’t miss a single spike. And nowhere is the power of this community more ubiquitous than the fine city of San Diego.

Sure, Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach have volleyball communities that literally dominate the volleyshere – living legend Brent Frohoff is actually ordering his Cafe Latte right now 12 feet to my right at the Starbucks on Manhattan Beach Blvd.; that’s difficult to top – but while MB and HB are hubs of pros and “status,” they’re far less inclined to open their arms to the occasional “hack” and hand them a cheap beer, trust me.

San Diego, on the other hand, is all for one and one for all – at the unfortunate risk of quoting D’Artagnan in The Three Musketeers – so, when I was cordially asked what my plans were for the 4th of July holiday, there was only one direction I could honestly go to truly appreciate the three day weekend and beach community in its finest form: south. Fortunately, my six years in “America’s Finest City,” from’98-‘04, still warrant enough street cred to secure two bar stools at the ‘Comber on a Saturday night. Or, perhaps those stools were merely awaiting patrons due to the foulest smell in the history of smells emanating from the adjacent floor? But that’s neither here, nor there.

They say a man can never truly go home, and although I didn’t grow up in San Diego, 5840 Lauretta St. represents more to me than just the address of an old dingy apartment without heat, air conditioning or legit cable television that I used to call home. What takes place when I return to San Diego is something I really can’t describe in words. I try – all the time, in fact – and yet, up to this point, I’ve been 100 percent unable to adequately summarize my feelings after stepping foot back on the glorious sands of Cohasset in South Mission Beach. I suppose it’s a strong sense of familiarity that helps establish a person’s true identity; a convergence of kindred spirits for the soul to ultimately relate to, and for me, that “community” of like-minded beings just so happens to reside in San Diego.

Unfortunately, I only seem to venture 77 miles south on the 5 freeway when a special occasion arises, and although Independence Day would appear to big enough to warrant a trip on its own, this particular outing took more than the annual celebration of our nation’s freedom to get me behind the wheel.

Spectacularly good friend and AVP pro Beth Van Fleet recently accepted a coaching position at her alma mater, Georgia State, with the intention of simultaneously earning her master’s degree while coaching the indoor volleyball team in preparation for heading the Panthers’ sand program in 2012. Yes, that’s right, as far as I can tell; Van Fleet is the first official sand coach to be hired in America, and she couldn’t be more excited about it. A couple years down the road, yes, but the track has been laid and all she has to do now is follow the rails.

What this news ultimately means is her time in San Diego has come to a close, and a going-away party at the famed Beachcomber Saturday night was most definitely the only way to send her out in style.

End scene.

Actually, that’s merely where the scene began. Mark Antis held his annual 4th of July beach volleyball tournament the following day in Pacific Beach and the community came together once again. Did the marine layer ever clear? No. Did it ever get above 58 degrees? No. But none of that matters when a volleyball community such as Van Fleet’s comes together for another spectacular weekend to share the sport they love. And for every Saturday and Sunday over the years that Beth was able to hang and play the game with friends that eventually became her West Coast extended family, she made the San Diego beach community even stronger. Our only job now is to wish her luck as she attempts to transplant some of that commonality, camaraderie and solidarity back east to The ATL.

When’s my next trip to SD? Not soon enough. But rest assured, I’ll be visiting old friends at the beach, older friends at the Beachcomber, younger friends at a new bar downtown called Analog (owned by former first-rate volleyer Matt Spencer) and any friends that can hang Sunday morning at the Hash House for the best brunch on earth. Wait, what am I doing Saturday again?

-Hans Stolfus

Posted by ClubBeachVolleyball.com

Volleyball: Misty May’s Growing Popularity

lildum — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:06:05 +0000

It felt, she said, “like someone had hit the back of my foot with a baseball bat.” Misty May-Treanor’s tenure on Dancing with the Stars came to a sudden and stunning end Friday after she ruptured her Achilles tendon rehearsing the jive. “I heard this ‘pop’ and then when I tried to put weight on my left foot, there was nothing there,” says May-Treanor. “My foot didn’t feel like it was even attached.”

But the two-time Olympic beach volleyball champion’s Dancing days are not necessarily over for good. Setside sources tell TV Guide that the door is wide open for May-Treanor to return to the parquet at a future date. “I hope I get another shot,” she says. Given that she’ll need almost a year to recoup, that could bring her back next year, perhaps for Season 9.

If that happens, her partner is ready to sign her dance card again. “I can’t say anything, and I don’t know what they’re doing,” says Maksim Chmerkovkiy. “But if it’s true, there’s nothing in the world that would stop me from coming back to dance with her.”

Chmerkovskiy was of course on hand when May-Treanor’s Achilles tendon gave in. “I heard the pop,” he says. “You didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that this was bad.”

Even a world-class athlete can be reduced to tears when an injury is that severe. “I cried for about three minutes when we were putting ice on it, and then again at the hospital,” says May-Treanor, “because I didn’t want to let people down. I felt so bad for Maks, who had put so much time into my training.”

For the next few hours, May-Treanor endured excruciating pain and the realization that her Dancing run was over. “I was so bummed because I thought we were gonna kill it in the jive on Monday,” she says. “This was going to be our breakthrough week.”

That sentiment was echoed by Spice Girl Mel B., who had stopped by Misty and Maks’ rehearsal studio earlier in the week to help Misty break out of her shell. “Everybody says I always dance with my game face on,” says May-Treanor, “and that I don’t look like I’m having fun.” So Mel B. put Maks in a clown suit and painted a clown face on him, and the two women laughed at him for the rest of the rehearsal. “She had the dance down for sure,” says Mel B. “She just needed to let go and laugh.”

But on Friday night, rehearsing in the tennis shoes that would become part of her jive costume, the left shoe stuck on the ballroom floor and the tendon gave way. “Usually, when I hurt myself, it’s just, ‘Tape me up, coach. I’m ready to go back in.’”

Not this time. May-Treanor will go into surgery Tuesday in Orange County, and is facing nine long months of physical rehabilitation. “I’ve been talking about taking some time off,” she says. “Now, I have to.”

May-Treanor says the Long Beach home she shares with her husband, Florida Marlins catcher Matt Treanor, has become a haven for the walking wounded. “My husband just had an operation for a sports hernia last week,” she shares, “so new we’re both out of commission.”

- Deborah Starr Seibel

- Posted by Club Beach Volleyball

Volleyball: Ross and Kessy Win Southern California with Win in Huntington Beach

lildum — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:55:17 +0000

April Ross didn’t want to leave the winner’s podium.

The Newport Harbor High grad and Costa Mesa resident wished to relish the moment, her moment, the one that finally belonged to her and teammate Jennifer Kessy.

“I’m tearing up,” she told a crowd of about 3,000 at center court Sunday, site of the Assn. Volleyball Professionals Nivea Tour Huntington Beach Open, presented by Bud Light Lime. “I don’t want to get down. I don’t want the moment to end.”

What Ross and Kessy — another Orange County product from San Clemente — did end Sunday was futility in the Southland. The two have four AVP tournament titles to their credit, but none had come in Southern California.

That was put to rest against the women’s top-seeded team.

Ross and Kessy rallied from a game down in the women’s final against Misty May-Treanor (Long Beach) and Nicole Branagh (Torrance) to have the final say, as they scored the final five points of the decisive third game to win the match, 14-21, 21-12, 15-11, at the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier.

“I can’t even put into words how I feel,” Ross said. “We wanted so badly to win this. It’s super-tough to win in Southern California. Everyone is from here, everyone trains here and everyone has family here. So, everyone wants to win here.

“This is what I call the ‘Grand Slam’ of the AVP, here, Manhattan and Hermosa. I’m just so happy right now.”

The women’s finale pitted Ross, who is in her fifth season on the AVP, against fellow Newport Harbor alum May-Treanor, who had won five of the previous six times she played in Huntington Beach. May-Treanor and Branagh, who were playing for just the sixth time together, gave props credit to their opponent.

“We had our chances, but they made some big plays,” May-Treanor said. “We had tough matches throughout the entire tournament and we know how tough they (Ross and Kessy) are.”

May-Treanor and Branagh had little trouble in the first game. The teams were tied at 6 but May Treanor and Branagh began to pull away when May-Treanor stuffed Ross at the net to give her team a 16-10 edge. They ended up winning the first game on a hit out of bounds.

The teams switched roles in the second game. Ross and Kessy steadily pulled away after the teams were tied at 6. Holding a 12-9 lead, Kessy delivered a kill and Ross followed on next serve with a diving dig, got up and ended up scoring on a soft drop to extend the lead to 14-9. Consecutive kills by Ross and Kessy and a block of Branagh at the net by Ross pushed the lead to 20-11.

In the deciding game, May-Treanor and Branagh led much of the way and Ross finished it up an ace to end it. “We’re two Orange County girls who have dreamed of winning in Huntington,” Kessy said. “Our wish came true.”

In the men’s final that followed, top-seed Todd Rogers (Solvang) and Phil Dalhausser (Ventura) needed three games to get past No. 2-seed Sean Scott (Redondo Beach) and John Hyden (Sherman Oaks), 21-16, 18-21, 15-9. Dalhausser had four aces in the match.

