It has been 254 days since the last AVP event, Championship Sunday at AVP Chicago. That day, Trevor and Theo would get their second AVP win as a team, following a win at AVP Hermosa earlier in July. They beat Chase Budinger and Miles Evans in the semis and then Andy Benesh and Miles Partain in the finals to take first, Trevor’s second consecutive Chicago open victory.
On the women’s side, Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss beat Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes in the semis and Melissa Humana-Parades and Brandie Wilkerson in the finals to win their second consecutive Chicago Open.
Bet The Beach was on the scene, deleting Kona Big Wave tall boys in the beer garden, taking it all in. Easily our favorite event of the year!
In two days, the qualifiers start at the AVP Huntington Beach Open. 32 teams per gender will hit the sand looking for three consecutive wins and the privilege to play more volleyball when the sixteen team main draw action starts Friday morning. There have been a few drop-outs on the entry list on the men’s side since last week, so let’s first take a look at the main draw list for both genders.
Notably absent on the men’s side are the three men’s teams vying for the 2024 Olympics in Paris later this summer. Miles Partain and Andy Benesh, having already locked up an Olympic spot, dropped off the list a few weeks ago, likely looking for more rest prior to the final two Elite 16’s of the year in Espinho and Ostrava.
The second Olympic spot for the USA on the men’s side is still very much up for grabs between Trevor Crabb/Theo Brunner and Chase Budinger/Miles Evans. Chase and Miles are currently in the Dominican Republic competing in the NORCECA Continental Tour Finals. Trevor and Theo are resting, practicing, and preparing for the final 3 Beach Pro Tour events of qualification.
So, while the women’s side is a murderer’s row of 4 of the best 6 or 8 teams in the WORLD, the men’s side is noticeably WIDE open. The favorites to win are Taylor Crabb/Taylor Sander (+200), who won their first Manhattan Beach Open last August. Right behind them are Tri Bourne and Chaim Schalk (+400), who just last week announced they’re dropping out of the Olympic race and re-setting their focus on the AVP season. Tri and Chaim’s best result in a Heritage (Gold) Series event was a 4th last season in Atlanta, though they did take second last season at Huntington Beach. Avery Drost and Phil Dalhausser, coming off their best result as a team in Chicago last season, a 4th, are right behind Tri and Chaim at +500 to win.
If you’re looking for a value pick on the men’s side, I like Cody Caldwell and Seain Cook at +800 to win it all, or Alison and Evan Cory at -105 to finish top 4.
On the women’s side, I’ll be VERY interested to see how Alix Klineman and April Ross look, making their return to the sand as a team for the first time since winning AVP Chicago in fall of 2021. I think they’re a good option to double up your money at -105 to finish top 4. Long shots are tough, since the field is so strong, but I wouldn’t be afraid to sprinkle a bit on Hailey Harward and Kylie Deberg at +200 to finish top 4 as well.
I would be remiss to not address the question that is peppering the comment section of AVP’s recent posts:
And my answer… we still don’t know. I’ve reached out to several contacts and contact channels at the AVP and will provide any updates I receive here. Until then, we can only speculate.
Last year, matches were shown on Bally Live, TSN (in Canada), ESPN+, and ESPN2. Bally Live is still an active platform, available on the App Store and Google Play, for those that live in the USA. Management of the AVP appears to have changed slightly, but we understand that Bally’s still owns a majority of the company and it is not unreasonable to expect that they will still try to push AVP matches to their own in-house platform.
Last year, I was very critical of the AVP when, during the Manhattan Beach Open, the finals were broadcast on ESPN2. Having already downloaded Ballys Live and paid for an ESPN+ subscription, the AVP then switched to ESPN2 for the finals, forcing us into a YouTube TV subscription to see Taylor and Taylor win it all. Not ideal to force your fans into three different platforms and pay out in two different places to consume your content.
Previous streaming vehicles for the AVP were YouTube and, before that, Amazon Prime. Both were popular among AVP fans for their accessibility and high production value. For now, let’s hope that this new management team, that has shown some initiative since announcing the new league, has plans to simplify its broadcast delivery plan. Tune in to Bet The Beach Live, this Wednesday 9p ET, 6P PT, where we’ll discuss all this and more.
Chris DeTurk – May 14, 2024
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