Photographer Rick Atwood was in Frisco and a gallery of his finest pictures observe. Click on on any photograph to view full measurement and you should definitely give him credit score if you happen to share.
The San Diego Smash cashed their long-shot ticket, vaulting from final place within the standings to a spot within the playoffs within the closing two AVP League weekends.
The Smash had lurked at 2-6, seemingly out of sight and out of thoughts, within the League cellar for 4 consecutive weeks, sitting idle for the center month of the sequence’ eight-week schedule.
However once they lastly hit the sand once more, the Smash’s duos of Chase Budinger–Miles Evans (4-4) and Geena Urango-Toni Rodriguez (4-4), produced dynamic outcomes. They received three of their 4 matches throughout Week 7 in Anaheim, California, elevating them into the postseason hunt.
Within the League’s eighth and closing cease on the Comerica Middle in Frisco, Texas, over the weekend, the Smash put collectively one other 3-1 effort to complete 8-8. That earned them the fourth and closing spot within the semifinals, which can be contested on Saturday night time (Nov. 9) on the Dignity Well being Sports activities Park in Carson, California.
How becoming that on the weekend the thoroughbred Breeders’ Cup extravaganza was raced “the place the surf meets the turf” at historic Del Mar, the beach-volleyball crew representing close by San Diego closed like champions down the stretch.
The opposite crew to qualify for the semifinals, the Dallas Dream, would have rewarded the chalk gamers. With Miles Partain and Andy Benesh placing the ending touches on an undefeated common season, the Dream received three of their 4 matches to land the No. 2 seed at 11-5. The Austin Aces (7-9) and LA Launch (5-11) noticed their postseason hopes dashed, each going 1-3.
The surging Smash gained stable footing on Saturday night time when savvy veteran Urango and the bubbly Rodriguez clawed to a 12-15, 15-11, 16-14 victory over Hailey Harward and Kylie Deberg of the Dream.
Consecutive aces by the 6-foot-1 Rodriquez bought the Smash off to a roaring 4-1 begin within the second set. After the Dream duo knotted the rely at 7, the Smash scored “actual” factors on two extra service winners by Toni and an assault error by Deberg. The Dream have been unable to chop onto that four-point cushion.
Geena and Toni constructed a 10-5 benefit within the tiebreaker, however up-and-comers Harward and Deberg wouldn’t go down quietly, ultimately drawing even at 14 when Hailey dug Urango and scored in transition down the road with a shot that clipped the tape. Nonetheless, Harward despatched a float serve simply lengthy and Geena closed the present with an ace down the center.
“Toni is the yin to my yang, so it’s an superior stability,” Urango stated, because the ever-smiling Rodriguez chimed in, “I find it irresistible!”
Budinger and Evans fell sufferer to Partain and Benesh 15-12, 16-14 in a match pitting 2024 USA Olympians. The second set was nip-and-tuck all through with a kill on a second-ball choice by Chase tying it at 14. Evans then crashed into the online, incurring a violation, in making an attempt to deal with a good third ball, and Budinger waffled a spike lengthy on the choice for the ultimate nail within the coffin. The 6-foot-9 Benesh rang up a monster hitting proportion of .833 (10-for-12 with zero errors) because the victory by the Dream locked in a playoff berth.
The encouraging phrase for the Smash was that the Aces and Launch additionally had break up their matches within the opening session’s different sport, leaving all three alive for the final semifinal spot heading into Sunday’s motion.
Urango and Rodriguez stepped up once more in opposition to the Launch’s Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles (3-5) pulling out a second three-set victory (15-13, 12-15, 15-11), and eliminating the LA crew from playoff rivalry. They broke open 12-8 separation within the tiebreaker on a tape-snake ace by Rodriguez and Toni’s rejection of Scoles’ choice try, then scored the match-winner on a darting hybrid-float service winner by Rodriguez that Julia may contact with just one arm.
Rodriquez recorded 4 blocks, three digs and hit .625 (11-for-16 in opposition to one error), plus three extra aces ran her weekend rely to eight. Toni’s common of 1.05 aces per set was tops among the many League’s 16 ladies.
“Once I’m on the court docket with Geena, she makes me really feel that I could be my finest,” Rodriguez stated. “The extra we play collectively, the higher we get, and it’s simply frickin’ superior.”
With the end line in sight, Chase and Miles wanted simply 25 minutes to place a 15-11, 15-8 beatdown on the Launch’s Tim Bomgren and Troy Area (2-6), who had rebounded from a disastrous first set to trump Billy Allen and (a hobbling) Paul Lotman of the Aces in three (7-15, 15-13, 15-9) the night time earlier than. Former NBA participant Budinger rose to the event within the must-win state of affairs with 11 kills on 14 errorless assaults (.786), one block and three digs.
