March 15th @ Charlie's

The next tourney is 3/15 at Charlie's. 8:00 AM START. Usual stuff, but $15/ player for this tourney as we get into the regular season. Drop me an email to sign up, good list so far just from word of mouth. Update: Great turnout again. If not for a few teams dropping, we would have had 15 teams, wound up with a few less. After a morning indoors, we moved outdoors so the ladies could play their doubles tourney. Weather was good for most of the day, then got pretty gusty towards the end. Here's the results:
1) Adam Rubel/ Loric Box; 2) Chris Roosild/ Adam Cabbage; 3) Matt Valencia/Jeff Poole; 4) Christa Farris/ Jorge Alarcon; 5) Larry Cornwell/ Bryan Klein; 5) Dave/ Le; 7) Akram/ Rene; 7) Aaron/ Kameron; 9) Adam/Javier; 9) Ed Lucero; 9) Randy/ Mike; 9) Harris/ Paul

Jan '08 Indoor KoB Results

New Year, new season. Could this be the season of the youngbloods? That remains to be seen, but two fresh faces pulled out strong finishes including a victory in both of their entre's into the world of professional (albeit a $5-$20 profit) sports. Lots of playing during the day, many surprises and upsets and a final pool that saw games to 11 with the final results coming down to the last play in the pool and third place being decided by a playoff game to 3. 15 out of the 16 registered players showed up and it was a good chance for different players to try out some new partners. Congrats to the newbies for breaking in: 1) Bryan Klein 2) Adam Rubel 3) Adam Cabbage 4) Jeff Poole. Beyond that were all the other finishers, results were erased on the dry-erase board.

Aspen, Aspen, Aspen :-(

PART I

PART II

Well, it was a disappointing finish in Aspen this year. It was our worst finish playing together up there. We had a tough draw and played a couple of very strong teams, and did some things well, and some, not so well. All 3 of the games we lost were by 2 points. The most frustrating part of the tournament was my inability to finish in the end, being up 14-12 in the third game of our second match and not closing it out. Just as bad as a couple years ago being up 14-11 in the third to get to 5th place in the tourney and not closing it out. That proved to be a real motivator the next off season and led to the great season we had last year. Good news is I have most of the events on tape, so something to study. I've posted our final match, which was actually pretty well played on both sides, but we came up short 23-25 on a few critical late game errors. Overall we won two and lost two. There is room for improvement, the question is how much of a commitment do we want to make to getting to the next level. As I see it, to push ahead, those two matches we lost would not have to be close, considering they are very good teams, we'd have to make a substantial improvement, which will take a lot of effort. Something to think about going into the off season, especially in thinking about how hard to train. Time to go back and build the mental toughness for sure, which felt as though it was lacking for most of the season, probably attributable to busy schedules and less focus on the sport more than anything else. Anyhow, check out the vids above and let me know your thoughts if you have any ideas on where to go from here!

Back to the Sandbox!

8/18 is the next beach volleyball event at Charlie's. 8:30 check-in, 9:00 SHARP start. Abbreviated pool play followed by double elim for the men, not sure what will be run for the women. PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PLAYING! Life is so much easier when we know who to expect at a tourney.
UPDATE: It was a hot day in the sun, but everything kept moving and we had a good turnout on the men's side with 11 teams, a poor turnout on the women's side with 3 teams. I don't think we will be running women's events at Charlie's unless somebody is willing to step up and coordinate. Apparently there was also a women's event on Sunday at Sneakerz, so that probably cut into the turnout. We tried a new format, with match play to 15 in the lower bracket. Seemed like a good compromise to keep things moving and ensure everybody got enough playing in. Matt and Chris gave us a real tough run the first game of the final, making some great digs and pushing the game to extra points. Second wasn't as close, but we finished everything before 5:00! Womens had only three teams, so they got lots of playing and finished a bit earlier. Here are the results:
Men
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel; 2) Chris Roosild/ Matt Valencia; 3) Jeff Poole/ Matt Jensen; 4) Bryan Klein/ Larry Cornwell; 5) Paul Sanchez/ Kameron Cheney; 5) Shane Murdie/ Gary; 7) John Malcom/ Daniel Pimental; 7)Adam/ Aaron; 9) Sonny Marquez/ Cameron; 9) Harris / Harley; 9) Randy/ Ed

