If ever there were a beach volleyball team in need of some positive momentum, it is Savvy Simo and Abby Van Winkle.
On Saturday in Huntington Beach, for the second straight year, they had their AVP League hopes slammed shut by the same team, in the same haunting fashion: a three-set, win-and-you’re-in-lose-and-you’re-out loss to Hailey Harward and Kylie DeBerg. This came on the heels of a three-set loss in the finals of a qualifier two weeks before, one which, had they been on the other side of the 16-14 third set against Julia Donlin and Lexy Denaburg, would also have earned their spot in the League.
Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Not in 2024 nor in 2025. A morale boost was needed.
Who knew they’d find it in China?
There was little time for Simo and Van Winkle to mourn their loss in Huntington Beach. On Sunday evening, they were bound for a flight to Xiamen, China, where they were seeded sixth in the qualifier. An entry list populated by just 38 teams made for a first-round bye for Simo and Van Winkle. Main draw required just a single win.
They wasted no time in attaining that win, taking just 29 minutes to blast Canada’s Amy Ozee and Kaylee Glagau, 21-8, 21-12, punching their ticket to their second main draw of the season.
They’re joined in the main by fellow Americans Piper Ferch and Madison Shields, who fended off Carly Kan and Devanne Sours, 21-18, 16-21, 15-12. It is their second straight international main draw, following up on a seventh during November’s Nuvali Challenge in the Philippines.
USA Volleyball now boasts seven women’s teams in the main draw, an impressive show of force as various pairings vie for a spot in November’s World Championships in Adelaide, Australia. Already in the main draw are No. 3 Donlin and Denaburg, No. 7 Devon Newberry and Jaden Whitmarsh – themselves heartbroken by a narrow miss on the AVP League – No. 13 Toni Rodriguez and DeBerg, and No. 15 Xolani Hodel and Deahna Kraft.
The USA Volleyball men have three teams in the main: No. 19 Chase Budinger and Miles Evans, No. 21 Hagen Smith and Logan Webber, and No. 28 Tri Bourne and Evan Cory.
Derek Bradford and Jordan Hoppe were the only USA Volleyball team to compete in Wednesday’s qualifier, falling to Adrian Heidrich and Jonathan Jordan of Switzerland in the final round.