“We play on the highest stage, performed within the Olympics, so stress is nothing new to us,” Chase stated. “We simply needed to belief our sport plan, belief what our coaches have given us and play as comfortably as we are able to.”
Now all of the Smash wanted was just a little assist from the Dream, for the reason that Aces needed to win each matches to snare the fourth playoff berth. Probably the most tiebreaker factors the Aces may rating in a break up was 4, which might put them even with the Smash in that class, however the Smash owned the benefit within the second tiebreaker (head-to-head consequence) because of going 2-for-2 in Week 7.
USA Olympians Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss (4-4) had gotten the job achieved for the Aces on Saturday, taking down the Launch’s Flint and Scoles 12-15, 15-12, 15-12 behind Taryn’s 4 blocks and Kristen’s 17 digs. However feisty kids Harward and Deberg (3-5) of the Dream, who had prolonged each units to time beyond regulation in a loss to TKN (as they’re referred to as) on Week 2, rose to the next stage this time.
Hailey and Kylie shocked Kloth and Nuss 17-15, 12-15, 15-7, prevailing in a protracted opening set and placing the hammer down early within the tiebreaker in opposition to one of many elite groups on the earth. The energetic 6-foot-4 Deberg notched three of her seven blocks within the third set, whereas the fleet Harward picked up eight of her 18 digs. Kloth hit .226 and Nuss .200 for the match.
Smash in, Aces folded.
Pertain and Benesh (8-0) then clinched the No. 2 seed within the semifinals with a workmanlike 15-11, 15-13 victory over Allen and Lotman (3-5), limiting the veterans to a mixed .148 assault proportion (11-for-27 in opposition to seven errors). Andy was dandy once more, going 11-for-14 with one error (.714) with two aces.
The one unbeaten League pair in both gender, Partain and Benesh have been pushed to a few units as soon as, by the Miami Mayhem’s Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner. They are going to meet once more within the semifinals.
“There are nice groups on this league,” Benesh stated. “We’re taking part in the most effective groups in America, so to go undefeated all season has been actually particular. We performed effectively each match, nevertheless it additionally takes luck, and I believe we bought fortunate at sure instances.”
The Saturday night time gathering on the 4,000-seat Comerica Middle (completely sized for volleyball) appeared to be the most important of any of the 16 regular-season League classes, filling many of the sections seen on the Bally Stay app’s stream on the sideline and each finish zones. Sunday afternoon’s crowd was noticeably smaller, following the development seen throughout these League weekends.
The 4 matches from Saturday and the primary two performed on Sunday throughout Week 8 in Frisco (a Dallas-Fort Value suburb) are archived on the AVP’s free YouTube channel. The final two matches on Sunday aired solely on CBS Sports activities Community through tape delay and can be posted to YouTube 10 days after the stay telecast, in accordance with the AVP’s media-rights settlement with CBS Sports activities.
Listed below are the pairings for the AVP League Championship on Nov. 8 and 9 outside within the 7,259-seat tennis stadium on the Dignity Well being Sports activities Park in Carson, California:
Saturday
Semifinals
No. 2 seed Dallas Dream (11-5; Miles Partain and Andy Benesh, 8-0; Hailey Harward and Kylie Deberg, 3-5) vs. No. 3 seed Miami Mayhem (10-6, Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner, 6-2; April Ross and Alex Klineman, 4-4).
No. 1 seed New York Nitro (12-6, Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander, 6-2; Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes, 6-2) vs. San Diego Smash (8-8; Chase Budinger and Miles Evans, 4-4; Geena Urango and Toni Rodriguez, 4-4).
Sunday
Third-place match: Semifinal losers. Championship: Semifinal winners.
Roll pictures
— The AVP will use a novel “Golden Set” because the tiebreaker in all the postseason video games. If groups break up their two matches, no matter whether or not they finish in two units or three, a Golden Set of 15 factors (win by two with no cap) involving the boys’s and girls’s pairs from each squads will decide the winner. The upper seeded crew could have the choice of selecting whether or not the boys or the ladies will begin the set. When one scores eight factors, the groups will change pairs in addition to sides (with the online top adjusted) and people duos will end the set.
— Olympic gold medalist Alix Klineman on Monday introduced her retirement from aggressive volleyball in a poignant video on Instagram. Alix will be part of companion April Ross in making the AVP League Championship her swan track. Klineman, 34, stated that she was retiring to commit extra time to her household, which incorporates son Theo, born in June.
