Photographer Rick Atwood was in Frisco and a gallery of his best shots follow. Click on any photo to view full size and be sure to give him credit if you share.
The San Diego Smash cashed their long-shot ticket, vaulting from last place in the standings to a spot in the playoffs in the final two AVP League weekends.
The Smash had lurked at 2-6, seemingly out of sight and out of mind, in the League cellar for four consecutive weeks, sitting idle for the middle month of the series’ eight-week schedule.
But when they finally hit the sand again, the Smash’s duos of Chase Budinger–Miles Evans (4-4) and Geena Urango-Toni Rodriguez (4-4), produced dynamic results. They won three of their four matches during Week 7 in Anaheim, California, elevating them into the postseason hunt.
In the League’s eighth and final stop at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas, over the weekend, the Smash put together another 3-1 effort to finish 8-8. That earned them the fourth and final spot in the semifinals, which will be contested on Saturday night (Nov. 9) at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
How fitting that on the weekend the thoroughbred Breeders’ Cup extravaganza was raced “where the surf meets the turf” at historic Del Mar, the beach-volleyball team representing nearby San Diego closed like champions down the stretch.
The other team to qualify for the semifinals, the Dallas Dream, would have rewarded the chalk players. With Miles Partain and Andy Benesh putting the finishing touches on an undefeated regular season, the Dream won three of their four matches to land the No. 2 seed at 11-5. The Austin Aces (7-9) and LA Launch (5-11) saw their postseason hopes dashed, both going 1-3.
The surging Smash gained solid footing on Saturday night when savvy veteran Urango and the bubbly Rodriguez clawed to a 12-15, 15-11, 16-14 victory over Hailey Harward and Kylie Deberg of the Dream.
Consecutive aces by the 6-foot-1 Rodriquez got the Smash off to a roaring 4-1 start in the second set. After the Dream duo knotted the count at 7, the Smash scored “real” points on two more service winners by Toni and an attack error by Deberg. The Dream were unable to cut onto that four-point cushion.
Geena and Toni built a 10-5 advantage in the tiebreaker, but up-and-comers Harward and Deberg would not go down quietly, eventually drawing even at 14 when Hailey dug Urango and scored in transition down the line…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Volleyballmag.com…