Women
1) Shannon/ Maddie; 2)Kathy Berry/ Kimber; 3) Gabriella Ramirez/ Jennifer Lechman

We are changing the date of the next tournament at Charlie's to 9/22 because the Bad Ass Grass will be the weekend of 9/15. No women's event unless somebody from the ladies side wants to step up and run it.

Taos Solar Spike

Well, fresh back from a trip up to Taos. It was a pretty good event, with strong backing from the local radio station and the town itself. Disapointed in the turnout, at least in the sand. The grass had a decent showing, especially with the battle of the businesses. There were only 6 teams in the men's sand and 4 womens. It's just difficult to get the limited number of players to turn out from the region for events before they get established. I think announcing and locking prize money prior to an event will help to attract open players, maybe also listing entries. A little disappointing to have the low turnout affect the payout in the sand. That being said, the teams were good quality and there were some good matches. A couple of new young guys came out from Albuquerque and were very impressive in their sand doubles debut. Apparently one of them played hoops for UNM. Hopefully they are excited about the sport and will keep coming out for events and work on improving their skills throughout the winter. Another surprise team was Bryan and Nate. Nate is a very strong player in the area from Alaska (though he started playing in CA) for the summer and Bryan is another of the young new guys. They put some good games together and the experience was undoubtedly good for Bryan. Matt played with his friend Adam from back in school, who hadn't played in a while, but looked like a real dangerous player when things started getting back in his groove. Surprise team for the weekend was Jeff and Desi, who put together some great matches, beating Matt and Adam two out of three matches (two of which went 3 games and both wins were in the double elim) and they even pushed us to a tight match in the winner's bracket final. The finals were played in rainy conditions, and Loric and I were clicking well, so we came out on top in a fairly decisive manner. Looked like they had a good turnout for Coed on the grass on Sunday as well. Congrats to Vanessa and Erin who looked to be playing real strong ball since coming back from Chicago and winning the women's open. Hopefully the event will continue to grow next year. Here are the men's results:
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel; 2) Jeff Poole/ Desi Vigil; 3) Matt Valencia/ Adam 4) Nathan Beck/ Bryan Klein; 5) Cameron Vigil/ Jeff Hart; 5) Sonny Marquez/ Kameron Cheney

7-14 Charlie's Sanbox Results

It sounds like a good last tournament at Charlie's Sandbox last weekend. Thanks to Chris for running the show while we were away. Hopefully we can continue to turn out men's and women's teams for the rest of the summer. Of course, next weekend is the Taos Solar Spike! This is really looking like a fun event. The battle of the business division is filling up fast, but we still need to get players out in the other divisions. Lots of good stuff in this one, wouldn't want to miss it! Here are the results from last weekend at Charlie's:

Women (6 Teams)

1. Maddy and Shannon; 2. Steph and Chandra

Men (8 Teams)

