THE HOT TICKET:Weekend marks NBC summer volleyball debut

Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal are the No. 1 men’s seed in the Assn. of Volleyball Professional’s Long Beach Open this weekend, and now would make a good a time as any for the Costa Mesa resident and his partner to do well.

That’s because the Long Beach Open marks beach volleyball’s debut on NBC this summer.

The network will air the women’s final Saturday, July 21 from 1:30-3:00 p.m. PDT and will show the men’s final Sunday, July 22 from 1:30-3:00 p.m. PDT. NBC will broadcast footage from five AVP events through the rest of the season, including Chicago, Manhattan Beach, Boston, and Brooklyn.

Athletes are competing for $280,000 in prize money, up from the standard $200,000 that’s been given since the beginning of the season.

The Long Beach Open also marks Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh’s return to the AVP, after taking a month’s hiatus to play in Europe.

May-Treanor and Walsh missed the Seaside Heights Open in Seaside Heights, N.J. to play in a Fédération de Volleyball event in Montreal.

Nicole Branaugh and Elaine Youngs, the only other women’s team to win a tournament this season, won in New Jersey.

Mike Lambert of Costa Mesa and Stein Metzger won the men’s title in Seaside Heights. It was their second straight AVP win and third overall this season.

Early heavy-hitters Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, have lost two straight AVP finals, to Lambert and Metzger, but they still lead the men this season with five tournament victories.

Estancia High product Matt Fuerbringer is one of several individuals debuting with new partners this weekend.

Fuerbringer, who had been playing with Sean Scott this season, will now team with Casey Jennings.

Fuerbringer and Jennings played together last season, finishing fifth at the AVP’s Best of the Beach event in Lake Tahoe. Scott also reunited with his old partner, Dax Holdren.

Logan Tom, who was playing with Holly McPeak, is now paired with Dianne DeNecochea. McPeak and Brittany Hochevar are together, and Barbra Fontana, DeNecochea’s old partner, is now with Alicia Polzin.

— From staff reports