Good afternoon (or evening, to you East Coast folks and European devotees) beach volleyball fans!

What a wild and wonderful past three weeks it has been in the beach volleyball world. Two countries — the Maldives and United Arab Emirates — have hosted beach volleyball tournaments for the first time, and they have been quite friendly to our struggling American men (your podcast hosts are included in those aforementioned struggles).

Two weeks ago in the Maldives, a breathtaking postcard of a venue, Troy Field and Chase Budinger (classified as a four-star and above in the erstwhile star system, or a Challenger or Elite 16 in the new system) since Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena did so in the spring of 2019, in Doha. Field and Budinger have since fallen on hard times, losing four straight matches in Dubai, failing to break pool in both.

But you know who hasn’t fallen on hard times? Virtually every other American team out there. Andy Benesh and Miles Partain, that young Jedi returning the Force to American beach volleyball, , breaking a three-year gold medal drought for American men in major tournaments. It could have been an all-American final, but Evan Cory and Logan Webber fell in three in the semis to Ukraine, then in three again in the bronze medal match to Brazil. A fourth is still a career-high for the rookies.

The women, meanwhile, were equally impressive, as Katie Horton and Julia Scoles, thrown together at the last moment,

That was last week, and after an entire day of rest, everyone got back to work. Taylor Crabb and Paul Lotman qualified (again) and then won their pool. Benesh and Partain survived a three-set scare against Field and Budinger to barely break pool. Cory and Webber are out, losing both matches on Friday. And the women continued being their usual, badass selves. Every single team broke pool, although everyone should be at least mildly concerned about the status of Savvy Simo’s soul, as she appears to have made a deal with the Devil in Dubai, TWICE winning the lucky loser to break out of the qualifier. Either she sacrificed a goat, her firstborn child, or her eternal salvation, but she’s back in the ninth-place rounds with Deahna Kraft, as the women’s partnership carousel rotates faster and faster by the weekend.

Whew.

Ok.

So that’s for the Maldives and Dubai and all of Volleyball World for now, although the Cape Town Elite 16 is hovering around the corner, and there’s a surprise team entering the mix there ???? Stay tuned.

On the road again

Tim Brewster is not in Dubai, but he is about to hit the road once again, extending his breakout rookie season. And why shouldn’t he? He’s already won his first international medal (a silver in Cuba with yours truly) and his second (gold in the Dominican with Kyle Friend) and his third (another gold in Nicaragua with Friend). May as well make it three golds in four weeks, as he and Friend are heading back to the Dominican next week for another NORCECA. We had Brewster on the podcast this week, and you can:

Speaking of hitting the road, Molly Turner, , dropped some tips on , balling on a budget while traveling the world. It’s good stuff.

Surprise, surprise…

Kerri Walsh Jennings, arguably one of the greatest athletes across all of sport, . Shocker, we know. Walsh Jennings’ accolades as an individual are, literally, longer than most entire federations’.

And she might not be done, either. As good as our American women are, we’re a defender-heavy federation, with only two, maybe three, if we’re stretching it, elite blockers on the Beach Pro Tour. Don’t be surprised if you see Walsh Jennings’ name popping up as the partner shuffle begins in earnest for Paris 2024…

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Much Love to the sponsors

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Appreciate y’all for listening, reading, and loving the beach like we do.

Have a great weekend, all.

SHOOTS!

Tri and Travis (and Savvy, who may or may not have made a deal with a Dubai Devil)