1. Chris and Matt; 2. Ricardo and Matt J.; 3. Jorge and Rob; 4. Jeff and Larry

AVP Quali, Injury, Heading to CA

Well, this past week Loric and I headed in different directions. He headed to the mountains to camp with his family while I headed with my wife to the east coast to see mine. I got in to the AVP qualifier in Seaside. Big accomplishment, because I now have a point that means I shouldn't be eliminated from future big draw events, meaning Loric and I should be able to get into quali's this year and next. We had to play the first game of the tourney, at 8:00 AM on Thursday. It was wet, hot and cold, seemed like the weather changed three times during the match. It's always tough getting out with someone you are not used to playing with, especially in a single elim tourney with decent competition. My partner Jeff and I played fairly well, but there were streaks of giving and getting points which showed a lack of consistency in teaming together. We dropped the first game in extra points on a net dribbler ace. We won the second game, which got close at the end, although we had a steady lead throughout. Too many mistakes in the third wound up costing us the match against a decent, but beatable team from Ohio. It was good to see a lot of players that I know and some I hadn't seen for many year. One of the big goals was to watch Karch Kiraly play one of his last tournaments. He was pretty amazing for any age, let alone a 47 year old. I talked with Loric today. He was supposed to play up in Steamboat with Matt from CO. Unfortunately, he hurt his knee in the last tournament we played together at Sneakerz and wasn't able to give it a go. He's out in CA right now and was going to practice moving around a bit to see if we will be able to play at all this weekend. We fly out tomorrow night and will spend 4 days in Hermosa Beach, the heart of Beach Volleyball. Looking forward to spending more time on a beach and getting some touches against some of the toughest competition anywhere. Next big event for us is going to be the Taos Solar Spike, which will draw strong teams from the region and is shaping to be a great event. This weekend is and event at Charlie' Sandbox. Teams looking to register should contact Chris: vaenekene@yahoo.com

Sneakerz Series #2

Time again to hit the sands at Sneakerz. Chris will be running this 2 on 2 men's format. I'll take the registrations and post them up here, as well as the results after.

Also, our sponsor, 18 Panel Athletic, has worked out a fundraising deal to help us with our travels. We will have hats and shirts for sale at the event and future events. Proceeds will go to our travel fund to help us get out and represent NM at different tournies. It will also help to launch this startup volleyball company out of Phoenix.

Update:
It was a cooker on Saturday. Temps got into the upper 90's and the slightest breeze didn't arrive until late in the afternoon. A long day too, with the finals wrapping up around 8:00PM. We had a solid 12 team turnout. Here are the finishers, as I recall them: 1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel 2) Matt Valencia/ Chris Roosild 3) Thierry Thelliez/ Nathan Beck 4)Rob Pierce/ Jorge Alarcon 5) Bryan Klein/ Larry Cornwell 5) Desi Vigil/ Jeff Poole

Gettin' in the groove...

Well, this weekend we finally started playing some decent volleyball and had a strong showing at the King of the Mountain tournament up in Vail, CO. Loric and I had a first tough match against Lucas and Tony. We were up for most of the first game, but somehow lost it at the end, something like 22-24. I shanked game point, and wasn't happy. Fortunately we picked it up and cruised through the next two games to win a fun match against a real athletic team. Next we faced Ryan and Paige, a real solid team that we last played in the finals up in Denver last year. I got about every serve and was lousy at siding out, and not picking up many balls. We dropped the match and were sent to the loser's bracket with something to think about through the night. I calmed my frustration and went back to fundamentals and found my shooting range on Sunday. We played a number of solid teams, but were in control, winning our first three games fairly handidly. We then faced Paige and Ryan again in the semifinals. We were off to a sow start in the first game, but steadied out by the end of it. We went on to play solid volleyball, scooping balls and siding out well. We won the second game by a good margin, and battled through the third to win the match. The long day on hard backed sand at high elevation and warm weather took its toll, we were both twinging by the third game of that match and were sucking down beers and pickles trying to dig deep for the finals. We faced Neil and Jamey, last year's winners. We gutted it out and I made a serving mistake, going to Jamey at 19-20 in the first game. He sided out and took the game. We were a little too gassed and they had fresh legs, playing only their second match of the day, and they took us out in two. They are a solid team and we needed to be at the top of our game to have a chance of victory. We both felt that our best ball of the season remains ahead of us, an upcoming trip to CA should help to boost us along. My body feels kind'a wrecked from getting all the serves and playing on such fine, hard packed sand, but an off week should be plenty of recovery. This was our best finish at one of the major mountain tournaments, and we go a little write up in the Vail Daily News. I think we're both looking forward to picking up our game the rest of this season and creating some big finishes. I'll be heading to NJ in a couple of weeks and may pick up a partner for the AVP quali or local tournament depending on if a suitable one turns up. Loric may be able to get up to Steamboat to play another mountain tourney if he can connect with the right partner. We'll re-unite in Manhattan Beach, CA to play a GAV tourney and get some practice in with the big guns, hopefully. Of course, first there is the Sneakerz tourney next week...

