TALLAHASSEE, Florida – Andy Benesh was on his honeymoon when his new relationship started.
He was on a train from Tokyo to Kyoto, napping alongside his new bride, Deahna Kraft, when a message on his phone woke him up.
It was Taylor Crabb.
“What are your plans for next year?” it read. “If you’re open to switching up partnerships, let’s meet up.”
Benesh was open. His three-year partnership with Miles Partain, which saw them shoot to the top of not only the USA rankings, but the Beach Pro Tour world rankings, had run its course. So when Crabb, still arguably the best defender in the United States, and certainly one of the most talented players in the world, reached out, Benesh was “super fired up,” he said on this week’s SANDCAST. “It was a cool text to get.”
In early January, they met at Martha’s in Hermosa Beach. Not exactly the most secret location to form a seismic new partnership that altered the landscape of USA Volleyball – “there were no paparazzi,” Benesh joked, which Crabb followed with “we got a room in the back,” so the joking chemistry is already on point – but they ironed out their vision, their goals, and left agreeing to take a week to think about it.
In the meantime, Benesh’s phone was blowing up with virtually every potential player who could reasonably play with him. Blockers. Defenders. Left sides. Right sides.
He was the singular player around which the USA beach volleyball ecosystem revolved.
His mind and gut always came back to Crabb.
“It didn’t take me too long to think about it,” he said. “The conversation flowed really well. Our priorities really aligned. We both saw the vision on the court and having fun off the court. That’s a big factor, too. I’m super fired up. I’m really excited to see what we can do on the court. We think about the game very similarly too. The wavelength on everything seems to fit naturally.”
The partnership makes sense in virtually every aspect, both tangibly and intangibly. In Benesh, you have the best blocker in America, a 6-foot-9 dynamic athlete who gives even the best players in the world fits. In Crabb, you have one of the quickest, most intuitive defensive players in the world. In Benesh, you have a left-side player who has a proven ability to option well; in Crabb, a player who can excel on both the right and left and control the ball to make that option a devastating weapon.
Crabb’s excellent late season stretch with his brother, Trevor, in which he finished fourth at the Newport Elite, fifth at the Itapema Elite, and tacked on a win at a NORCECA in Suriname, loaded him up with Beach Pro Tour points in a season mostly devoid of international travel. Benesh’s entry points are boosted by two ninths and a 17th at the World Championships. They are signed up for the Joao Pessoa Elite on March 11-15 and, if nothing changes, they’ll be seeded directly into the main draw.
“Taylor is such a good profesional,” Benesh said. “I’m not worried about him showing up, ready to play. When it’s go time, it’s go time.”
