The best professional beach volleyball players are coming to Belmar Beach and the Jersey Shore this weekend.
The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Nivea Tour’s Belmar Open will run Friday through Sunday at Fifth Avenue and Ocean Avenue, Belmar.
Belmar has historically been one of the pros’ favorite stops on the East Coast.
The teams of Matt Fuerbringer/Nick Lucena and Jen Kessy/April Ross are coming to Belmar off tour victories at Virginia Beach last Sunday (June 20).
Fuerbringer/Lucena won the men’s title in straight sets of the top-seeded team of John Hyden/Sean Scott, 21-17, 21-19. It was the first title as a team for Fuerbringer/Lucena.
Heading into Belmar, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers are the top-ranked men’s team. Hyden/Scott are No. 2.
Kessy/Ross scored their second straight tour victory over the top-ranked team of Misty May-Treanor/Nicole Branagh at Virginia Beach. It was a three-set thriller, 21-15, 18-21, 15-12.
With a victory this weekend, Kessy/Ross could overtake May-Treanor/ Branagh as the top-ranked team on the beach. Overall, the pair is 5-0 versus Treanor/Branagh in 2010, including two AVP wins and three on the FIVA (Federation Internationale de Volleyball) Tour.
There will be 32 male and female teams in this weekend’s Belmar Open. The event uses a double-elimination format.
P
lay begins at 8 a.m. on Friday with
men’s and women’s qualifying matches. Out of the field of 32 teams, eight are filled via Friday’s qualifying rounds (there are 22 automatic entries and two wild cards). Saturday begins at 9 a.m. with the men’s and women’s draw competition getting under way. Sunday draw competition continues at 8 a.m. The women’s final is 2 p.m. followed at 4 p.m. with the men’s final.
Tickets can be purchased online prior to the tournament at www.avp.com.
The Belmar Open is the fifth of 12 events on the AVP’s 2010 Tour and the third and final stop on the East Coast. The pros head to Hermosa Beach, Calif., July 16-18 after Belmar.