Local players to flood courts as AVP tour returns to Hermosa

With the Olympic Games three years away, there have been many changes on the beach volleyball circuit this year as players seek the right partner that will help qualify them for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Major shake ups have occurred on the women’s side, including 2016 bronze medalists Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross, who went their separate ways. Ross is now playing with Lauren Fendrick of Redondo Beach, who had played with Manhattan Beach’s Lane Carico for two international and two domestic tournaments this season.

Walsh Jennings, of Manhattan Beach, has taken on Torrance’s Nicole Branagh as her new partner.

The change could be a blessing for Carico, who has joined forces with her former Mira Costa High School indoor teammate Alix Klineman. After only one practice together, the duo finished second at the AVP San Francisco Open on July 9 and will be among the favorites to win this weekend when the AVP returns to Hermosa Beach for the time since 2010.

From 1984-2010, the AVP held tournaments in Hermosa Beach including NBC’s first telecast of beach volleyball in 1990.

Qualifying competition takes place Thursday followed by Main Draw action on Friday, elimination rounds on Saturday culminating with semifinals and finals on Sunday.

“When I heard Alix was considering switching from indoor to beach volleyball this year, I was immediately interested in a potential partnership with her,” Carico said. “However, it wasn’t until we played San Francisco AVP together that I considered it an actual possibility, since that’s when she told me she had decided to commit to and pursue a full-time beach career. For me, our natural chemistry, aligned values and goals, and potential as a team, led to me wanting to partner with her.”

A two-time indoor volleyball All-American at the University of Miami, Carico (Mira Costa class of 2007) led Georgia State University to the semifinals in 2012, the inaugural year of the AVCA Sand Volleyball National Championship.

She has reached AVP semifinals 17 times since 2014 capturing the Seattle Open crown in 2016, hoping her experience will help Klineman make the transition to the beach game after an illustrious indoor career when she was a four-time All-American at Stanford, member of the USA National Team and playing the last six years in Italy and Brazil.

“I don’t think I said too much to Alix in San Francisco. I just shared my hopes with her before each match… that we would stay patient and positive, play together, and communicate about strategic adjustments,” Carico said. “We are both competitive and work hard, so I believed that the rest would take care of itself.”

Klineman graduated from Mira Costa in 2006 after leading the Mustangs to three consecutive State Championships, earning the 2005 and 2006 California Gatorade State Player of the Year award for Volleyball and being named the 2006 Gatorade National Player of the Year.

At 6-foot-5, Klineman is a force at the net and feels her style of play translates well to the beach game.

“I grew up in the volleyball culture and started playing on the beach,” Klineman said. “Returning to the beach game was not a question of if, but when. It has always been in the back of my mind and, considering my age and situation, the timing was right. I’m healthy and in my prime so I’m very excited about this opportunity, especially with a partner like Lane who is such a great defender.”

Klineman said she is working hard on the technical aspects of beach volleyball, like setting and knowing when to pull back from the net while dealing with a smaller court, sand, sun and wind.

“It’s a process and the beginning of a journey,” Klineman said. “I hope to get in some international play this summer like NORCECA and FIVB events to pick up some points with a goal of playing in the Olympics.”

Klineman’s first beach volleyball tournament was at the beginning of May when she and former Mira Costa standout Jace Pardon (2011) finished seventh at the AVP Huntington Beach Open.

Pardon is coming off a gold-medal performance at Varadero, Cuba, the fourth stop of the NORCECA circuit, partnering with former Redondo Union High School star Lara Dykstra.

Pardon will join forces with Brittany Tiegs (Stuart, Fla.) at the Hermosa Beach Open while Dykstra will team with Allie Wheeler (Saratoga).

Another player to watch will be Skylar Caputo (Mira Costa, 2015) who recently completed her sophomore year at Pepperdine University after leading the Waves to the finals of the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships.

Last week, she partnered with UCLA’s Madi Yeomans (Ocean Beach) to win the College Division at the Beach Volleyball Clubs of America National Championships in Hermosa Beach.

Caputo is laying the groundwork for her professional beach volleyball career. She had a surprising third-place finish at the AVP Seattle Open on June 25, advancing out of the Qualifying round with partner Sarah Pavan, a member of the Canadian Olympic team.

“Competing in Seattle with Sarah Pavan was amazing,” Caputo said. “With only one practice together before the tournament, Sarah and I were a new partnership. Just making the main draw was a dream come true for me.”

Seeded last in the Main Draw, the duo had to face the top seeded team of Carico and Fendrick. They lost 21-14, 21-14.

“After losing our first match, we were determined to work our way to the finals through the Contender’s bracket,” Caputo said. “Four matches later, we had stayed alive to play in the semifinals. There were so many moments in this tournament that I will never forget, on and off the court. When we lost our second match in the tournament in the semifinals, I realized how we had played nine matches in four days and taken a third in a professional beach volleyball event. I cannot thank Sarah enough for taking a chance on me and asking me to play. We are super excited to partner up for the AVP Manhattan Beach tour stop.”

In Hermosa, Caputo will play with Kim Smith, a native of Zionsville, Indiana now living in Hermosa Beach. During the last three AVP tour stops, Smith partnered with 2006 Beijing bronze medalist Xi Zhang.

“Kim and I have played two other non-AVP events this summer,” Caputo said. “ After the AVP San Francisco event, we decided to partner up again and compete on the courts at our home beach together. I am so excited for our first AVP appearance together and to compete automatically in the main draw for the first time.”

As the popularity of beach volleyball continues to rise, the AVP has expanded the Main Draw from 16 to 24 teams, beginning with the Hermosa Beach Open. Eight teams from the Qualification Round will now have the opportunity to advance to Friday’s Main Draw.

Hoping to take advantage of the increase will be many past and present Mira Costa female athletes including Piper Monk-Heidrich (Manhattan Beach) and Presley Forbes (Manhattan Beach)

Other local women include the team of Chelsea Hayes (Hermosa Beach/Mariko Coverdale (Torrance) and the Redondo Beach duo of Jenny Kropp and Janelle Allen.

Kropp, who last competed in 2015, is making her comeback after giving birth to twins and suffering a knee injury. She has won 15 professional tournaments including the Manhattan Beach Open in 2011 and 2012 with then-partner Whitney Pavlik.

Men’s competition will also feature many local residents, led by Billy Allen (Redondo Beach) and Stafford Slick (Hermosa Beach), who won the Seattle Open by defeating Redondo Beach native and two-time Olympian Sean Rosenthal and partner Trevor Crabb (Redondo Beach).

Trevor’s brother Taylor, also a Redondo Beach resident, will partner with veteran Jake Gibb in Hermosa Beach.

Other local players include the teams of Matt Prosser (Hermosa Beach)/Eric Beranek (Manhattan Beach), Jack Walmer (Manhattan Beach)/Kevin Cleary (Manhattan Beach), Tanner Smith (Redondo Beach)/Devon Burki (Torrance) and Jason Raney (Manhattan Beach)/Kevin Lynch (Hermosa Beach) along with Curt Toppel (Manhattan Beach), Ian Satterfield (Manhattan Beach), Rob Mullahey (Manhattan Beach) and Avery Drost (Redondo Beach).

For more information, visit avp.com.

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