It’s official: We’ve announced all the winners of the 2023 AVP Athlete Awards on @AVPBeach Instagram.
But were the intangibles indiscernible through box scores and stat lines at play? Was there popularity involved? Existing player perceptions? We’ll never know the exact mix that influenced each of the voting athletes. What we can do is dive into this season’s stats and see how the 2023 AVP Athlete Award Winners lined up with the leaderboard.
BEST DEFENDERS
At first glance, Kristen Nuss is fifth in overall digs on the season. But when you consider her sets played (which were fewer than most due to her international play), Nuss notched 6.3 Digs per set (DPS), the highest of anyone. Others in the top five were all significantly below Nuss (except for Hailey Harward at 6.2). The rest of the field:
| Athlete |
DPS |
||
| 1. | Kristen Nuss |
6.3 |
W |
| 2. | Hailey Harward |
6.2 |
|
| 3. | Melissa Humana Paredes |
5.8 |
|
| 4. | Geena Urango |
5.5 |
|
| 5. | Betsi Flint |
4.9 |
The fact that Nuss was even in the Top 5 overall digs at all with the amount of sets she played is incredible.
The Men’s side tells a different story. Here are the DPS ratios from the 5 players with the most digs. So Taylor Crabb is in last place, but he won the award. Stats don’t tell the whole story, as I said, but this one stood out to me more than some of the other categories. I guess it just shows how potent Taylor Crabb’s legend is.
| Athlete |
DPS |
||
| 1. | Chaim Schalk |
6.3 |
|
| Avery Drost |
6.2 |
||
| 3. | Miles Evans |
5.8 |
|
| 4. | Billy Allen |
5.5 |
|
| 5. | Taylor Crabb |
4.9 |
W |
To be fair, DPS isn’t the only indicator. You have to take into account how a player’s defense affects their opponents’ offense. Are there more errors against them because people are trying to hit out of their reach? Hard to quantify that. There’s also the dig-to-kill ratio, and both Nuss and Crabb are excellent in transition offense.
BEST BLOCKERS
Blocking is another category in which we need to take the per-set numbers into account. In the overall season dig Top 5, the Block Per Set (BPS) numbers tally:
| Athlete |
BPS |
||
| 1. | Sarah Pavan |
1.5 |
|
| 2. | Taryn Kloth |
1.4 |
|
| 3. | Sarah Schermerhorn |
1.4 |
|
| 4. | Kelley Kolinske |
1.2 |
|
| 5. | Brandie Wilkerson |
1.2 |
W |
Brandie is tied for fifth, and her Canadian rival Sarah Pavan had an impressive 1.5 blocks per set. But blocking also includes how many digs one allows a partner to get by funneling, how many errors an opponent makes trying to hit around, and controlled blocks.
Brandie had 1.2 controlled blocks per set (CBPS) and a high hitting percentage at .482; she affected tons of plays and terminated them in points. Brandie is also incredibly dynamic, capable of jumping out of nowhere to roof you. She can go on a blocking tear, turning your offensive game into a nightmare with just a few shutdowns. Though Brandie’s numbers don’t top the charts, her opponents said they do not want to hit against her more than any other player on tour.
Andy Benesh’s numbers more than stand up behind his win. The BPS numbers (of the men who played in 10 Main Draw matches or more) look like this:
| Athlete |
BPS |
||
| 1. | Andy Benesh |
2.02 |
W |
| 2. | Theo Brunner |
1.96 |
|
| 3. | Bill Kolinske |
1.85 |
|
| 4. | Tri Bourne |
1.65 |
|
| 5. | Alison |
1.62 |
Benesh comes in 6th in overall blocks, but he played fewer sets than the rest of the leaderboard by double digits. Benesh had 2.02 BPS, an absolutely insane stat. I’ve been bragging about Theo Brunner for years, saying he’s the best blocker on the AVP. Benesh outright beat him this year… so impressive for this young gun who’s building his name.
BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
The Best Offensive Player winners are the two athletes I think of when I think of on-two offense; that can’t be a coincidence. Their numbers tell part of the story – Partain and Cheng both have excellent hitting percentages.