Rogers and Dalhausser have won the Huntington Beach Open four of the last five years. Sunday marked the 39th AVP victory for the 2008 U.S. Olympic gold medalists.

-Mike Sciacca

-Posted by Club Beach Volleyball

Volleyball: Youth Beach Volleyball Gains Popularity

lildum — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:41:59 +0000

Beach Volleyball is become one of the fastest growing sports. It has gained much support along the southern California coast as well as the other states such as Texas and Florida and the rest of the world. American Volleyball Professionals, AVP, is gaining more support with sponsorships and fans which is shown by their huge crowd turnouts at every one of their tournaments as well as their new title sponsor NIVEA. The beach volleyball momentum is spreading to youth volleyball players. Beach Volleyball Clubs are sprouting up all over southern California. There are a lot of great youth beach volleyball organizations like CBVA, USA Beach and AAU. Club Beach Volleyball events are unique because players represent their beach/indoor clubs and are part of a bigger family in their club. The Club Beach Tour organizes beach volleyball tournaments for youth boys and girls club volleyball players in Southern California. Tournament locations include Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Beach, Malibu, Palos Verdes, San Clemente, San Diego, Santa Monica, Long Beach and Santa Barbara and we have future prospects of offering locations in volleyball powerhouses such as Texas, Wisconsin, and Florida. Club Beach Volleyball draws youth club volleyball players from all over southern California and Nevada. The Club Beach Volleyball along with other youth beach volleyball programs will spread the excitement of beach volleyball and give the amazing sport even more support and popularity.

-Steven

Volleyball: AVP Huntington Beach Tournament Top Seeds Still Alive

lildum — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:51:13 +0000

The semifinal matches for the AVP NIVEA Tour Huntington Beach Open Presented by Bud Light Lime have been set, and the top two seeds in both the men’s and women’s brackets are still alive.

Top-seeded women Misty May-Treanor/Nicole Branagh and second-seeded Jen Kessy/April Ross will play in opposite semis Sunday at 8:45 a.m., while top-seeded men Phil Dalhausser/ Todd Rogers and second-seeded Sean Scott/John Hyden will play in opposite semis at 9:15 a.m.

Gates open Sunday at 7:45 a.m. for the tournament site just south of the Huntington Beach Pier. Sunday’s women’s final is scheduled for 11 a.m. and will be televised live on ESPN2. The men’s final will follow at 1 p.m. and will be shown live on ABC. Tickets are available on-site or at online here.

May-Treanor/Branagh battled to a 19-21, 21-18, 15-13 win over eighth-seeded Brooke Hanson/Lisa Rutledge in their first match Saturday. They then topped fourth-seeded Jenny Johnson Jordan /Annett Davis, 21-16, 21-18, to secure a spot in the semis. They will face sixth-seeded Angie Akers/Tyra Turner in their Sunday semifinal.

Kessy/Ross rolled past seventh-seeded Angela Lewis/Priscilla Lima, 21-18, 21-9, and then beat sixth seeded Angie Akers/Tyra Turner, 21-14, 21-13, to land in the semis. They’ll face third-seeded Elaine Youngs/Rachel Scott for the chance to play in an AVP final for the first time this season.

Dalhausser/Rogers lost the first game of both their Saturday matches, but bounced back to beat eighth-seeded Casey Patterson/Kevin Wong, 20-22, 21-14, 15-11, and upend fourth-seeded Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal, 20-22, 21-14, 15-9. They will meet eighth-seeded Casey Patterson/Kevin Wong in Sunday’s semis.

Scott/Hyden beat 10th-seeded Pedro Brazao/Fred Souza, 21-14, 21-17, and then dispatched sixth-seeded Casey Jennings/Brad Keenan, 21-18, 18-21, 15-13. In their Sunday semifinal, they will face Gibb/Rosenthal.

- AVP Press Release

- Posted by Achieve Volleyball

Volleyball: Huntington Beach AVP Tournament Men’s Results

lildum — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:44:43 +0000

Men’s Final

On the men’s side, the numbers go Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers’ way in three of four major categories from their 21-16, 18-21, 15-9 finals victory over John Hyden and Sean Scott. Dalhausser accounted for four of the six aces in the match (and also three of five service errors). He also threw down six of eight blocks in the match. Rogers led all men’s finalists with a .465 hitting percentage and 23 kills. Dalhausser, Hyden and Scott all posted sub-par hitting percentages (.217, .304 and .195, respectively).

Hyden did post a match-high 16 digs.

