Two Final AVP League Spots on the Line
The AVP Huntington Beach Open Heritage Event is just around the corner, and this year’s competition promises to be an electrifying showcase of professional beach volleyball. Scheduled for May 10–11, this prestigious event is the last opportunity for aspiring teams to claim a coveted spot in the 2025 AVP League. With only two of eight AVP League qualification spots remaining, this event will make or break teams’ seasons.
1. How Teams Qualify for the AVP League
Automatic Qualifiers (2024 Top-4 Duos)
- Men’s: Chase Budinger / Miles Evans • Miles Partain / Andy Benesh • Taylor Crabb / Taylor Sander
- Women’s: Geena Urango / Toni Rodriguez • Hailey Harward / Kylie Deberg
Wildcard Invites
Taryn Brasher / Kristen Nuss • Brandie Wilkerson / Melissa Humana-Paredes • Phil Dalhausser / Trevor Crabb
Path to the League
Key Rule: A team’s best two finishes—one of which must be from Huntington Beach—decide the final two leaderboard berths, unless a team wins the Open outright.
- April 12 & 26 Qualifiers (16-team fields; points count only toward the leaderboard)
April 12 Winners: Hagen Smith / Logan Webber (M) • Megan Rice / Corinne Quiggle (W)
April 26 Winners: James Shaw / Chaim Schalk (M) • Lexy Denaberg / Julia Scoles (W) - May 10–11 Huntington Beach Open (Heritage Event; full AVP points + one automatic spot)
- The Final Showdown: Huntington Beach Open
- Format: 16-team single elimination—win four matches and you’re in.
- Men’s and Women’s Frontrunners to Qualify:
- Men’s: Seain Cook / Brian Miller—two surprise runner-up finishes in April set a high bar.
- Women’s: Savannah Simo / Abby Van Winkle—consistent leaders who skip Friday’s qualifier.
- Underdog Twist: Jaden Whitmarsh / Devon Newberry, despite sitting second in points, must battle through Friday’s qualifier—and then the main draw—to keep their bid alive.
2. Where Teams Stand
While exact odds shift with every serve, here’s the pecking order heading into the bracket:
Men’s Qualification Standings:
| Standing | Team | Highest Finish | Points |
| 1st | Cook/Miller | 2nd | 2444 |
| T-2nd | Caldwell/Wilcox | 3rd | 2321 |
| T-2nd | Drost/Harrison | 3rd | 2321 |
| T-4th | Brunner/Field | 5th | 2095 |
| T-4th | Bourne/Cory | 5th | 2095 |
| T-4th | Bomgren/Lotman | 5th | 2095 |
| T-4th | Brewster/Ierna | 5th | 2095 |
| T-4th | Basey/Kwekel | 5th | 2095 |
| T-4th | Bradford/Hoppe | 5th | 2095 |
Women’s Qualification Standings:
| Standing | Team | Highest Finish | Points |
| T-1st | Simo/Van Winkle | 2nd | 2444 |
| T-1st | Newberry/Whitmarsh | 2nd | 2444 |
| T-3rd | Cheng / Shaw | 3rd | 2321 |
| T-3rd | Cannon / Kraft | 3rd | 2321 |
| T-5th | Hildreth / Kolinske | 5th | 2095 |
| T-5th | Hodel / Van Gunst | 5th | 2095 |
| T-5th | Jerger / Shields | 5th | 2095 |
| T-5th | Anderson / Bauer | 5th | 2095 |
| T-5th | Kinna / Loreen | 5th | 2095 |
What this means: If/when front-runners stumble, the door cracks open for the next wave of title-hungry duos.
3. Breaking the Tie: How League Spots Will Be Decided
In the event of a tie between two or more teams in the standings of the 2025 League Qualification Series for the final spot(s) in the League, the following tiebreak procedures will be applied in order:
- Huntington Beach Finish – Whoever finishes higher at the Huntington Beach Heritage event moves on to the AVP League.
- Set Ratio at Huntington Beach – If teams bow out in the same round in Huntington Beach, their set ratio (sets won ÷ sets lost) becomes the decider.
- Point Ratio at Huntington Beach – Still tied? The next factor is total points scored ÷ points allowed across all Huntington Beach Heritage event matches.
- Tiebreak Set to 15 – If it’s still even after all that? One winner-take-all set to 15 will be played between the tied teams to determine which team advances.
4. Finish Thresholds at a Glance
To give fans a clear “line in the sand,” we’ve calculated the minimum finish each contender needs—based on where the Men’s and Women’s Frontrunners land—to surpass their total points and grab one of the last two leaderboard spots.
Note: This isn’t a perfect predictor—matchups, momentum, and upsets all matter—but it gives a useful reference for what “deep” really means on the sand.
| Frontrunner Finish | Other Teams Must… |
| 2nd or 3rd | Win the Open. Only a championship brings enough points. |
| 5th | Reach the Semifinals. A top-4 finish is needed. |
| 9th | Reach the Quarterfinals. A top-8 showing works. |
Example Scenarios:
- If the Front-runners finish 5th, teams sitting one place behind them need a semifinal result, while those near 2,095 must win to qualify.
- If the Front-runners slip to 9th, contenders teams sitting one place behind can possibly lock in a spot by simply reaching the quarterfinals and those teams tied for 4th for the Men and 5th for the women would need to reach the semifinals.
Use these thresholds to track the action: every match for the chasing pack is more than a victory—it’s a ticket closer to the AVP League.
5. How to Watch & Attend
Tickets: This event is open to the public but STADIUM COURT is ticketed and selling fast!
Live-Stream: Watch every play on Stadium and Court 1 live on BallyLIVE (May 10–11).