Young volleyball players find gold on the sand in Hermosa
Manhattan Beach’s Olivia Bakos passes to Peri Brennan during the AAU West Coast Junior Olympic Games. The pair won a championship for the second consecutive weekend. Photo Manhattan Beach’s Olivia Bakos is not one to rest on her laurels. The up-and-coming beach volleyball player is constantly looking ahead while attempting to improve with each tournament, even if it means playing against girls two years older. Bakos’ partnership with Peri Brennan, of Laguna Beach, is paying dividends. After the duo won the 15U division at the USAV High Performance National Championships the previous week, they returned to Hermosa Beach last Wednesday to compete in the AAU West Coast Junior Olympics – one of the largest youth beach volleyball tournaments in the country with approximately 320 teams. On Thursday, the team had little difficulty winning the gold medal in the 70-team girls 14U division defeating Ava Guerra (Santa Monica) and Jessica Smith (Laguna Niguel) 21-10 in the championship game. It was a proud day for twin sisters Lee Bakos and Lisa Gallien as their daughters each won medals. The Manhattan Beach tandem of Ava Gallien (Olivia Bakos’ cousin) and Leah Kelly won bronze medals…
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