Las Vegas Is Where the Playoff Math Gets Loud

Three weeks of AVP League play are in the books. The playoff picture is starting to take shape — and Las Vegas is the weekend that begins to settle it.

Week 4 takes the 2026 AVP League to Resorts World Backlot in Las Vegas on June 19-20 — Friday and Saturday night sessions, the first AVP League event ever held in Las Vegas, and the first weekend of the regular season where playoff math directly drives the storylines. LA Launch, Dallas Dream, Palm Beach Passion, and New York Nitro make up the field. Six of the 16 athletes have competed in an Olympic Games. And one of the four teams is fighting for its playoff life on both sides of the net.

How to watch: Live broadcasts on CW Friday from 8:00-10:00 PM ET and CBS Sports Network Friday from 10:00 PM-12:00 AM ET, with additional matches streaming on the  AVP YouTube Channel.

New York Nitro on the Brink

New York Nitro enters Vegas as the bottom-ranked team on both the women’s and men’s leaderboards. The women sit dead last at 0-4. The men are tied for 6th with Brooklyn Blaze at 1-3 — and the top six in each gender make the playoffs. Both face Dallas Dream and Palm Beach Passion at Vegas — two of their four remaining matches. With only the New York City stop left after this weekend, the math is unforgiving.

For the women, Vegas is win-both-or-bust. Toni Rodriguez and Molly Shaw enter looking for their first AVP League win of the season as a partnership. A sweep keeps a meaningful path to the playoffs alive. A winless weekend effectively ends it. Rodriguez is the 2024 AVP Best Server and 2024 AVP League Champion returning from a dislocated shoulder. Shaw is a two-time AVCA All-American at Grand Canyon University.

For the men, Vegas is where Schalk and James Shaw start writing their own playoff story. Their team’s only AVP League win came at Belmar with Theo Brunner subbing in for James Shaw — meaning Schalk and James Shaw together enter Vegas 0-2 as the actual New York Nitro men’s partnership. Schalk is a 2016 Rio Olympian and two-time AVP Champion who has reached the semifinals at least once in each of his nine AVP seasons with seven different partners. James Shaw is 6-foot-8 and ranked second among men in aces per set in 2025.

The other three teams in the Vegas field have a cushion. LA Launch’s women — Maddie Anderson and Alaina Chacon — are tied for first in the women’s leaderboard with Austin Aces’ Brasher and Cruz at 100% after going 2-0 in their AVP League debut at Belmar. Vegas brings their first matchups against Olympic medalists. LA Launch’s men sit 1-1 from Belmar. Palm Beach Passion’s men are 3-1, chasing seeding. Dallas Dream is 1-1 for both genders after a measured debut weekend in Miami. None of them is in immediate danger. New York Nitro is the team where every Vegas point reshapes the bracket.

Two teams from the same city. Two different emergencies. Vegas is the test.

2025 Men’s Finals Rematch: Smith/Webber vs Trevor Crabb/Dalhausser

Friday night at Resorts World delivers a rematch of the 2025 AVP League Championship final between two of the most accomplished men’s pairs of the past two seasons.

Trevor Crabb and Phil Dalhausser won that title with Palm Beach Passion, defeating Hagen Smith and Logan Webber 15-12, 16-14 in the final. They are the only men’s pair in this Vegas field with a defending championship credential. Dalhausser is the 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist, Volleyball Hall of Fame inductee, and most decorated player in AVP history, competing at age 46. Trevor Crabb is the reigning 2025 AVP MVP and 2025 AVP League Champion. They enter Vegas 3-1 through Aspen and Miami, with their only loss coming to Taylor Crabb and Andy Benesh at Aspen.

Hagen Smith and Logan Webber return as the LA Launch men’s pair in 2026. Smith is the 2025 AVP Best Server and 2025 AVP Ambassador of the League who led all men in aces per set in his first AVP League season. Webber reached the 2025 AVP League Championship match alongside Smith. They enter Vegas 1-1 from Belmar — beat New York Nitro, lost to San Diego Smash.

