COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The 2016 beach volleyball season nears an end with the upcoming AVP Tour Championship and the FIVB World Tour Finals.
Teams make their way to the domestic finale at the AVP Championships, beginning Sept. 1 in Chicago. Following that, three American teams will play for the FIVB World Tour Finals in mid-Sept. in Toronto.
As the year draws to a close, athletes have already begun the shuffle of pairings. Most notable are the match-ups for the AVP Championships, which starts Sept. 1. Though the season doesn’t end there, three teams will also compete in the FIVB World Tour Finals in mid-September, as well as two additional NORCECA Continental Tour events that remain on the docket.
The 2016 FIVB World Tour concludes in Toronto, Canada at the Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals, Sept. 13-18. The three American teams that qualified for the finals did so by ranking in the Top Eight in final points for the World Tour. USA’s teams are: Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena, John Hyden/Tri Bourne; April Ross/Kerri Walsh Jennings. Rankings for: Women | Men. Winners of the event will pick up the largest purse of the year, $100,000 for the gold medal team.
New to the 2016 edition of the Finals, 12 teams will play for the grand prize, compared to 2015’s 10 teams per gender.
AVP CHAMPIONSHIPS
The AVP Championships will be held in Chicago Sept. 1-4, near Oak Street Beach. Live streaming is available throughout the event, here, and the finals will air on NBC, Sunday, Sept. 4, from 1-2:30 p.m. ET.
Top seeds at the tournament are Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson, followed by brothers Trevor and Taylor Crabb, Ryan Doherty/John Mayer. Last week’s FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam silver medalists Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena are the six-seed.
On the women’s side, the No. 1 seed goes to Lane Carico/Summer Ross. Kimberly DiCello/Kendra Vanzwieten and Kelly Reeves/April Ross round out the second and third seeds, respectively. Fans will see groups of new pairs on the women’s side, including indoor Women’s National Team athlete Kristin Hildebrand with Brittany Hochevar as the 10-seed.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Long Beach Grand Slam
– April Ross/Kerri Walsh Jennings won their 11th FIVB with gold at the Long Beach Grand Slam, improving from silver at the same event in 2015
– Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena earned their eighth medal of 2016 with silver, 12th on the FIVB World Tour as a team
– Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat tied for fifth in their 13th tournament of 2016, tying their best finish on the season
– Tied for 9th: Theo Brunner/Billy Allen; Lane Carico/Summer Ross, Kelly Claes/Sara Hughes
– Tied for 17th: Emily Day/Irene Pollock; Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson, John Hyden/Tri Bourne, Trevor Crabb/Taylor Crabb
– Tied for 25th: Kelley Larsen/Betsi Metter; Stafford Slick/Mark Burik
– Lost in qualification: Kendra Vanzwieten/Kimberly DiCello; Ryan Doherty/John Mayer
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sept. 1-4 AVP Chicago
Sept. 13-18 FIVB World Tour Finals
Oct. 14-16 NORCECA St. Lucia
Nov. 25-27 NORCECA Trinidad & Tobago
Related Links
FIVB World Tour Finals features Olympic champs
FIVB Brazil’s Pedro/Evandro win battle of Olympians over USA for gold at FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam
NBC Sports Kerri Walsh Jennings, April Ross win World Series of Beach Volleyball
FIVB USA’s Walsh Jennings/Ross overcome Spain’s Lili/Elsa for gold medal at FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam