Phil Dalhausser didn’t waste much time. Just moments after winning his sixth Manhattan Beach Open title on August 20, he pointed to the front row of the stadium, where Tim Hovland was seated, and said “That six, Hov!”
Six indeed.
One more than Hovland, who won five consecutive Manhattan Beach Opens with Mike Dodd. No matter if his five MBO titles have been surpassed by the Thin Beast, Hovland remains a legend, having formed one half of one of beach volleyball’s greatest teams alongside Dodd.
Listen in as he joins the Paper Courts podcast, discussing the golden era of beach volleyball, the Manhattan Beach Open, and where the sport is headed. Catch all other podcasts on iTunes.
Author, journalist, podcast host, and broadcaster, Travis Mewhirter has written 4 number-one bestsellers — including Kings of Summer: The Rise of Beach Volleyball, alongside Olympic gold medalist Kent Steffes. He has also written award-winning features, including a package at the Northwest Florida Daily News that earned him Sports Writer of the Year, and a heartfelt story on the late Eric Zaun in Volleyball Magazine, which was an honorable mention in the 2020 Best American Sportswriting.
Following the passing of Eric Zaun, Mewhirter, alongside Jon Mesko and Katie Spieler, founded the Eric Zaun Award, which has raised more than 25 thousand to fund beach volleyball players.
Mewhirter now devotes most of his time to playing and covering beach volleyball, via his podcast: SANDCAST: Beach Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, as well as writing for Volleyball Magazine and commentating on Volleyball TV. Mewhirter and Bourne have written two books together: Volleyball for Milkshakes, and Playbook of Champions, both of which were number-one best-sellers.
