A Most Inspired Event
Good afternoon, beach volleyball fans,
And greetings from somewhere in the air, on an airline I didn’t know existed until today (LOT), flying from an airport I didn’t intend on flying from (Krakow), into an airport I didn’t intend on flying to (Chicago), on an itinerary that’s been slapdashed together sometime around 4:30 this morning (Krakow to Chicago to Charlotte to Tallahassee).
Oh yes, it’s been a day, friends.
One that has included, believe it or not, going to the wrong airport at 4 in the morning. Even for me, that’s a shocker. But, of course, when travel goes awry, it reminds me of my good friend, Eric Zaun, who would have been delighted to join me on my winding day thus far. Reflective, with plenty of time on my hands during the extra six hours at the *checks notes* correct airport, I had time to reflect on my old friend, whom I love subtle — and not so subtle, in the case of today — reminders of.
So, my first international trip of the year, to the Ostrava Elite, the Iron Major of the Beach Pro Tour, has both gone swimmingly and not.
Let’s dive into the swimmingly portion of things.
As you can see from the photo above, Ostrava is an absolute scene, with 4,000 fans packing that center court arena from the qualifier day to the finals.
How could they not? They were treated to the unlikely finals run of Ondrej Perusic, the retired-but-not-so-retired dad now working a full-time job, and his breakout partner, the indefatigable Jiri Sedlak. After coming back to beat Andy Benesh and Taylor Crabb in the semifinals, they made it one last valiant run in the gold medal match, where, alas, they were thwarted by Sweden’s David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig, who have now won three straight golds in Ostrava. The win makes it five consecutive years in which they have won multiple gold medals, a ludicrous streak of success given they’re still just 24 years old, and also four straight Elites that have been won by Scandinavia in 2026.
In bronze, for the second time this season, were Andy Benesh and Taylor Crabb. Unbelievably, this is the second bronze they’ve won without actually playing. Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan forfeited both the semifinals and the bronze medal match after a horrific-looking injury to Cherif. The injury, for now, is an adductor and ab strain, though the severity of it won’t be known until Cherif gets checked out in Doha.
For Crabb, it’s the first time he’s won multiple medals in a season in his career, while Benesh’s run of success in Ostrava continues: That’s his third bronze at the Iron Major.
On the women’s end, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson alas won an elusive gold medal outside of Canadian soil. Prior to Sunday, their only Elite golds have come in Montreal, in 2023 and 2025. Finally, they did it in Europe, sweeping a renewed Dutch team in Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon. It’s wonderful to see Stam healthy again after taking most of 2025 off, for both physical and mental reasons.
Thamela and Victoria made their first podium of the season, sweeping Cinderellas Leona Kernen and Joana Mader to clinch a bronze. It was no easy path to the semis for Kernen and Mader, who became the latest team to upset Kelly Cheng and Megan Kraft in the first round of playoffs — the third straight such result for Kraft and Cheng, who remain 2026’s most puzzling team. Now 12-0 in pool play, Cheng and Kraft have now lost three straight elimination matches. The gap between their overall record (15-4) and their results (one bronze, three ninths) is the strangest in beach volleyball at the moment.
My gut still says it’s only a matter of time before the breakthrough is made, and they are, perhaps, ringing cowbells back to LAX in July. My brain remains curious as to why this continues happening.
For another team, Kristen Cruz and Taryn Brasher, it was only a matter of time before someone beat them. That time was Saturday afternoon in Ostrava, when Stam and Schoon snuck one out in three, 15-17. It halted their win streak at 18 matches and two gold medals.
Soon, they’ll be on a new streak, no doubt.
For the rest of Ostrava, we’ll have a recap video up on YouTube that I shot Sunday evening with Denise Austin as soon as Wi-Fi allows.
On domestic soil, the AVP League began in Belmar, New Jersey, long a traditional stop for beach volleyball that hasn’t seen much action outside of a Great American Volleyball (GAV) event in quite a while.
Maddie Anderson and Alaina Chacon of the LA Launch made quite the entrance, knocking off both AVP League wild cards in Toni Rodriguez and Molly Shaw of the New York Nitro, and Geena Urango and Megan Rice of the San Diego Smash.
You already know I will make mention of the fact that they are both FSU alums.
Go Noles, baby.
On the men’s end, the team who is no longer a team, Chase Budinger and Miles Evans, look like the happiest bunch of exes you’ve ever seen, winning both of their matches for the San Diego Smash, against Hagen Smith and Logan Webber, and Evan Cory and Derek Bradford.
The latter finished 0-2, dropping their other match to the pseudo-retired dad with a full-time job of the U.S. in Theo Brunner and Chaim Schalk.
Brunner was subbing in for James Shaw, who was very much not in Belmar but in Ostrava, finishing ninth with Miles Partain, who will do his League play with Paul Lotman (confused yet?). Schalk and Brunner finished 1-1 in another showing of exes still being perfectly compatible.
Week 2 of the League will take us to Aspen, Colorado, while the Beach Pro Tour will take a breather.
Moving on.