Last year’s champions against last year’s runners-up. First meeting of 2026.

Miami Recap

Miami was a defining weekend for the Florida City Rivalry, the Texas teams’ debuts, and the Crabb Brothers head-to-head.

Trevor evened the Crabb Brothers AVP League head-to-head, then took the lead. After Taylor took the Aspen meeting in two straight, Trevor and Phil Dalhausser beat Taylor and Andy Benesh 15-12, 15-12 in Miami. Trevor now leads the AVP League head-to-head 3-2 across 2024, 2025, and 2026 League play.

The Florida City Rivalry split. Miami Mayhem won the women’s matchup with Palm Beach Passion 2-0 (15-11, 15-7). Palm Beach Passion’s men swept Miami Mayhem on the same day, 2-0 (15-12, 15-12). Across the back-to-back Aspen and Miami Florida Rivalry weekends, the two teams went 2-2 in head-to-head matchups.

Palm Beach Passion’s women played through an injury. Melissa Humana-Paredes pulled out of the third set of Palm Beach’s Friday match against Dallas Dream due to a hip injury sustained during the match. Devanne Sours drove in from Orlando to compete alongside Brandie Wilkerson in the Saturday match, with Palm Beach falling to Miami Mayhem in two sets. Sours is an AVP athlete with a second-place finish at the South Florida Heritage Contender and a third-place finish at the Austin Heritage Contender this season.

Austin Aces women opened with a statement. In their AVP League debut, Taryn Brasher and Kristen Cruz beat Miami Mayhem 2-1 (16-14, 15-17, 17-15) and Dallas Dream 2-0 (15-10, 15-10) to go 2-0 at the event. The Austin Aces men went the opposite direction — 0-2 with losses to Miami Mayhem and Dallas Dream.

AVP Cup standings. Through three weeks, San Diego Smash and LA Launch are tied for first in the AVP Cup race at 75% (3-1 each). Miami Mayhem and Palm Beach Passion are tied for third at 62.5% (5-3 each, having played eight combined matches to the leaders’ four). Dallas Dream and Austin Aces are tied for fifth at 50% in their League debuts. Brooklyn Blaze is seventh at 37.5%, and New York Nitro is eighth at 12.5%.

6 Olympians at Resorts World

Vegas features six athletes who have competed in an Olympic Games:

• Phil Dalhausser (2008 Gold, four-time Olympian)
• Melissa Humana-Paredes (Paris 2024 Silver, two-time Olympian)
• Brandie Wilkerson (Paris 2024 Silver)
• Miles Partain (Paris 2024)
• Paul Lotman (London 2012, indoor)
• Chaim Schalk (Rio 2016)

How to Watch

Friday, June 19 (Eastern Time)

• 8:00 PM — Men: LA Launch vs Palm Beach Passion (CW)
• 9:00 PM — Women: LA Launch vs Palm Beach Passion (CW)
• 10:00 PM — Women: Dallas Dream vs New York Nitro (CBS Sports Network)
• 11:00 PM — Men: Dallas Dream vs New York Nitro (CBS Sports Network)

Saturday, June 20 (Eastern Time)

• 8:00 PM — Men: LA Launch vs Dallas Dream (YouTube)
• 9:00 PM — Women: LA Launch vs Dallas Dream (YouTube)
• 10:00 PM — Women: Palm Beach Passion vs New York Nitro (YouTube)
• 11:00 PM — Men: Palm Beach Passion vs New York Nitro (YouTube)

All YouTube matches stream on the  AVP YouTube Channel.

Event Details

The 2026 AVP Las Vegas event runs Friday and Saturday night, June 19-20, at Resorts World Backlot in Las Vegas. Doors open at 4:00 PM PT both days; play runs from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM PT. For full event details, visit the  event page. Get your tickets  here.

For all 2026 AVP League scores, standings, matchups, and more, visit  avp.com/league.

AVP members get 10% off all event tickets, 25% off AVP merch, and 30% off Wilson volleyballs. Join at  members.avp.com.

Three weeks down. Five events left. Vegas decides who still has a path.