First-time winners celebrate on the sand
Emily Day blocks Summer Ross en route to winning her first AVP Manhattan Beach Open championship. Photo
From seasoned veterans to the next generation of beach volleyball stars, many players enjoyed first time wins in prestigious tournaments held on South Bay beaches.
A reunion of former teammates helped ease the pain of not qualifying for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games when Emily Day and Brittany Hochevar won their first AVP Manhattan Beach Open title in dramatic fashion.
Seeded sixth, Day and Hochevar upset top seeds Lane Carico and Summer Ross 21-16, 19-21, 19-17 in a classic match that had 11 ties in the third set.
“Winning the Manhattan Beach Open has always been a goal of mine so this is the highlight of my career so far,” Day said. “It’s an amazing feeling to be with all of the other elite players,. I’m very honored..”
The Manhattan Beach Open celebrated its 57th year and the crowd in the packed stadium erupted on nearly every point with Torrance native Day (West High) and Manhattan Beach’s Carico (Mira Costa) each having numerous friends and family members in attendance.
Day said her group of supporters, known as Em’s Entourage, totalled at least 45 people including family and friends from middle school and high school.
“It was so much fun celebrating with them at Shellback Tavern after the match,” Day said. “It was special being at the Championship Table.”
For Day and Hochevar, the win marked their first AVP title together after teaming for a few tournaments in the past, but the championship did not come easy.
The pair had to fight their way out of the Contender’s Bracket after losing to Olympians and third seeds Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat.
In a semifinal showdown between the two men’s teams representing the U.S. in the Olympics, Phil Dalhausser re-injured a calf he had hurt earlier in the season during international competition.
With the Rio Games only three weeks away, he and partner Nick Lucena felt it better to be safe than sorry and decided to forfeit the match to Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson.
Gibb and Patterson advanced to the finals defeating third-seeded Tri Bourne and John Hyden 17-21, 21-18, 16-14 to claim the men’s championship.
Bourne, a Redondo Beach resident, was seeking his first Manhattan Beach Open title win while Hyden, the oldest player on the AVP tour at the age of 43, was aiming for his third championship of the tournament.
The victory marked the third Manhattan Beach Open title for Gibb but first for Patterson who, after scoring the winning point, immediately ran into the front row of seats to join beach volleyball legends such as Tim Hovland, Jim Menges, Steve O’Bradovich and Randy Stoklos, indicating that his name will be placed on the pier among the greats of the game.
Between the men’s and women’s finals, Todd Rogers was honored, as the 42-year-old known as “The Professor” had announced his retirement prior to the tournament. He and partner Stafford Slick finished seventh at this year’s Manhattan Beach Open.
The National Volleyball League returned to Hermosa Beach for its West Coast Championships won by the men’s and women’s teams of Dave Palm/Eric Zaun and Raquel Ferreira and Karolina Marciniak, respectively.
The summer also included the annual costume-clad themed tournaments of Smackfest and the Charlie Saikley 6-man events along with the 48th annual Seawright beach volleyball tournament.
The Schneider family was seeking its first title at the event since their father Bob won the second tournament in 1969. The family erupted in celebration after the team defeated a strong opposition led by Chase Burlinger to claim the championship of the event held July 16 in Hermosa Beach.
The champions — Lee LeGrande, Nick Schneider, Timmy Schneider, and Steve Micks — were also playing in memory of Doug Schneider, who died in a dirt bike accident in 2014.
Celebrations were not limited to the adults as Hermosa Beach hosted three youth tournaments for elite athletes.
In July, The Amatuer Athletic Union (AAU) held its Junior Girls National Championships followed by the West Coast Junior Olympic Games.
More than 320 teams from 25 states and three countries competed in the National Championships, where the South Bay had its best showing in the 12U competition when Serena Ramirez (San Pedro) And Hope Sabater (Torrance) held off Savannah Standage (Redondo Beach) and Adonia Faumunia (Torrance) 21-18 in the championship game. Standage was forced to settle for silver after winning the gold medal in 2015.
Manhattan Beach’s Ava Gallien and Leah Kelly took home bronze medals in the 14U division and Malyssa Cawa (Rancho Palos Verdes) and Summer Suppik (Redondo Beach) won silver in the 19U age group.
At the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships, five days of elite beach volleyball competition began and ended with local players capturing championships.