Men’s Stats

Finishes

Unlike the women’s side, plenty of surprise finishes made things interesting in the men’s bracket.

For starters, eighth-seeded Casey Patterson and Kevin Wong gelled together for the first time this season and placed third — their only losses came to eventual champions Dalhausser and Rogers. Matt Prosser and Eyal Zimet, seeded 14th, took an impressive fifth. Out of the qualifier, Daniel Dalanhese and Bryan Stewart took the 29th seed in the Main Draw and finished ninth. Russ Marchewka and Ty Tramblie also finished ninth after entering as the 18 seed. Another team from the qualifier, Adrian Carambula and Matt Henderson, finished 13th. Kevin McColloch and Jon Mesko, seeded 22nd, took 13th.

On the flip side, third-seeded Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena suffered their worst AVP finish as partners by taking 13th. Seth Burnham and Aaron Mansfield, seeded 30th, started Fuerby and Lucena’s downward spiral with a major upset win in the first round. John Mayer and Jeff Nygaard, seeded seventh, finished 17th.

Aces

McColloch posted the most aces per game, 1.11, with 10 in nine games. Ty Loomis and Scott Lane each averaged one ace per game (Loomis in six games, Lane in five).

Hitting Percentage

Mike Morrison hit .549 with 45 kills. Carambula nearly matched that, with a .539 hitting percentage on 49 kills. McColloch rounds out the top three with a .519 percentage on 65 kills.

Blocks

Dalhausser was the story at the net, stuffing 35 shots in 15 games for a 2.33 average. Morrison and Andrew Fuller each averaged two blocks per game (Morrison with 12 blocks in six games; Fuller with 10 in five).

Digs

Mansfield came out of the qualifier to lead all men in digs per game with 6.86, 48 digs in seven games. Ryan Mariano dug 6.27 balls per game with 94 in 15; Mayer’s 37 digs in six games gave him an average of 6.17.

-Matt Landes

-Posted by Club Beach Volleyball

Volleyball: Huntington AVP Tournament Women’s Stats

lildum — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:44:11 +0000

Finishes

As far as women’s results go from a seed/finish standpoint, not too many surprises shook up the bracket in Huntington Beach.

The top eight seeds all advanced to the quarterfinals in the winner’s bracket. Seventeenth-seeded Christal Morrison and Jennifer Snyder took a ninth-place finish; conversely, Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik placed 25th as the 14 seed.

Aces

Erin Gray led the way in aces per game with 1.86 (13 in seven games). Katie Jameson, formerly known as Katie Lindquist, posted a 1.30 average with 13 aces in 10 games. Right behind her was Ross, who served up 16 in 13 games for a 1.23 average.

Hitting Percentage

Ross’ .609 hitting percentage on 90 kills led the women’s field this weekend. Her partner, Kessy, hit .517 en route to 76 kills. Jameson ranked among the leaders in hitting percentage as well, going .516 with 54 kills.

Blocks

Defensively, Lisa Rutledge once again dominated the blocking category. She blocked 21 shots in 12 games, for an average of 1.75. Dianne DeNecochea finished with 20 blocks in 15 games for a 1.33 average; Annett Davis and Jennifer Fopma each blocked 12 balls in 11 games for a 1.09 average.

Digs

Rutledge’s partner, Brooke Hanson, led all women in digs per game with 7.08 (85 in 12 games). Paige Jensen dug 34 balls in five games for a 6.80 average, edging Brooke Sweat’s 6.78 average with 61 digs in nine games.

Women’s Final

lildum — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:41:55 +0000

Aces and service errors in the women’s final serve as a prime example. April Ross and Jen Kessy, 14-21, 21-12, 15-11 winners, combined for five aces and seven errors — not a great ratio at face value. But they were fortunate to make five of the miscues in a Game 1 defeat and rallied to rip four of their aces in their 15-11 Game 3 triumph over Misty May-Treanor and Nicole Branagh. (From 11:30 a.m., post-Game 1 update below: “Kessy and Ross must find their serves if they are to turn it around”—they did just that, as shown by the stats.)

Defense also played a role, as Ross’ three blocks led all women’s finalists. Ross also tied with Branagh to post a match-high three blocks.

May-Treanor’s 11 kills don’t jump out as shocking, but her .688 hitting percentage was extremely efficient. Jen Kessy may have been the biggest offensive force, hitting .500 while crushing a match-high 19 kills. Kessy and Ross held Branagh to a .265 hitting percentage. As a reminder, hitting percentage is calculated by subtracting errors from kills and dividing that number by attacks.

-Matt Landes

-Posted by Club Beach Volleyball