The 2026 AVP season begins this weekend at the Huntington Beach Pier.
With the first Heritage event of the year running Friday through Sunday. The main draw begins tomorrow morning and brings together a field that includes three internationally ranked wildcard teams, the AVP League’s top duos, and the players who earned their way in through three qualifier weekends this spring.
The international wildcards were announced earlier this month and are the headline addition to the Huntington field. Brazil’s Thâmela Coradello and Victoria Lopes enter as the world’s No. 3 team. Switzerland’s Anouk and Zoé Vergé-Dépré, sisters who officially teamed up in November 2024, are ranked No. 8. Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan, Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medalists who finished fourth at Paris 2024, are tied for sixth. Three of the six international athletes are Olympic medalists. Full backgrounds on the three teams are available here.
For AVP League fans, this weekend is a chance to see how the league’s top duos stack up against three of the best teams in the world.
The AVP League Side
On the women’s side, the world rankings tell the story. Kristen Nuss Cruz and Taryn Brasher sit at No. 4 in the world, one spot behind Brazil’s Thâmela and Victoria. Nuss Cruz is the 2024 Paris Olympian, 2023 AVP MVP, and 2025 AVP Best Defender. She’s also the winningest player in NCAA beach volleyball history with 139 career victories at LSU. Brasher was her partner at the Paris Olympics and is a two-time AVP Team of the Year selection. Together they’re the AVP League’s highest-ranked women’s duo in the world.
Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson are the Canadian duo currently ranked No. 9 in the world, one spot behind the Vergé-Dépré sisters. Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson won silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Wilkerson has been named AVP Best Blocker four years in a row (2022-2025) and has led the women’s league in both hitting percentage and blocks per set in every AVP League season. Humana-Paredes is a two-time Olympian who has reached the finals in 12 of her 19 career AVP events.
A Paris Rematch on the Table
The Paris connection between Qatar’s Cherif and Ahmed and AVP League athlete Andy Benesh is the storyline to track on the men’s side. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Cherif and Ahmed defeated Benesh and Miles Partain in the quarterfinals, ending the duo’s Olympic run.
Benesh is back at Huntington with a new partner: six-time AVP Best Defensive Player Taylor Crabb, who holds the most Best Defensive Player awards in AVP tour history. Benesh and Taylor Crabb won the second qualifier together in April, earning their AVP League spot as a new duo. They are drawn on the same side of the bracket as Cherif and Ahmed, which means a potential Paris rematch is on the table this weekend — except this time, Benesh has a different partner across the net.
Partain, meanwhile, is also in the Huntington draw with a new Heritage event partner: James Shaw. Heritage events allow AVP League players to compete in duos outside of their official League team structure. Partain qualified for the 2026 AVP League through the first qualifier with Paul Lotman and will play for the Dallas Dream when the League season begins. Shaw earned his AVP League spot through wildcard with Chaim Schalk and will play for the New York Nitro. Schalk and Lotman are also paired up at Huntington this weekend as their own Heritage duo.
When the AVP League season opens at Belmar on May 30, the official team rosters take effect.
The Rest of the AVP Field
Trevor Crabb and Phil Dalhausser return as one of the most decorated duos in the field, seeded No. 4 on the men’s side. Trevor was named the 2025 AVP MVP and won the 2025 AVP League Championship with Dalhausser for the Palm Beach Passion. Dalhausser is the 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist and four-time Olympian, competing at age 46. He remains the most decorated player in AVP history. They open round one against a qualifier team.
Hagen Smith and Logan Webber are seeded No. 6 on the men’s side and open round one against No. 11 seeds Billy Allen and Theo Brunner. Smith was named the 2025 AVP Best Server and led all men in aces per set in the 2025 AVP League season. Smith and Webber reached the 2025 AVP League Championship final together in their rookie season and return to the LA Launch for 2026.
Chase Budinger and Miles Evans are the No. 1 seed on the men’s side and open round one against a qualifier opponent. Budinger and Evans won the 2024 AVP League Championship with the San Diego Smash and were wildcarded into the 2026 AVP League.
On the women’s side, two notable new duos make their AVP main draw debut this weekend. Kelly Cheng and Megan Kraft team up for the first time outside of a qualifier setting. Cheng is the 2023 World Champion, a two-time Olympian, and 2022 AVP MVP. Kraft was the 2025 AVP MVP Runner-Up and led all women in aces per set in 2025. Kylie DeBerg and Betsi Flint also return as the duo that won the first qualifier together. Flint is a six-time AVP Champion and one of the best servers on the AVP.
Round One on Friday Worth Watching
Two round one matchups stand out. On the men’s side, Partain and Shaw open against Bradford and Cory, two of the top finishers from this spring’s qualifiers — Bradford and Cory reached the first qualifier’s final.
On the women’s side, DeBerg and Flint open against Chloe Loreen and Corinne Quiggle. Loreen and Quiggle reached the final of the third qualifier and semifinaled in two of the three qualifier events this spring. DeBerg and Flint won the first qualifier outright, defeating Cheng and Kraft in the final. The winner of round one will face Cheng and Kraft in the next round — a rematch of that first qualifier final if DeBerg and Flint advance.
Event Details
The 2026 AVP Huntington Beach Open runs Friday, May 15 through Sunday, May 17 at the Huntington Beach Pier. Competition begins at 9 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. The event is a dual-gender, 16-team main draw, double-elimination tournament with sets played to 21 points, best two out of three.
Friday’s main draw will be available to follow on the live brackets page. Saturday and Sunday competition will be streamed on the Bally Sports Live app.
For full event details, visit the event page. Get your tickets here.
AVP members get 10% off all event tickets, 25% off AVP merch, and 30% off Wilson volleyballs. Join at members.avp.com.