Back in Action

OK, back from a great trip to northern California and a tourney up in Denver. It's really hard for me to be living far from the ocean, little trips here and there help out. I'm gonna rant a bit about my lousy level of play this year. Not sure what is going on, mentally feeling focused, physically feeling healthier and stronger with each tournament, but my skills seem off, at least one important skill - siding out. Last year it was such a focus of mine to be able to side out consistently against just about anyone after being served a lot the year before, and I felt like I achieved that goal. This year, I've been giving up runs of 4-5 points in a row and had a few total meltdowns up in Denver of not being able to do anything right. Well, we did play a couple of very good teams that were playing well, hopefully it will be enough to motivate me to get my game up to par. We've got a good long stretch ahead of us, and strangely, I feel we are improving in some way every time we step on the court. Loric and I should have our rhythm down by the time we hit Vail for the King of the Mountain in a couple of weeks.

OK, sorry for boring you with that tirade. I heard the Sneakerz tourney from a couple of weeks ago went real well. Loric picked up Desi to win a double final over Chris and Matt V. Kudos to Desi who has been playing great ball all year for finally getting his name etched on the plaque at Sneakerz (ok, there really isn't a plaque, but there should be!). This weekend we return to Charlie's Sandbox, sans Charlie, to play it up again. I'm late in getting notices out, but hopefully we will see a strong turnout based on the crowd that showed up to the Sandia Mountain Classic. I almost forgot that Beach Volleyball Magazine ran an article that I rushed together before leaving town on the event. The Taos Solar Spike in late July is sounding like it is going to be a great tournament. Kameron has been doing a great job getting sponsors and building some high quality sand courts. Many guys from Denver were interested in coming down for the event; hopefully a few women's teams will turn out as well. UPDATE:
Men
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel; 2) Chris Roosilid/ Matt Valencia; 3) Ricardo Sanchez/ Matt Jensen; 4)Fred Ader/ Larry Cornwell; 5) Bryan Klein/ Mike; 5) Shayne Murdie/ Dave Bruhner; 7) Ed/ Dave; 7) Rich/ Adam; 9) Paul/ Nate; 9) Patrick/ Partner; 9) Harris/ Daniel


Women
1) Patty Ader/ KC Raver; 2) Chandra Weaver/ Stephanie Valencia; 3) Davina Romero/ Lveryn Aodaca 4) Sarah/ Rachelle

It has begun...

Allright, the Sandia Mountain Volleyball Classic was very cool. There were over 50 teams in 5 divisions, I don't think I've seen that many outdoor volleyballers in NM at one time. There were only 11 teams in the men's open, but it was a super solid draw, all the way to the top. I was glad to be able to play, the acupuncture and bodywork I've been getting have really helped with the back and shoulder problems that had me feeling pretty crummy to start the season. We started out slow, out of rhythm, and not feeling real comfortable against a pretty strong team from New Jersey. We actually dropped a big lead in the first game, like 19-14, to lose 24-26 or something. I don't think we've blown a late game lead since our first year at Aspen, which fired us up for our tear during all of last season. We dropped the second game to them as well in a close one. Later in the day, we started to get more comfortable and our rhythm was clicking. We tore through a Texas teams and had a pretty good run at the NM Matt's. We started to get more comfortable, siding out steadily and converting in transition. Sunday we went up against the solid team of Post/ Scott from CO. While the first game started off slow for both teams, things quickly heated up and we had a great match, with some terrific plays and exchanges. Ryan was playing phenomenal is siding out super steady, crushing our strategy of wearing him out with every serve. We could have been smarter, but his partner was good too, and we like a challenge. We had a few shakey moments of siding out, not in our best rhythm yet, but we were definitely kicked into a gear we hadn't had to touch in a year. We dropped two very close, very long extra point games. We were pretty happy with our play considering we haven't been practicing or playing much due to our work schedules and funky weather. Feels like, at least for me personally, I'm finally starting to bounce back from a prolonged playing slump. Now, however, we're into the swing of season and volleyball is about to get real busy for us. I'm heading out to California tonight (yeah, real late night road trip) and will hook up to play in Santa Cruz with a Denver transplant living out there now. Should hopefully get some touches in the real sand during the week as well. Loric will be playing in the Sneakerz touorney on Sat with a partner, as far as I know, yet to be determined. The day I get back from the Cruz, I'll be meeting up with Loric, or Matt and Chris, to head up to Denver to play in the first CPVA up there. Then its back to Charlie's for a local tourney, then off to Vail, couple weeks later its New Jersey then right back to California to play a GAV in Manhattan Beach. Guess this is what all those extra hours working through the winter were for! We're planning on getting more practice time during the week, so combined with the high level of competition, we should be humming along in no time!

