Beach volleyball’s best arrive for AVP Tour’s Manhattan Beach Open
The AVP Tour makes its annual stop in Manhattan Beach this weekend for the AVP Gold Series Manhattan Beach Open with refreshed competition. None of the teams in the event, which will run from Friday through Sunday, have previously won a championship in Manhattan Beach.
The Manhattan Beach Open is considered “the Grandaddy of them all” and is the beach volleyball equivalent of Wimbledon or the Super Bowl. It first began in the 1960s and has featured Olympic gold medalists like Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh Jennings, April Ross, Alix Klineman, Karch Kiraly, Kent Steffes, Dain Blanton, Eric Fonoimoana, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers.
This year’s double-elimination tournament will feature 32 men’s and women’s teams at Manhattan Beach Pier. Both groups will be playing for a $300,000 purse and a spot on the pier’s Walk of Fame.
Trevor Crabb, a Long Beach State alumnus, is seeking his fourth straight Manhattan Beach Open title, and will be playing alongside Theo Brunner. The No. 1-seeded pair plays its first match at 9 a.m. on Friday.
Crabb and Brunner won the AVP Hermosa Beach Open in early July, beating Taylor Crabb (Trevor’s brother) and Taylor Sander in the championship match.
“You can’t really take plays off against these teams,” Trevor Crabb told the Daily Breeze after the win. “You have to play at a high level if you want to win these tournaments.”
Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb are the reigning Manhattan Beach Open champions, but will be playing against each other this time around. Bourne’s partner is Chaim Schalk, who previously represented Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and Crabb’s is once again Taylor Sander, who switched from indoor to beach volleyball in 2022.
Sara Hughes and Kelley Kolinske are the reigning women’s champions of the tournament, but only Kolinske will be competing this year. She’ll be paired with Hailey Harward, a USC alumna.
Kolinske beat Kelly Cheng and Betsi Flint for the 2022 Manhattan Beach Open title. She won a separate AVP championship with Flint in 2015. Flint is also competing in this year’s tournament and is a Loyola Marymount beach volleyball alumna and current assistant coach.
Flint and her partner, Julia Scoles, enter this weekend’s event as the No. 1 seed. Scoles is a USC alumna who was a two-time Pac-12 All-Conference First Team honoree.
Corinne Quiggle and Sarah Schermerhorn are coming off an AVP Hermosa Beach Open championship and are the No. 2-seeded team for Manhattan Beach. Quiggle is a Pepperdine alumna and Schermerhorn was the 2019 AVP Tour Rookie of the Year.
“Only 2 more sleeps until (AVP) MBO!!! So excited for this one,” Quiggle posted on Instagram on Wednesday.
Admission is free for the entire weekend event with VIP ticket options available for purchase. Friday and Saturday’s matches begin at 9 a.m. and Sunday’s are slated to begin at 11 a.m.
There is a chance of rain on Sunday as a result of Hurricane Hilary’s projected path along Mexico, but matches will continue in the rain as long as lightning is not in the area.
AVP Gold Series Manhattan Beach Open
When: 9 a.m. Friday-Sunday
Where: Manhattan Beach Pier
TV: ESPN+