The third and final qualifier returns to Manhattan Beach this Saturday.
All four courts stream live on the AVP YouTube Channel. Men begin at 8:00 AM. Women follow at 10:00 AM. This is the last opportunity to earn an automatic League berth through qualification.
This past Saturday in Manhattan Beach, Andy Benesh and Taylor Crabb won the men’s bracket in three sets over Chase Budinger and Miles Evans, and Kelly Cheng and Megan Kraft swept Toni Rodriguez and Molly Shaw in the women’s final — each earning automatic berths into the 2026 AVP League. They join Lotman/Partain and DeBerg/Flint, who qualified at the first event, along with the teams already qualified through 2025 results.
Qualifier #2 Recap:
Men’s Final — (2) Benesh / Crabb def. (1) Budinger / Evans | 2-1
Benesh and Crabb qualified for the AVP League in their first qualifier appearance, winning the final in three sets. They did not drop a set until the championship match.
After Budinger and Evans took the first set 15-13, Benesh and Crabb responded. Andy Benesh recorded two blocks as the pair built a 13-9 lead in the second set and closed it 15-11. In the third, Benesh was the difference — he recorded five stuff blocks, including one on the first point, blocks to go up 4-2, 6-3, and 9-4, and the match-ending block at 15-12.
“Execution is the deciding factor when you get to the third set, because everyone’s good, everyone’s got a good game plan,” AVP commentator Richard Lambourne said. “Andy with five stuff blocks in the third set — I don’t know if there’s a better way to exemplify ‘make it happen’ than that.”
Budinger and Evans reached the final as the 1-seed, defeating Bradford and Cory in the quarterfinals and Bomgren and Drost in the semifinals, both in three sets.
Women’s Final — (1) Cheng / Kraft def. (2) Rodriguez / Shaw | 2-0
Cheng and Kraft qualified for the AVP League as the 1-seed, dropping just one set all day — to 16th-seeded Graudina and Stivrins in the first round.
The first set of the final was competitive through the technical at 8-7. Rodriguez and Shaw had opportunities to take control but did not convert. Megan Kraft served an ace to close it 15-13. The second set was decisive. Kelly Cheng recorded two early blocks, and an ace from Cheng pushed the lead to 8-3. Cheng finished the match with an over-on-two at 15-8.
“The first set was kind of where that match was won and lost,” Lambourne said. “Kelly was blocking great. They were serving tough. It was just kind of all them in that second set.”
Rodriguez and Shaw reached the final as the 2-seed after a first-round exit in qualifier 1, defeating Fonoimoana/Sparks, Evans/Van Winden, and Newberry/Simo on their path to the championship match.
Other Notable Results
On the men’s side, Pickett and Schachter beat Cook and Miller for the second consecutive qualifier, then defeated third-seeded Schalk and Shaw in the quarterfinals before falling to Benesh and Crabb in the semifinals. Field and Wilcox reversed their qualifier 1 result against Perez and Priima, winning in the first round before losing to Bomgren and Drost in the quarters.
On the women’s side, 14th-seeded Shields and Tan upset third-seeded Rice and Urango in the first round. Loreen and Quiggle reached the semifinals for the second straight qualifier. Graudina and Stivrins took Cheng and Kraft to three sets in the first round — an improvement from their straight-set loss at qualifier 1. Rodriguez and Shaw bounced back from a first-round exit in qualifier 1 to reach the final.
Qualifier 3 Preview : The Last Chance
The final qualifier is Saturday. One men’s team and one women’s team will earn the last automatic berths into the 2026 AVP League. After this, the remaining spots will be determined by AVP ownership.
Men’s Side
Schalk and Shaw enter as the 1-seed. Across three qualifiers, they have been seeded 2nd, 3rd, and now 1st — but have not reached a final. Bomgren and Drost are the 2-seed with two semifinal appearances and no finals through two events. Bradford and Cory, the 6-seed, reached the men’s final in qualifier 1 and the quarterfinals in qualifier 2. Caldwell and Harrison are the 5-seed and draw 12th-seeded Klasnic and LaBouliere in the first round — notable given Caldwell’s recent international results alongside LaBouliere at the Tlaxcala Challenge.
Women’s Side
Rodriguez and Shaw are the 1-seed after reaching the qualifier 2 final. Loreen and Quiggle enter as the 3-seed with back-to-back semifinal appearances — the most consistent team in the women’s field that has not yet qualified. Graudina and Stivrins, the 15-seed, draw Rice and Urango (2) in the first round — a different matchup after facing top-seeded Cheng and Kraft in both previous qualifiers.
View the full Qualifier 3 brackets : Men’s Bracket | Women’s Bracket
Four teams have qualified. The rest have one chance left.
Saturday. Manhattan Beach. Streaming live on the AVP YouTube Channel.