The first titles were determined on Thursday when Manhattan Beach’s Kelly Belardi and partner Mari Wright (Westlake Village) won the Girl’s U13 championship.
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
In the Girl’s U15 division, Manhattan Beach’s Olivia Bakos and Peri Brennan, of Laguna Beach, dominated the competition defeating Kate Reilly (Manhattan Beach)/Makenna Gaeta (Santa Monica) 21-16, 21-14 in the championship match.
Redondo Beach’s Ryan Griffiths and Calista Wright (Westlake Village) placed third in the U15 division.
“Winning the HP champs was one of the many goals I wanted to accomplish this summer,” said Bakos who, along with Brennan, is on the USAV A1 U15 National Team. “This was my first year being apart of the USA National Team and it was a fantastic experience. The coaching was amazing and I enjoyed playing with my teammates. Peri and I work together like we’re one person; therefore everything is in sync when we play. We have a really good balance between hitting and shooting the ball which makes it difficult for the other team to read what we’re doing.”
In the Men’s U19 competition, former Redondo Union High School standout Lucas Lossone was golden, teaming with Aidan Brown, of Albuquerque, N.M., to defeat a team from Arizona 21-18, 21-19 in the finals.
“It means a lot to win the tournament. It shows that all the hard work we put into training throughout the year has payed off,” Lossone said. “The competition was tough at some points. Canada was a somewhat difficult match. They took on a different playing style at the end of the games and we had a hard time adjusting.”
Lossone and Brown represented the U.S. at the FIVB U19 World Championship held July 27-31 in Larnaka, Cyprus.
Dane Johnson, of Manhattan Beach, added another title to his successful young career capturing the Boys’ U17 championship with partner Jason Gibbs of Texas. The duo held off John Schwengel and Jerod Nelson 29-27, 15-21, 15-11 in one of the most exciting matches of the tournament.
In Men’s U23 action, Manhattan Beach’s Colin McCall and Jackson Bantle (Pacific Palisades) won gold with a 22-20, 21-5 victory over Killian Richardson (Texas)/Jacob Thibodeau (Huntington Beach). McCall, who played for Vistamar High School in El Segundo, is a member of Stanford’s indoor volleyball team.
In the Boy’s U13/U15 competition, Hermosa Beach’s Luke Turner and partner John Ziska (Odessa, Fla.) finished second dropping a hard-fought 21-14, 21-18 battle against Grant Strong (Clearwater, Fla.) and Samuel Walton (Newport Beach).
Redondo Beach’s Abril Bustamante and partner Kaity Bailey, both members of the USAV A1 U21 team, placed third after losing to eventual champions Kamila Tan (San Diego)/Delaney Knudsen (Valencia) who are on the A1 U23 team.
At the AAU West Coast Olympic Games, Balos and Brenna captured the gold medal in the 70-team girls 14U division then, the following day, moved up one age group to win bronze in the 16U division.
Also winning gold medals were Kyla Doig, of Hermosa Beach, and Jaden Whitmarsh (San Diego) in the 16U and Kelly Belardi (Manhattan Beach) and Savannah Standage (Redondo Beach) in the 12U
In the only boys division of the tournament, Hermosa Beach’s Luke Turner and partner Miles Partain (Pacific Palisades) captured the 15U title with a 21-10 victory over Mark Marolda (Hermosa Beach) and Clarke Godbold (San Pedro).
Mira Costa dominated the beach volleyball competition at its 2nd annual Girls High School Pairs Tournament held Feb. 28 at the Rosecrans courts in Manhattan Beach. Pictured left to right are: Silver medalists Avery Hazelrigg and Emma Smith, champions Maddie Micheletti and Sunny Villapando along with bronze medalists Kelli Barry and Lea Ungar. The Mustangs began their quest for a fourth consecutive Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League (IBVL) title last Saturday. Photo by Roland Villapando
On the high school level, Mira Costa swept the boys and girls titles of the Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League.
In May, Mira Costa’s Emma Smith and Piper Monk-Heidrich won the IBVL Pairs Championship then led the Mustangs to their fourth consecutive team title with a win against Laguna Beach.
In October, Mira Costa’s boys team defeated Santa Monica to win its first IBVL title while dethroning rival Redondo who had won two of the previous three.