Good morning, beach volleyball fans,
Or bom dia, as they say where I’m writing this, in our hotel in Joao Pessoa, Brazil, home of the most recent Elite16 event. Recency bias, potentially, but Kyle Friend and I were on the call for the final 12 matches of the event, and I’d put the men’s final, between Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, and Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, as a top-five match of all-time, and probably my No. 2. It was that good. If you don’t want to watch the full replay, here are the highlights. But I do recommend you watch the full replay, just as I do recommend you watch this week’s podcast, with rising Dutch stars Leon Luini and Ruben Penninga.
The week in SANDCAST Studios
This week’s podcast featured Leon Luini and Ruben Penninga, two of the rising stars in the Dutch federation who were in town for the Hermosa Open. While I was in Tallahassee, Kyle Friend and Tri Bourne sat down to chat about the differences between the USA and the Netherlands, the balance of being good friends and partners, the financial landscape of the sport, and a whole lot more. Enjoy, as we continue expanding to players outside of the US:
AVP League Report
The AVP League has two weeks remaining in its inaugural regular season. Interest no doubt received a boost when April Ross announced her expected retirement. This past weekend, they were in Oceanside, California, and here are the standings, which continue to be led, of course, by the New York Nitro’s Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander, and Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes. This upcoming weekend, they’ll be in Anaheim. Only the Nitro have officially clinched their spot in the playoffs, but it’s looking more and more likely that the top four teams will be:
- New York Nitro and its aforementioned players
- Dallas Dream (Andy Benesh, Miles Partain; Hailey Harward, Kylie DeBerg)
- Austin Aces (Kristen Nuss, Taryn Kloth; Billy Allen, Paul Lotman)
- Miami Mayhem (April Ross, Alix Klineman; Trevor Crabb, Theo Brunner)
In the hunt, sort of, are the LA Launch (Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles; Tim Bomgren, Troy Field) and the Palm Beach Passion (Melissa Humana-Paredes, Brandie Wilkerson; Phil Dalhausser, Avery Drost).
FUN NEWS! SANDCAST and Volleyball TV are partnering up. By the end of the year, the Road to Paris will feature highlights and clips from Volleyball TV to complement the coverage. Better yet: You can get 20 percent off your VBTV subscription if you use the code SANDCAST20.
News Around the Beach
- Joao Pessoa was a blast. Volleyball World is investing a bit into its coverage, which is why Kyle and I were out there, and why we’ll also be in Rio de Janeiro in a few weeks and Doha a few weeks after that.
- Meet Myriah Massey: World Champ. Part of my role at Florida State is to increase the visibility of the program, namely with features like this one on Myriah Massey, the first underage World Champ for the USA in a decade. Fun one with a young woman y’all should take note of.
- SANDCAST memberships are live. We’ve opened up memberships for anyone who wants to watch full podcast episodes on YouTube a day or two early.
- Coming up on Wednesday we brought on the second ref we’ve ever had on the show. Matt Levoe, one of the most respected refs in the business, chats at length about rules, the changing of the game, you name it. If you’re a member, you can already watch!
Much Love to the sponsors
We’re officially partnered with Better at Beach! Don’t know how this took so long, seeing the massive overlap between our audiences. So if you want to get Better at Beach, use our code SANDCAST for 10 percent off all of their products, from online classes to in-person camps and more.
We’ve been with Wilson Volleyball since day one, and we love the products they make — the best ball on the market, hands down, no questions asked. With season coming up, if you’re looking to get some new equipment, use our discount code: SANDCAST63 for 20 PERCENT OFF.
Introducing Balltime, the AI platform making breaking down film and statistics EASY (FINALLY!). Use our link for a discount and give it a try!
Need to get hydrated? Waiakea has all kinds of fantastic deals online, and good news for you (and us), you can get 20 PERCENT OFF using our discount code, Sandcast, at checkout. Aloha, y’all.
SANDCAST is fueled by a lovely mix of three main ingredients: We LOVE to do it, people enjoy listening to it, and sponsors fund our ability to do so. We only partner with sponsors we love, and we are so fired up to have Athletic Greens join the show! And they’re hooking up our listeners with a full year of Vitamin D for FREE, as well as five totally FREE travel packs!
Appreciate y’all for listening, reading, and loving the beach like we do.
Have a great week!
SHOOTS!
Tri and Travis (and Savvy)
