The 2010 AVP Nivea Tour, held by AVP Pro Beach Volleyball, continued the excitement of the pro beach volleyball season with the third tour stop in Huntington Beach, CA.
From June 3-6, 2010, the Huntington Beach event was held at South Side of Huntington Beach Pier in Southern California. A crowd favorite of the AVP, Huntington Beach is one of the more popular stops on the AVP tour for both players and spectators.
Some of the best pro beach volleyball athletes in the world delivered intense competition at the AVP Nivea Tour in Huntington Beach, CA.
Kessy/Ross Defeat Top-Seeded May-Treanor/Branagh in Huntington Beach
Jen Kessy and April Ross won a surprising victory in the women’s competition by defeating top-seeded Misty May-Treanor and Nicole Branagh 2-1 (14-21, 21-12, 15-11). Kessy and Ross came into the Huntington Beach event as the tournament’s second seeds.
The win at the Huntington Beach event was Jen Kessy and April Ross’ first AVP Nivea title of the 2010 tournament series. As Southern California natives, the win was especially meaningful to both players.
Huntington Beach, Manhattan and Hermosa are known as the three big tour spots in the AVP Pro Beach series of tournaments. According to Ross, “We’ll take any win… but its super tough in Southern California. Everyone wants to win here”.
The results of the semi-finals brackets leading up to the final match were:
- Jen Kessy and April Ross defeated Rachel Scott and Elaine Youngs (21-9, 21-11)
- Misty May-Treanor and Nicole Branagh defeated Angie Akers and Tyra Turner (21-15, 21-17)
Rogers/Dalhausser Win Men’s Volleyball Match over Scott/Hyden
The men’s pro beach volleyball competition at the AVP Nivea Tour in Huntington Beach was won by Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser. Rogers/Dalhausser defeated Sean Scott and John Hyden in the finals 2-1 (21-16, 18-21, 15-9).
This win was the fourth Huntington Beach Open victory for the dynamic team of Rogers and Dalhausser in the last five years of pro beach volleyball tournaments with the AVP. As former Olympic Gold Medalists (2008 Bejiing Olympics), the unstoppable duo has already won two matches on the AVP tour this season.
Highlights of the men’s volleyball competition include dominant serving by Phil Dalhausser throughout the matches. According to Rogers, due to Dalhausser’s serving “you almost force the other team into a transition set, because they just dug the ball, and now they’re trying to scramble and transition”. Dalhausser’s impressive serving led to four aces in the final match.
The results of the semi-finals brackets leading up to the final match were:
- Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser defeated Casey Patterson and Kevin Wong (21-19, 21-15)
- Sean Scott and John Hyden defeated Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal 2-1 (21-18, 18-21, 15-13)
AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour Upcoming Events and Tournaments
There will be tournaments held in 12 U.S. cities throughout 2010 during the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball 2010 tournament season. The next stop on the AVP Nivea tour will be June 18-20 in Virginia Beach, VA.
In the meantime, nine of the U.S. beach teams will be traveling to Russia to compete in the Moscow Grand Slam as part of the SWATCH FIVB World Tour. Already in the women’s main draw are Kessy/Ross, May-Treanor/Branagh and Akers/Turner. They will be joined by Rogers/Dalhausser, Gibb/Rosenthal and Jennings/Keenan already in the men’s main draw for the Moscow pro beach volleyball competition.
Sources: AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, Inc., USA Volleyball
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Diane Seltzer - Diane is a branding, pr and social media marketer with experience ranging from advertising to corporate marketing and consulting.