Should have some pics from Paul to post when I get back in a couple weeks.

If you're here looking for info on Saturday's Sneakerz tourney, contact Chris at: Vaenekene@yahoo.com; 505-363-1262 to sign up

King of the Beach at Sneakerz

Saturday, April 28th we return to the sands of Sneakerz for the annual early season King of the Beach tournament. What the heck is that, you may ask? This is the perfect format for guys that don't have their partners figured out for the season yet and for others to play with guys they don't normally get to side with. In this tournament, players are set in pools of four and each player gets to partner with every other player in the pool. Those with the top point differentials and records advance to a new pool of players, until the final pool, which is decided by the player with the greatest margins of victory while playing with all the remaining players. Of course, the event could adopt the AVP format of the two finalists selecting from the eliminated players, with the exception of not being able to select their normal partner. I'll list players entered for the event, you can let me know if you are interested in playing or call Tavake directly.
UPDATE:
It was a long, hot day with lots and lots of playing. We had 18 or so participants, good numbers for early in the season with a bunch of guys away and others not wanting to get sandy before their indoor matches that evening. After a double elim KoB format, the battle of attrition came down to Loric and Myself advancing with a bye to the finals. Chris and Tony fought their way out of the last pool. After a roll off, the teams were set. Chris and Loric wrecked Tony and myself who had run out of gas in the final match, played under the lights. So, for the second year, Loric wears the crown and I get the court jester shoes ;-). Here's the final 4 finish:
1) Loric Box
2) Adam Rubel
3) Chris Roosilid
4) Tony Shimkus

2007 Indoor Sand Schedule & Results

Winter's off to a great start already. We just had our second indoor sand event, and drew ten teams with some great, almost epic matches. Everybody is doing a great job of keeping their skills up throughout the off-season. We had a new team in the winner's circle this weekend, as Matt V. finally got his taste of victory, partnering with Rob who came out of hiding to make an impact. Dan also played great this weekend, dealing with my tired self and battling to the finish in an overtime, epic sort of final.
This post will be used to keep a track of the schedule, registered teams and results for the rest of the indoor sand season.
Results - December 10th
1) Matt Valencia/ Rob Pierce 2) Dan/ Adam Rubel 3) Jeff Poole/ Desi Vigil 4) Tony Schimkus/ Larry Cornwell 5) Ricardo Sanchez/ Tony Perrea 5) Brian/ Eddie 7) Harris/ Eesah 7) Fred Ader/ Lopaka 9) Shane Murdie/ Adrian Reaves 9) Manny Padilla/ Sonny Marques
January 21 Event - RESULTS
1) Adam Rubel/ Loric Box; 2) Rob Pierce/ Matt Valencia; 3) Chris Roosild/ Tony Schimkus 4) Jeff Poole/ Larry Cornwell 5) Rich/ Rich 5) Shane Murdie/ Sony Marquez 7) Bryan/ Eddie 7) Manny Padilla/ Paul Sanchez 9) Garrett Sholer/ Tom Fairfield