For both Partain and Cheng – it’s hard to read what they’re going to do on offense, making them a crucial part of every play. If the blocker doesn’t know whether Partain or Cheng are going to set or hit, they have to either honor them and block or give them up and go for the other player. Each uses this to their advantage and either swing on an open net or set their partner, who now has no blocker. It’s an intricate, fast-paced, and ultra-exciting way to play the game. These are the two athletes who (I think) are doing this sneaky offense best, and it seems their peers agree.
|
Hitting % |
|
| Miles Partain |
.512 |
Partain ranks the highest of the men who played in 10 or more AVP matches. He has lethal accuracy and very rarely gets blocked. Partain also doesn’t get fazed often; his levelheadedness keeps him in matches all the way from the first round to the Finals. That’s not a statable fact, but watching the 21-year-old casually respond to every point, win or lose, shows a lot about the ice in his veins that makes a real winner.
|
Hitting % |
|
| Kelly Cheng |
.490 |
Cheng was only beaten by Taryn Kloth. She has a lot of sneaky offense that’s hard to defend, with just-out-of-reach pokes over the block, hits that look like sets, and sets that look like hits. Cheng and her partner Sara Hughes have adopted more of the jump set and on-two offense that have set Partain/Benesh’s game apart. Looks like it’s working for them, as well. Both teams are the top-ranked US team in the world for their gender.
BEST SERVERS
Surprise surprise. With the most aces of anyone else on Tour, these two 2022 repeat winners are continuing to live up to the hype – and their serves couldn’t be any more different.
Sander’s jump serve curves from his end line to the opponent’s sideline faster than a body can compute.
Flint’s dancing floater can make even the best players look like they’ve never passed a volleyball. Well-deserved back-to-backs here.
MOST IMPROVED
Scoles and Benesh entered the season with one win apiece; they exited the 40th Anniversary AVP Season on their way to legend status.
Julia Scoles’ name is immortalized in beach volleyball history; she will forever own a piece of the Manhattan Beach Pier (figuratively speaking).
And after starting the season with a 13th place in Miami, Benesh notched two wins in three tournaments, is #1 in the USA ranking internationally, and is officially the best blocker on Tour.
I’d say those are pretty big improvements for these two athletes.
ROOKIES OF THE YEAR
Megan J. Rice has one of my favorite stories of the year. She went from relative obscurity to the Hermosa Beach Finals in less than a week. Then she got picked up in all of the remaining tournaments, finishing the year as a solid Main Draw player with promising numbers. She had 1.3 BPS (#4 in the rankings), 1.1 Controlled Blocks Per Set (CBPS), and a Hitting Percentage of .405. We’re excited to see more from Megan J. Rice in 2024.
|
BPS |
CBPS |
Hitting % |
|
| Megan J. Rice |
1.3 |
1.1 |
.405 |
DJ Klasnic played six AVP tournaments in his debut season in 2023; he qualified for five and earned a Top 10 finish in four. That’s extremely hard to do. DJ wrapped up his inaugural season with a .430 hitting percentage and a whole host of new fans.
MVPs
2022 saw two blockers as the MVPs; 2023 was all about defenders. Interestingly, one of them won Best Defensive Player (Nuss) while the other received Best Offensive Player (Partain).
Kristen Nuss was a clear win for Defensive Player of the Year; her prowess in the backcourt is blowing people away all over the world. But she boasts the whole package. A great server and skilled setter with killer shots that keep you on your toes. Nuss is only 5’6, almost a foot shorter than her partner, and 3 to 6 inches shorter than the top defenders on the AVP. But her court vision, accuracy, athleticism, swagger, partner chemistry… the list goes on and on why Kristen Nuss is the most lethal and most valued player on Tour.
Miles Partain represents a changing future of beach volleyball. He’s helping to change the game, adding more athleticism and dynamism to offense than we’ve ever seen. It’s so hard to play against Partain because he refuses to remove himself from the game. Serve Partain and watch him convert on the first ball; serve his partner and then watch him take the ball on two or dupe you into thinking that and then set his 6’9” partner on an open net. Ouch. Partain had 7.3 kills per set, ranking just below Avery Drost. This stat is even more telling, considering most of Partain’s opponents served his partner. They tried to neutralize him, but Partain had other plans. He scored 7.3 kills a set through on-two stunners and converted digs. You can’t put Partain in a corner.
TEAMS OF THE YEAR
A lot can be attributed to these two teams taking the cake, but I keep coming back to one fact: their opponents voted for them – which means their opponents fear them above all other teams. They would rather play anyone else.
Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth (TKN)
- Both teams won a similar number of matches compared to other teams
- Both were beaten by other top teams
- Neither won every tournament they entered
- Each won two tournaments (joining Hughes/Cheng, Crabb/Sander, and Crabb/Brunner)
This year’s Teams of the Year received honor and accolade because they have that little extra x-factor, that thing that makes opponents groan when their names are lined up with theirs on the bracket.
And there you have it! The Best of the Best of 2023.