We made it to our first Championship Sunday of the 2022 season, and it’s been a heck of a ride getting here. Keep reading for a short recap, and then catch up on all the matches from Stadium Court and Court 1 on our AVP Beach YouTube channel.
Friday was smooth sailing for the higher seeds; we played 24 matches and saw absolutely no upsets. Sarah Sponcil & Terese Cannon won an extremely close match against recent college grads Savvy Simo & Toni Rodriguez. Simo/Rodriguez were down big in the first set, but they rallied and came back to win 21-18. Sponcil/Cannon stayed steady, though, taking the match to three sets and eventually closing it out 17-15.
Phil Dalhausser & Andy Benesh are one of the most exciting teams of the weekend. The last-minute double blocking duo looks every bit the 2-seed they are, taking down the highly-anticipated Taylor Crabb & Taylor Sander team 21-18, 18-21, 15-12.
Stadium Court was a gauntlet on Saturday, with three of the first four matches going to three sets. Once we hit the Winner’s Bracket, only one match went to three.
World Champs Sarah Pavan & Melissa Humana-Paredes took care of their match against new team Sara Hughes & Kelley Kolinske 21-18, 21-16. Chase Budinger & Troy Field upset the #1-seeded Tri Bourne & Trevor Crabb in an impressive two-set victory. Troy played lights out, with 10 digs, 5 aces, and 11 kills hitting .625. Phil Dalhausser & Andy Benesh continue their win streak with a straight-set victory over Chaim Schalk & Theo Brunner. Phil is a natural in the back row, notching 11 digs and also hitting .625. He’s as good as ever, and is unsurprisingly literally good at everything.
The only 3-setter in the Winner’s Bracket on Saturday was the drama-filled nail-biter between former Olympic partners Kelly (Claes) Cheng & Sarah Sponcil. Cheng & Betsi Flint dominated the first set, and then Sponcil & Terese Cannon fired back in the second to take it to three. Cheng/Flint had the last word, winning the third set 15-12 on an ace.
2021 standouts Taryn Kloth & Kristen Nuss are still alive after winning two ultra-close matches in the Contender’s Bracket on Saturday. Emily Day/Emily Stockman, Taylor Crabb/Taylor Sander and Logan Webber/John Hyden are all also on to Championship Sunday.
We can’t wait to see who battles their way to the Austin title. Will it be an existing team or a brand new one? Tune in at 9am CDT and follow all day on Youtube!