Less than a year before the 2016 Olympic Games, the US Beach Volleyball team was left with more questions than answers after competition concluded Sunday at the Long Beach Grand Slam.
Featuring many of the world’s top players, the Federation Internationale de Beach Volleyball (FIVB) Olympic qualifying event that was part of the six-day World Series of Beach Volleyball, culminated with gold-medal matches between men’s and women’s teams from Brazil and the United States.
The finals marked the 10th time in FIVB World Tour history that both the women’s and men’s gold medal matches featured teams from the South and North American countries.Â
After capturing gold medals at Long Beach in 2014, American men’s and women’s teams fell short this year but proved they will be in contention for gold when the Olympics begin in Rio de Janeiro in August of 2016.
While the tournament indicated who the top men’s and women’s teams will be to represent the United States, it also showed that it will be a dogfight for the second spots in each gender.
The Road to Rio is a difficult one as teams must finish in 12 FIVB Olympic qualifying events that began earlier this year and will conclude next spring, adding to the significance of this year’s  Long Beach Grand Slam.
The pro-USA crowd was excited to see the return of three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings who returned to the court after being sidelined for about six weeks after dislocating her right shoulder for the second time this season.
The Manhattan Beach resident and partner April Ross (Costa Mesa) gave a valiant effort in a 21-18, 21-16 loss to Brazilians Talita Antunes and Larissa Franca. It was the first meeting between the two teams and marked the fourth gold medal performance for the Brazilians this year.
It was the best finish for Walsh Jennings and Ross this season after placing third in Fuzhou, China, on April 16.
Despite being limited to serving underhand and forced to hit left handed with her best offense coming on defensive blocks, Walsh Jennings was pleased with the team’s silver-medal finish while learning lessons for future matches between the two teams.
Ross, who had won the Manhattan Beach Open the previous week with Jennifer Fopma, was a dominant force and was given the option of passing or hitting on two touches (rather than the usual three) if Walsh Jennings received the ball.
The Long Beach Grand Slam was the fifth FIVB Olympic qualifying tournament for Walsh Jennings and Ross, who had little time to rest before heading to Poland for the Olsztyn Grand Slam held Aug. 25 – 30.
Prior to returning to the United States for the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Sept. 29 – Oct. 4), the international circuit will stage Open tournaments in Sochi, Russia (Sept. 8-13) and Xiamen, China (Sept, 22-27).
While Walsh Jennings and Ross are clearly the top US women’s team, three teams that included three Hermosa Beach residents advanced to the 24-team Main Draw in Long Beach.
Placing 9th were Emily Day (Hermosa Beach)/Jennifer Kessy (San Juan Capistrano) and Brittany Hochevar (Hermosa Beach)/ Jennifer Fopma (Bellflower). Lauren Fendrick (Hermosa Beach) and an injured Brooke Sweat (Estero, Fla.) managed a 17th-place finish.
Day, a former standout indoor player at West Torrance High School and Loyola Marymount University, was supported by a vocal group of family and friends known as Em’s Entourage.
This is the first year the 28-year-old has partnered with Kessy, an Olympic silver medalist in 2012, and has high hopes of competing in the Olympics.
“We played better in Long Beach and were more focused but we were hoping to do better,” Day said. “We faced a strong German team but they were totally beatable and we just couldn’t close it out. I’m happy with the way Jen and I are progressing. We are defining what our team looks like.”
Day said after the Grand Slam event in Poland, the duo will likely play in two or three Open tournaments to help qualify for the Olympics.
“We’ll evaluate our situation at the end of the season and when the 2016 FIVB schedule is released to see where we stand. The second spot is wide open and I’m kicking myself in the butt that we haven’t closed it out yet.”
On the men’s side, defending Long Beach gold medalist Phil Dalhausser (Ventura) was forced to settle with silver this year. He and Nick Lucena (Santa Barbara) were coming off a victory at the AVP Manhattan Beach Open but were defeated by reigning FIVB World Champions Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt 21-16, 20-22, 15-13.
Similar to the women’s situation, the second Olympic spot for the men is up for grabs. Three other teams advanced to the Main Draw with John Mayer (Los Angeles) and Ryan Doherty (Fountain Valley) placing 5th, Tri Bourne (Redondo Beach) and John Hyden (Sherman Oaks) finishing in 9th and Sean Rosenthal (Hermosa Beach) And Theo Brunner (Ridgefield, CT.) placing 17th.
Based on FIVB points, American Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson were the tournament’s top seeded men’s team but failed to advance out of pool play.
The brainchild of Manhattan Beach resident and former AVP owner Leonard Armato, the World Series of Beach Volleyball is in its third year and continues to exemplify “All things beach.”
While the FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam was the marquee tournament, the beach culture known for its tanned bodies, music, sport and partying was celebrated during the six-day event.
