Beach volleyball players use balancing act for domestic and foreign tournaments
Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross discuss strategy between points during their match against Geena Urango and Angela Bensend on Saturday at the AVP Huntington Beach Open.
The moment Kerri Walsh Jennings stepped off the court, people crowded around.
The three-time Olympic gold medalist and her teammate, April Ross, had just won their quarterfinal match at the AVP Huntington Beach Open, and now beach volleyball fans wanted to get her autograph.
“I love the AVP with all my heart,” she said. “Having a strong domestic tour where we can make a living and people are coming out — I want to be a big part of that.”
Playing within the continental U.S. is a lot easier than flying to international tournaments in China, Russia and Qatar. The food is familiar and the crowds are friendly.
Another top-rated American duo — Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson on the men’s side — also played well enough Saturday to advance to Sunday’s semifinals.
But this is an Olympic year, so the best teams need FIVB World Tour points to qualify for the upcoming Games.
Which makes this season a balancing act.
“We didn’t want to go to every single [international] event and wear ourselves out,” said Gibb, who, along with Patterson, ranks 17th in the latest world standings. “We said, ‘Let’s be strategical about this.’”
Like most sports, volleyball employs a complex and somewhat arcane formula for determining who gets to play in the Olympics. In the simplest terms, teams that rank in the top 15 worldwide are pretty much guaranteed a spot in Rio de Janeiro this summer.
The top American duos have been hitting the international circuit hard over the past year.
“The world tour is a whole different animal,” Patterson said. “Everyone is big and strong.”
Diet can be a challenge. The World Anti-Doping Agency has previously warned that meat in China and Mexico may be tainted with banned substances that can cause athletes to test positive.
Many athletes stuff their suitcases with provisions when traveling to places where they cannot trust the food.
Even in the best of circumstances, long flights and uncomfortable hotel rooms can take their toll. Gibb tends to lose weight on the road; his strength coach likes to have him back home for three or four weeks at a time to rebuild muscle.
Walsh Jennings has another reason for wanting to be a regular on the AVP tour, which started in New Orleans last month and will wind through seven more stops — including Seattle, New York City and Chicago — by September.
“A huge part of my goal in life is to grow this sport and make it mainstream” in the U.S., she said.
The level of play might not be quite as high as facing the Brazilians and Dutch from week to week but, as Gibb put it, “It’s competition. You need to be competing.”
It took him and Patterson almost an hour to overcome brothers Brian and Tim Bomgren in a 27-25, 22-20 quarterfinal match filled with diving saves and vicious blocks.
Walsh Jennings and Ross saw benefits in their much quicker 21-14, 21-14 victory over Angela Bensend and Geena Urango.
“We’re getting reps,” Walsh Jennings said. “We’re playing against people who want to win.”
She and Ross will face Kim DiCello and Kendra VanZwieten in one semifinal. Bensend and Urango, who fought their way back through the contender’s bracket, will play Lane Carico and Summer Ross.
On the men’s side, Gibb and Patterson go against Billy Allen and Theo Brunner.
Top-seeded Ryan Doherty and John Mayer, who overcome an early loss, will face brothers Trevor and Taylor Crabb.
Semifinal play is scheduled to begin beside the Huntington Beach Pier at 9 a.m. Sunday with the men’s and women’s finals following later in the day.
Follow David Wharton on Twitter: @LATimesWharton
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