Match of the day: The Pro Beach Volleyball Players Championship held at the new Hahana Beach sports facility in Columbia Township kicked off Friday with a slew of the top players participating. Misty May-Treanor/Nicole Branagh, the No. 2 seeds, played Dianne DeNeocochea and Brittany Hochevar, the No. 7 seeds, in the match of the day on center court. May-Treanor/Branagh won the first set easily 21-12, but DeNeocochea/Hochevar took a tight second set 22-20. In the deciding third set, DeNeocochea/Hochevar jumped out to an 8-4 lead. May-Treanor/Branagh hung around with tight defense, posting up at the net, and impressive dink shots by May-Treanor. Late in the set, Branagh came up with a huge block to tie the score at 13.• Photos: Friday action

"We just didn't dispatch," said Branagh. "We stuck together and stayed mentally in the game." A missed serve gave Branagh/May-Treanor the lead at 15-14. Then, May-Treanor served it out for the victory. "We were fortunate enough to get our rhythm back, but it was a battle all the way," said May-Treanor.

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Although the Association of Volleyball Professionals national beach volleyball tour shut down Aug. 13 because of financial woes, many of its top players are participating in a weekend tournament at the new Hahana Beach facility in Columbia Township.

Several Olympians - including Phil Dalhausser, Todd Rogers, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh - are among the contenders in the Pro Beach Volleyball Players Championship.

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Beach Volleyball Duo Beat Jet Lag To Win Event In California: JOSH Court and Michael Snart have added another title to their growing collection, winning an AA-level competition in Los Angeles. The national under-23 champions recently returned from the Californian Beach Volleyball Series after playing several competitions.

Court, from Applecross, said driving on the wrong side of the road, as well as Los Angeles itself, was a little overwhelming but the trip was a success. He said the first competition at Long Beach, California, was as much a battle against jet lag as their opponents, as it began the day after they landed.

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Lehigh Valley Teenagers Second In Beach Volleyball: Being on the beach at Fort Lauderdale is not exactly the worst way to spend your summer vacation. So when Cody Chidsey suggested to his friend Kevin Rehm that the two enter a beach volleyball tournament, Rehm had one question. "Where is it?"

Chidsey, 16, a Northampton High junior, and Rehm, 19, a 2010 graduate of Whitehall, had never played beach volleyball before, although both played key roles in their respective indoor high school teams' efforts this past year. "We practiced a little bit when we were in Florida," Rehm admitted."We had a little bit of practice," Chidsey added. "We had two days to get to the tournament. When we got down there we bought a volleyball and practiced the whole day before the tournament. We looked online and got some ideas. We took what we found online and used it.

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Belmar Volleyball Tournament Is Close Down: Professional volleyball in Belmar appears to have been spiked for good. The Association of Volleyball Professionals announced on Friday that it is shutting down its operations due to financial hardship, effective immediately. The Belmar stop on the AVP circuit had been a mainstay for 17 of the past 20 years and had evolved into the Shore’s most identifiable summer events.

Belmar mayor Kenneth E. Pringle said he was “saddened” to hear of the AVP’s demise. “It’s kind of like the passing of an old friend,” Pringle said. “But this has been a very challenging economic environment. There’s a huge core of fan support for beach volleyball in this area, and we had been looking to build upon that support. Maybe they’ll find a way to resurrect the tour some time in the future.

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Manhattan Beach Open Set To Begin Despite Pro League's End: The setting and spiking on the sand begins Saturday morning at the Manhattan Beach Open volleyball competition. Some people call the Open the “Wimbledon” of beach volleyball, but it’s happening just after the collapse of the pro tour. The sport’s top event survived this year by returning to its surf-and-sand roots.

The Manhattan Beach Open started 50 years ago. Back then, it was all about bragging rights. Spectators brought their beach chairs or sat in the sand to watch the top amateurs go two-on-two. In 1983, the Association of Volleyball Professionals began — and absorbed the Manhattan Beach event into its pro tour.

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Historic Triumph For SL Beach Volleyball Duo: Sri Lanka’s beach volleyball team made history when they bagged the silver medal at the Asian beach volleyball tour that concluded at Liupanshui, China yesterday. The Lankan pair although putting up a gallant fight in the final against the lanky New Zealanders lost by two sets to nil. However, they managed to stretch the eventual winners with two close sets of 19-21, 18-21. This unprecedented effort would go down in the annals of local beach volleyball folklore as a historic achievement. The Sri Lankan pair of Mahesh Perera and Wasantha Ratnapala is certain to receive a red carpet welcome.

The 2010 National Beach Volleyball Championships kicked off at My Khe Beach in the central city of Da Nang yesterday. The tournament has drawn the participation of 15 teams including eight men's teams and seven women's teams from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, the Army, Khanh Hoa, Hai Phong and Da Nang. The teams will be divided into four groups and compete in a round robin to decide the two top teams in each group to play in the semi-finals.

The four-day tournament which is part of the 6th National Sport Games is co-organised by the General Department of Physical Training and Sports, the Vietnam Volleyball Federation and the Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

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Highly rated men and women teams will be seen in action in the Second edition of FIVB Challenger Beach Volleyball Championship slated to be held here from September 27 to October 2. In the first edition hosted here in 2008,Indian women did not take part because of the ‘bikini’ dress code for the game.

“This year, however, players from Goa have agreed to abide by the dress code and hopefully,we will be fielding women’s teams.The men’s event will comprise 32 teams and the women’s category will consist of 24 teams,” A.J.Martin Sudhakar, Tournament Director, told reporters here last night.

Apart from Brazil, Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, teams from England, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Austria, Thailand, China and Japan will be participating in the event. The total prize money for the event would be USD 70,000 (USD 40,000 for the men and USD 30,000 for women).

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Highly rated men and women teams will be seen in action in the Second edition of FIVB Challenger Beach Volleyball Championship slated to be held in Chennai from September 27 to October 2. In the first edition hosted in Chennai in 2008, Indian women did not take part because of the ‘bikini’ dress code for the game.

“This year, however, players from Goa have agreed to abide by the dress code and hopefully, we will be fielding women’s teams. The men’s event will comprise 32 teams and the women’s category will consist of 24 teams”, AJ Martin Sudhakar, tournament director, said last night.

Apart from Brazil, Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, teams from England, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Austria, Thailand, China and Japan will be participating in the event. The total prize money for the event would be $70,000 ($40,000 for the men and $30,000 for women).

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