- Top-seeded Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss, Theo Brunner and Trevor Crabb breeze into semifinals after sweeping Saturday’s competition; defending champions Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles and Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander will fight for back-to-back titles
- Action resumes Sunday at 9:30 a.m. PT, with the men’s finals set for 12 p.m. and the women’s championship match at 1 p.m.
- Event being held at Manhattan Beach Pier; General admission is FREE, and premium seating options are available now atwww.AVP.com/tickets
- Manhattan Beach men’s and women’s winners will secure a berth in the AVP League launching September 14
MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIFORNIA (August 17, 2024) — As day two of the AVP Manhattan Beach Open concludes, all eight U.S. Olympians and both the men’s and women’s defending champions remain in contention, setting the stage for an exhilarating final day of action.
Top-seeded men Theo Brunner and Trevor Crabb continued their dominant run, securing their spot in Sunday’s semifinals with a commanding 26-24, 21-15 sweep over fourth-seeded Cody Caldwell and Seain Cook. Brunner and Crabb have yet to drop a set this weekend, showcasing their exceptional skill on the sand. While Brunner is gunning for his first plaque on the pier, Crabb is looking to secure his name on the Walk of Fame for the fourth time in five years.
In a battle of old versus new, 2024 Paris Olympians Andy Benesh and Miles Partain took down the legendary Phil Dalhausser and his partner Avery Drost, with a pair of close sets, 21-18, 21-19. They also sent the reigning Manhattan Beach Open champions, Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander, into the contenders’ bracket with a thrilling 21-16, 27-25 victory. Brunner and Crabb are set to face Crabb and Sander again in a rematch of last year’s epic “Crabb Boil.”
Paris Olympians Chase Budinger and Miles Evans, who fell to the contenders’ bracket on day one after a loss to Tokyo Olympian Tri Bourne and partner Ryan Wilcox, staged a dramatic comeback. They battled through four intense matches Saturday, taking down Lev Priima/Dylan Marek, Hagen Smith/Logan Webber, Phil Dalhausser/Avery Drost, and Cody Caldwell/Seain Cook to secure their spot in Sunday’s semifinals against fellow 2024 Olympians Benesh and Partain.
Paris Olympians and LSU duo, Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss, remain unscathed after day two of the Manhattan Beach Open. The top-seeded women opened the morning with a 21-17, 24-26, 15-12 victory over Toni Rodriguez and Geena Urango, and then continued onto the fourth round of the winners’ bracket to defeat fourth-seeded Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft, 21-16, 21-16. TKN will begin their day at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, in hopes of landing a spot in the Championship match at 1 p.m.
Defending Manhattan Beach Open champions Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles continued their quest for back-to-back titles, defeating Kimberly Hildreth and Teegan Van Gunst 21-14, 21-17, and edging out Savvy Simo and Abby Van Winkle 17-21, 21-18, 17-15.
With all eight U.S. Olympians advancing to the final day, fans can anticipate a thrilling conclusion to the AVP Manhattan Beach Open. Sunday will kick off with four semifinal matches. On the women’s side, Kloth and Nuss will face Rodriguez and Urango for the second time this weekend, while Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes will compete against Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles. For the men, Brunner and Crabb will take on Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander, and Benesh and Partain will battle Budinger and Evans.
Play at the AVP Manhattan Beach Open is set to begin Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and will run until approximately 2 p.m. at the Manhattan Beach Pier (100 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266), with the men’s final scheduled for approximately 12 p.m. PT and the women’s for approximately 1 p.m. PT.
General admission to the AVP Manhattan Beach Open is FREE every day, with the option to purchase premium seating for Sand Club, AVP 360, Courtside Boxes and Suites, all ranging in price. Tickets are available now atwww.avp.com/tickets/.
ION, a national entertainment, sports and live-event network that reaches every U.S. TV household through over-the-air TV, major pay and connected TV services, will broadcast the championship matches live from Noon-2 p.m. PT. Find ION in your area HERE.
The AVP Manhattan Beach Open features 32-team women’s and men’s fields competing in a double-elimination bracket across ten courts from Friday through Sunday. Each gender’s bracket consists of 16 teams automatically entered based on the AVP ranking points, four teams from the Denver Open Contender Event, four teams from the Waupaca Contender Event, and eight teams who earned entry through Thursday’s qualifier.
The AVP, the premier U.S. pro beach volleyball league, recently announced an expansion and evolution with the creation of the AVP League. The AVP League will launch with eight founding teams playing head-to-head in a regular season spanning September through November in 2024. Each team will be based in a home market including Los Angeles, San Diego, Austin, Dallas, Miami, Palm Beach, New York and Brooklyn. Each home market will have one starting men’s duo and one starting women’s duo. The top overall teams will then participate in an end-of-season championship.
