Five days of elite beach volleyball competition began and ended with local players winning championships at the USAV high Performance National Championships held in Hermosa Beach.
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 with a 21-17, 21-16 win against Hope Sabater, of Lomita, and Elise Guerrand-Hermes (Santa Barbara).
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.”
The duo has formed a solid partnership and plan to play in both the 14s and 16s at this week’s AAU West Coast Junior Olympic Games in Hermosa Beach July 20-23.
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.
On Sunday, Manhattan Beach’s Dane Johnson 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 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.
Lossone and Brown will represent the U.S. as its No.1 team at the FIVB U19 World Championship to be held July 27-31 in Larnaka, Cyprus.
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.
Results are available at teamusa.org.
