Taylor Sander takes aim at a muscle-bound defender as Tri Bourne begs fruitlessly for mercy.
Ok so I was planning on writing this big long piece about the amazing 4 Man tournament put on a week and a half ago by the McKibbin Brothers in Austin but I thought to myself - people come here to see the pictures, not attempt to read my semi-literate attempts at stories. Furthermore, there are already some great articles put together by Megan Kaplon from Volleyballmag that highlight the action and events of that day. If you want to check those articles out they are HERE and HERE.
Eric Barenek has never said no to a free beer.
Back to what I do want to focus on…the pictures! That’s what I went to do and dammit, that’s what I did while I was there (while enjoying the occasional cold refreshment). Many thanks to Riley and Maddison for giving me an enthusiastic “HELL YES!” When I reached out to them about getting permission to photograph the tournament. I mean, technically I did offer my services for free but they hooked me up with the all access pass and are truly some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. They have been so appreciative of the work I did and that is something I won’t soon forget.
It might just be an AVP thing though seeing as every pro I had the pleasure of talking to on that Saturday was beyond friendly and eager to engage with the fans that showed up. And this is by Texas standards. It’s always nice when you meet your idols and they turn out to be genuine, good hearted people. And it takes me back to a previous blog post where I talked about the volleyball community and how amazing it’s been for me. I don’t know another sport you can find a community that’s got the same feel no matter which level you’re in.
Jeremy Casebeer wakes up from a mid match nap, much to the amazement of Casey Patterson.
Troy Field learns happy hour is ending during his match.
So obviously the main reason for making the trip was to watch some of the best professionals in the world play in a four person beach volleyball format, but we also had two teams representing our local club, Third Coast Volleyball. There were qualifiers for local teams from Houston, Dallas and Austin to get into the final four draw where you’d be playing against pro teams stacked with AVP and Olympic Champions.
The men’s team came up just short of making it to the final four but the women stormed through the qualifying field and found themselves matched up against current Olympic gold medalist April Ross and her team of AVP pros. In what would look like a David vs Goliath match up on paper, the local kids showed heart and an incredible ability to fight fire with fire. The scoring went back and forth for both games but ultimately Third Coast came up just a couple points shy in both sets of the match.
Kristen Nuss and Macy Jerger attempt to make tip-off a thing in beach volleyball.
Troy Field parts the seas of Tri Bourne and Taylor Sander
The finals in both the men’s and women’s fields were both professionals vs professionals with Hawaii battling California on the men’s side and California playing the Midwest on the women’s. Tri Bourne, Taylor Crabb, Trevor Crabb and Taylor Sander were able to edge out Casey Patterson, Jeremy Casebeer, Troy Field and Chase Budinger for their share of the $20,000 grand prize. And for the women, Taryn Kloth, Falyn Fonoimoana, Kristen Nuss and Corinne Quiggle took down April Ross, Karissa Cook, Macy Jerger and Geena Urango to bring home the money.
Alyssa Enneking and the Third Coast women celebrate news that McDonalds is bringing back the McRib
How many McKibbin brothers does it take to install a GoPro camera?
Both matches resembled a meteor shower with hits raining down and only the occasional monster block to thwart the offensive onslaught. The sold out crowd was “ooh”-ing and “ahh”-ing with regularity. As someone who has yet to go to an AVP event in person, I felt the atmosphere was buzzing despite the fact that attendance was capped at a few hundred spectators. That intimacy though was one of the best aspects of the whole tournament. You were never more than a few yards away from the center court where Olympic level volleyball was being played. The McKibbin Brothers have definitely found the formula for success with their 4 Man concept and I think the possibilities going forward are endless. Exciting times lay ahead for this sport that I’ve come to love.
Now if you just came here to see the massive photo dump, you can find the link to the 1300 tournament photos HERE
If you’re going to share them, I ask that you please credit me in your post. Thank you!
Ross Nelms with the bunnies on this hit