Live radio broadcasts, including the Petro & Money Show on KLAC AM570, were held along the WSOBV featuring Heymous Molly, Holy Child, Hayley Orrantia, The Mowgli’s, Bahari, Danny Mercer, Radical Something, Adam Lambert, and American Authors.
A celebrity beach volleyball match benefiting Straight But Not Narrow (SBNN) was held on Center Court Sunday in between the women’s and men’s finals. The match featured Actor Josh Hutcherson, star of “The Hunger Games” film series, Aldis Hodge (Straight Outta Compton), Mark Foster (lead singer of Foster the People), Edwin Hodge (Die Hard, Chicago Fire, Purge) Terrell Owens (former NFL great) and other celebrities.
On Saturday, the popular 6-man tournament took place where weekend warriors competed alongside legends of the game as well as the next generation of beach volleyball stars.
Beach volleyball Hall of Famer and Manhattan Beach resident Holly McPeak’s team entered the women’s competition as defending champions but came up a little short despite having the services of three-time Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor.
McPeak and May-Treanor partnered for 18 tournaments during their careers.
“We got second but had a blast. The World Series of Beach Volleyball continues to get better and I love being a part of it” McPeak said. “It’s always fun playing with Misty. We were missing three key players, but I could have done a better job with the personnel we did have.”
McPeak’s squad lost to the National Volleyball League (NVL) team that was led by Hermosa Beach residents Chelsea Hayes, Nancy Mason Reynolds and Jenn Snyder.
As a coach, McPeak was on double duty as she had a group of young girls from Elite Beach Volleyball competing in the tournament. Along with beach volleyball legends Eric Fonoimoana and Barbra Fontana, McPeak serves a coach and mentor for rising stars at Elite.
“The Elite Beach Volleyball girls held their own,” McPeak said “I was proud of them.”
Also representing the South Bay was a large contingency on the Soho Yoga team that finished in third place. Sponsored by the Hermosa Beach yoga studio and Smack Sportswear, Soho was runner-up to McPeak’s team in 2014.
Soho team captain Nikki Jagd is an assistant varsity coach for the Mira Costa High School girls volleyball team and was looking for revenge.
“This is our ninth year together and started when I was playing indoor volleyball as a sophomore at UCLA,” Jagd said prior to the team’s first match. “We play in as many 6-man tournaments as we can. We won the Charlie Saikley 6-man in 2014 but lost in the finals this year, so another win would be nice.”
Manhattan Beach’s Kylie Atherstone is Director of Operations for USC’s men’s volleyball and women’s beach =volleyball teams and was playing in her first WSOBV 6-man tournament.
“It’s all about having fun but we want to win,” Atherstone said. “We love playing volleyball and hanging out with the girls. It’s a perfect combination.”
The team was led by Ali McColloch who, along with fellow Hermosa Beach resident Emily Stockman, had finished 33rd in the Long Beach Grand Slam after a fifth-place finish at the AVP Manhattan Beach Open the previous week.
McColloch was one of many talented athletes on the Soho squad that included USA National indoor team members Rachael Adams and Alix Klineman and former Mira Costa High School star Stevi Robinson.
Klineman, the 2006 Gatorade National High School Volleyball Player of the Year who led Mira Costa to three consecutive State and CIF titles, was relegated to the role of cheerleader while nursing an ankle injury that kept her out most of the indoor season.
“I have so many friends playing with Soho,” said Klineman, who plans to play professionally in Brazil next year. “I’ve been with Soho for eight years and, as much as I’d like to play, am here to support my girls.”
In men’s competition, the Barefoot Wine-sponsored and South Bay-based Zoolander team competed in appropriate modeling agency attire.
Redondo Beach resident Matt Wilkens (aka Matumbo) is an AVP and CBVA player when not teaching at Rolling Hills Prep.
“I played in Long Beach on the AVP tour but this is a first for me at this event,” Wilkens said. “We’ve got a solid team with players like Robb Shiltz, Justin Jones, Kenny Stein (aka Mugatu), Chris Griebenow (former Mira Costa star) and Brent Reger (former AVP player and Redondo Beach resident) who is a big bomber for us.”
The WSOBV also held the USA Volleyball Junior tour West Coast championships where four South Bay players took home gold medals.
The Manhattan Beach duo of Ava Gallien and Leah Kelly captured gold in the Girls 12-and-under tournament
Manhattan Beach’s Olivia Bakos teamed with Peri Brennan (Laguna Beach), to placed second in the Girls 14U competition.
Maddie Micheletti, of Hermosa Beach, won the Girls 16U championship with partner Gina Lipscomb (Yorba Linda) while University of Hawaii commit Presley Forbes, of Manhattan Beach, teamed with Teagan DeFalco (Huntington Beach), to win gold in the Girls 18U division.
