The $800,000 World Tour Finals weekend begins

We have an Alix Klineman update, type of, but to start with …

It wasn’t challenging to see why Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes, and Sophie Bukovec and Sarah Pavan, promptly took to social media to celebrate what was then the most effective of Christmas presents: Wild cards into the year-ending Volleyball Environment Pro Beach front Tour Finals in Doha, Qatar.

They have been provided an option to perform in just one of the most distinctive gatherings on the Seashore Pro Tour calendar, with just a 10-staff area and four certain matches. They have been gifted the excellent tune-up for the onset of Olympic qualifying, which commences the weekend subsequent Planet Tour Finals, ironing out any kinks in their new chemistry in a threat-no cost placing — there are no factors on the line, and for that reason no factors to shed, in the Globe Tour Finals.

They were also, of training course, supplied the shot to contend for $150,000.

That is not the overall purse, nor is that a typo: $150,000 is the prize given to the gold medalists this weekend in Doha.

Prize dollars has been a common gripe among players on the Beach front Pro Tour. But that will not be a gripe this weekend, in which 20 teams will contend for a grand full of $800,000 in prize cash. Even the groups finishing past will pocket practically $8,000, approximately the equal of successful a silver medal in a Problem, as Italians and men’s wild cards Adrian Carambula and Alex Ranghieri did in Torquay, Australia in November.

Cheng and Hughes, and Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth, are the only People in america in the field. Doha will supply the initially seem at the new workforce of Pavan and Bukovec, who formed after Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, each previous partners of Pavan and Bukovec, turned a team.

You can look at all of the matches on Volleyball Tv set. 

Alix Klineman announces spouse for 2023 season 

Alix Klineman declared some big information previously on Monday morning. Much as well major for a simple Seaside Digest product. We’ll have a comprehensive story before long.

Americans dropping out of — and dropping into — Doha Elite 16

The discipline for the season-opening Doha Elite 16, which follows the World Tour Finals and begins February 1, is constantly shifting. People Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner, who were being seeded fourth in the qualifier, and Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles, who were being specifically into the most important attract, have both dropped out of the Elite 16. This produced for some great information for Tim Brewster and Kyle Pal, who slipped into the qualifier and are now seeded No. 15, in front of Canadians Jake MacNeil and Alex Russell. Mate is racking up the recurrent flier miles early in 2023, as he only just returned from the King of the Court in Doha, where he concluded fifth with Troy Field, barely a person 7 days ago.

Very little else has modified on the women’s facet, wherever Savvy Simo and Toni Rodriguez are nonetheless No. 2 on the reserve record.

Silila Tucker, Paul Lotman announce partnership

There are couple athletics exactly where the cliche of “if you can’t defeat ’em, join ’em” has much more relevance than in seaside volleyball. Paul Lotman has taken the stating to coronary heart, joining forces with Silila Tucker, the 2022 Eric Zaun Award winner and a defender who experienced beaten Lotman in their former three conferences.

Lotman loved a breakout calendar year in 2022, profitable his 1st AVP, in Atlanta with Miles Partain, and then practically won the period-ending Phoenix Gold Collection Championship. He received a final-moment call from Taylor Crabb to contend in back again-to-again Problem events in Dubai in the tumble, and soon after finishing fifth and 3rd, respectively, he additional an additional major-5 with a fourth in the Torquay Elite 16 with Miles Evans. All of these finishes vaulted Lotman, who led the AVP in overall blocks in 2022 — earning the nickname Paul Blockman — onto the Usa Countrywide Group, the place he’ll use these details to carry Tucker into Challenge activities to start off the time.

Tucker had a little bit of a breakthrough himself in 2022, quadrupling his earlier substantial in prize income, profitable the Laguna Open up with Andy Benesh, the place he conquer Lotman and Troy Field in the finals.

Sun Belt adds seashore, kinds 8-team convention

A week back, it was Idaho who was adding seashore volleyball. Now the Sunshine Belt has grabbed on to the swiftest-developing sport in NCAA history, incorporating seashore volleyball as its 19th sponsored activity.

Four Sun Belt Meeting institutions currently sponsor Seaside Volleyball — Coastal Carolina, Georgia Condition, ULM and Southern Overlook. In addition, the Sunshine Belt will welcome affiliate associates College or university of Charleston, Mercer, Stephen F. Austin and UNCW to type the 8-staff league. Ga State is a two-time NCAA Championship participant (2016, 2022) and sophisticated to the round of 6 very last period.

“We are pleased and thrilled to welcome Beach Volleyball as our 19th championship sport,” Sunlight Belt commissioner Keith Gill mentioned. “As the speediest developing collegiate activity, specially within just the footprint of the Sun Belt, it is a best fit for our convention. We’re seeking forward to furnishing an elite competitive and championship surroundings for the university student-athletes, coaches and fans of Sunlight Belt Beach Volleyball.”

Nike sponsors Kelly Cheng

The Swoosh will now be a regular aspect in American beach front volleyball. Kelly Cheng and Sarah Hughes, the No. 1 staff in the United states of america, have each inked contracts with the sporting-products big. Hughes has been a longtime Nike athlete, signing almost quickly soon after graduating from USC, while Cheng was briefly with Adidas through her operate with Sarah Sponcil. 

Brenden Sander indications with Panathinaikos Athens

This previous September, the brotherly duo of Taylor and Brenden Sander drew no little volume of eyeballs when they teamed to just take a fifth at the Laguna Open up, upending a selection of accomplished AVP players in the procedure — Seain Prepare dinner and David Lee, Evan Cory and Logan Webber, to title a few. With Brenden, the younger of the two, putting in frequent time with the United states Volleyball developmental team, numerous puzzled if he would be transferring to the beach front, as more mature brother Taylor did.

Not nevertheless.

Final week, Brenden, a former standout at BYU, signed with Panathinaikos Athens to participate in outside the house hitter.

Thais Treumann claims SSOVA open title at 14 decades, 1 thirty day period

I manufactured a offer with LT Treumann, a proud father and an outstanding beach volleyball coach who oversees B Volley in St. Petersburg, Florida: When his daughter, Thais, won an open up, with a stable industry consisting of gurus, then, and only then, would she get a compose-up. That day came on Saturday, when Treumann, an eighth grader at the age of 14 decades and a person thirty day period, and Lydia Smith, gained a SSOVA occasion, beating Aurora Davis and Bree Scarbrough in the finals.

The field provided USC recruit Ashley Pater and UCLA recruit Kennedy Coakley, who completed third, as did Violet Slabakova and Regan McGuire. Treumann, it should really be mentioned, has been given interest, according to her father, from all of the aforementioned faculties, among various others.

Treumann, on the other hand, is not the youngest to gain an open. Sarah Wood, a 14-12 months-aged from Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, is the youngest I could come across. She gained an open up at Highline Arena in New Jersey on December 19, 2020 — when she was just 12 years and 7 months. Earlier this 12 months, Wood turned the youngest participant to qualify for an AVP, when she and Ashley McGinn capable for the Muskegon Tour Collection when Wooden was just 14 several years, 1 thirty day period and 16 times. She snapped the record by extra than two many years.