Manhattan Beach Opens with Love

B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org

Updated Manhattan Beach Men's Results

Updated Manhattan Beach Women's Results

MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. (Aug. 25, 2011) – The U.S. beach volleyball team of John Hyden and Sean Scott defeated NBA player Kevin Love and partner Hans Stolfus in the first match of the Manhattan Beach Open on Thursday.

The Manhattan Beach Open is the first official event in the 2011 Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Series, produced by USA Volleyball and IMG.

The match between top-seeded Hyden and Scott versus and 58th-seeded Love and Stolfus was the kickoff for men’s pool play, which will continue at 8 a.m. on Friday. Women’s play will begin at 9 a.m. on Friday.

Hyden (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and Scott (Redondo Beach, Calif.) did not work up much of a sweat defeating  Love (Lake Oswego, Ore.) and Stolfus (Newport Coast, Calif.), 21-16, 21-15 on Thursday morning. But the top-seeded pair was impressed by the way Love had developed his skills in a short time.

“Considering it was his first match ever, I would give him a B for learning the sport so quickly,” Hyden said.

“His size is his strength,” Scott added about Love, who is 6-feet-10 and 260 pounds. “His weakness is ball control. Like any sport, it’s going to take a lot of repetition for him to improve.”

Love said he would like to continue to play if he can.

“I definitely started at the bottom of the food chain,” he said. “I’ve got to keep on playing and keep it rolling.”

Stolfus, who won the silver medal at the 2007 Pan American Games, but hadn’t played in two years due to back problems, wished he had had more time to practice with his partner.

“Give me a month of practice and I think we would be OK,” he said. “I was actually the weak link. I needed to dig more balls and get more serves in.”

Players who were registered to compete in the National Volleyball League event in Virginia Beach, Va., which had to be cancelled due to Hurricane Irene, have been invited to compete in the Manhattan Beach event and will not have to pay another registration fee.

Competing teams have been seeded based on USA Volleyball Beach National Rankings. While Hyden and Scott are the top seeds on the men's side, Jenny Kropp (Hawthorne, Calif.) and Whitney Pavlik (Laguna Beach, Calif.) are the top seeds for the women.

Men's Start List (seeded)
Women's Start List (seeded)

MANHATTAN BEACH INFORMATION

• Location: South side of the Manhattan Beach Pier
• Format: 64 Team Draw - Double Elimination - 46 automatic berths and two wildcards
• Prize Money: $200,000 – Top 32 teams paid
• Admission for spectators is FREE
• Apply for Media Credentials
• For media information, click here
• Schedule
  • Friday, Aug. 26: Main Draw – 8 a.m. (men), 9 a.m. (women) to approximately 7 p.m. / 16 courts
  • Saturday, Aug. 27: Main Draw – 8: 30 a.m. to approx. 7:15 p.m. / 16 courts
  • Sunday, Aug. 28: Main draw – 9:15 a.m. to approx. 5:30 p.m. / Four courts
    • Women's final at 2:15 p.m.
    • Men's final (televised) at 4 p.m.

Tags: Beach, Beach Volleyball, John Hyden, Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series, Manhattan Beach Open, mobile, Sean Scott