Local players excel on sand volleyball courts
Manhattan Beach resident Rob Mullahey digs a ball for teammate Davis Boehle, of Westchester, during the team’s gold-medal run in the Boys U12 division of the AAU California Regional Championships. Photo by Olivia Kestin
The next generation of beach volleyball standouts continue to show the prowess of the sport in the South Bay with 23 local players reaching the podium at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) California Regional Championship held Sunday in Manhattan Beach.
Manhattan Beach’s Rob Mullahey and Tanner Smith, of Hermosa Beach, won back-to-back local tournaments with their partners in the Boys U12 and U14 divisions, respectively.
The victory by Mullahey and teammate Davis Boehle (Westchester) followed their win at the AAU Southern Pacific Championships the previous week at Dockweiler Beach.
Winning bronze in the 12 division were J.P. Riley (Manhattan Beach) and Joe Kelley (El Segundo).
Smith and partner Louis Richard, of Los Angeles, won their second straight tournament by defeating Devon Burki (Torrance) and Vince Pizzuti (Redondo Beach). The Manhattan Beach team of Blake Markland and Matthew Reilly placed third after a second-place finish at the Southern Pacific tournament.
In the boys U10 division, Bobby Barkley (Manhattan Beach) and Sebastion Rodriguez (Hermosa Beach) won gold with Johnny Anselmo (Manhattan Beach) and Jadon Jones (Lakewood) taking home silver. Bronze medalists were Luke Sussman (Manhattan Beach) and Dane Johnson (Manhattan Beach.)
In the girls U10 division, Devon Chang (Manhattan Beach) and Cristina Baily (Huntington Beach) took top honors, defeating silver medalists Kelli Barry (Manhattan Beach) and Lea Ungar (Manhattan Beach).
Manhattan Beach residents Katie Barkley and Emma Smith won silver in the girls U12 competition, besting Skylar Morgan (Hermosa Beach) and Presley Forbes (Manhattan Beach).
Tanner Smith, of Hermosa Beach, handles a serve as teammate Louis Richard looks on. The duo won its second straight tournament in the Boys U14 division. Photo by Olivia Kestin
In the U14 age group, Lan Nguyen (Manhattan Beach) and Alexandra Espinosa (Sunnyvale) won gold, Mary Anselmo (Manhattan Beach) and Chrissy Jones (Lakewood) took home silver and Abril Bustamante (Redondo Beach) and Justine Wong-Orantes (Cypress) were bronze medalists.
There were 12 female medal winners at the Southern Pacific tournament played June 6, highlighted by the U10 division where Barry and Ivy Stevens (Manhattan Beach) edged Grayson Lynch (Redondo Beach) and Lindsay Kelly (Manhattan Beach) 28-24 for the gold medal.
In the U12 division, Morgan and Forbes finished second and the teams of Barkley/Smith and Jessica Seto (Redondo Beach)/Amanda Tsao (Manhattan Beach) won bronze medals.
The Manhattan Beach team of Kimby Keever and Mandy McKeegan won gold in the U14 competition.
In the AAU Los Angeles Open played at Dockweiler Beach, Manhattan Beach residents Roy McFarland and Sam Jones took home gold medals in the Boys U12 division.
In the U14 age group, it was nearly an all-South Bay presence on the podium. Smith and Richard won the gold, Pizzuti and Sam Caldwell (Hermosa Beach) took home silver medals while Blake Markland (Manhattan Beach) and Jake Feder (Hermosa Beach) placed third for the bronze.
Local girls had a strong showing sweeping the U10 and U16 divisions and nearly the U14.
Bronze medalist Skylar Morgan, of Hermosa Beach, dives for a dig in Girls U12 competition at the AAU California Regional Championships. Photo by Olivia Kestin
Members of the top three teams in the U10 divisions all reside in Manhattan Beach. Kelly and Grace Kastner won gold, Amber Wall/Jamie Ungar captured silver and Shelby Selvert/Sadie McMillen won bronze.
In the U14 age group, the Redondo Beach team of Abril Bustamante and Kelley Henderson captured gold, Kelly Byrne and Grace Campbell (both of Manhattan Beach) finished with silver medals and Jackie Dye (Manhattan Beach) and Haley Martin (Long Beach) placed third.
The Palos Verdes Estates team of Kelly Johnson and Kennedy McGrath took top honors in the Girls U16 division while Sam Rummans (El Segundo) and Riley O’Connell (Manhattan Beach) won silver.
Bronze medal winning teams were Alaina Stevenson (El Segundo)/Dani Garcia (Torrance) and Sydney Amaral (El Segundo)/Andrea Gonzalez (Redondo Beach).
USC-bound Falyn Fonoimoana (Hermosa Beach) partnered with former Mira Costa teammate JoJo Schnabl to win gold in the U18 division.
Redondo Union High School sophomore Tiffany Morales won the silver medal along with teammate Alexa Strange, of San Clemente. ER