February 18 Event - Results
1) Adam Rubel/ Loric Box; 2) Desi Vigil/ Larry Cornwell; 3) Truett Massey/ Will Carson; 4) Chris Roosild/ Ricardo Sanchez; 5) Matt Gordon/ Christa Farris; 5) Bryan/ Richard; 7) Kameron Cheney/ Daniel; 7) Sonny Marquez; 9) Manny Padilla/ Paul Sanchez; 9) Harris Zeyaee/ Asa; 9)Richard/ Adam

March 18 Event - FIRST NM OUTDOOR/INDOOR SAND TOURNEY - Results
1) Adam Rubel/ Loric Box; 2) Rob Pierce/ Matt Gordon; 3) Matt Valencia/ Chris Roosild; 4) Desi Vigil/ Larry Cornwell; 5) Jeff Poole/ Kameron Cheney; 5) Brian Post/ Shane Nelson; 7) Bryan/ Rich; 7) Michael Bien; 9)Harris Zeyaee/ Brad Berry; 9) Tony Schimkus/ Dan; 9) Paul Sanchez/ Manny Padilla

Results and Next Event: Beach Volleyball - Desert Inside

The initial doubles event was a great success! We had ten (actually, 9 1/2) teams after a couple of injuries and last minute dropouts. By actually starting play at 8:30, we managed to finish pool play by 10:00 AM. This left enough time to run full matches all the way through the winners bracket, and a game to 25 through the losers. We finished just before our 4:00 deadline. There were many good matches and great games. Kind of exciting for folks to be playing competitive at this time of the year. Here are the results from the event:
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel ($40, pair of Plastic Hats thanks to Sonny) 2) Matt Valencia/ Matt Gordon ($30) 3) Jeff Poole/ Tony Schimkus 4) Ricardo Sanchez/ Doug Williams 5) Larry Cornwell/ Desi Vigil 5) Kameron Cheney 7) Shane/ Sonny 7) Brian/ Eddie 9) Harris/ Eesah 9) Paul Sanchez/ Manny Padilla

Good News! We'll be able to host an event every month, until the sun shines again and the sand warms up. Here's some info on the next event:
DATE: Sunday, December 10th
TIME: 8:00 AM check in; 8:30 Start (If we overbook, be ready for an earlier start)
Where: Charlie's Sandbox (behind Stoneface in Albuquerque)
Contact: ADAM RUBEL: nmsvbteam[at]gmail[dot]com
What: Doubles tournament.
Limit: 12 teams (sign up soon, had a waiting list for last event)
Format: SHORT pool play, followed by double elim tournament (Modern size court, antenna's, rally score, 21st century volleyball - yellow & white, AVP style rules)
Cost: $10/ Player
Prizes: Some, whatever is left after paying for the facility, could be half of what is collected. Had some Plastic hats generously thrown into the pot by Sonny last weekend.
Why: Because it is friggin Beach Volleyball in the winter in New Mexico - why else?
Teams:
1) Matt Valencia/ Rob Pierce
2) Ricardo Sanchez/ Tony Perrea
3) Harris Zeyaee/ Eesah
4) Jeff Poole/ Desi Vigil
5) Larry Cornwell/ Tony Schimkus
6) Shane Murdie/ Adrian Reeves
7) Steve Stansel/ Steve Seal
8) Fred Ader/ Lopaka
9) Brian/ Eddie
Individuals:
1) Sonny Marquez
2) Manny Padilla
3) Russell Grey
4) Adam Rubel
5) Daniel

Wrapping the Season

What a summer! It ended with a it of a fizzle, unfortunately. We were supposed to play the EVP event in Phoenix last weekend, but Loric came down with a case of strep the day before, so we had to bag it. Too bad, as it seemed like a good event, but no worries, we had plenty of playing and will have plenty more. Here's some of the highlights from 2006:

• Competing in four states (Arizona; California; Colorado; New Mexico)
• We competed in fifteen tournaments with Ten First Place Finishes.
• Undefeated record in New Mexico in all eight tournaments.
• The first team from outside of Colorado to win a CPVA open event, by winning the AVP Next Rocky Mountain Regional Championship.
• During a month when Loric had to be in Phoenix, he teamed with another partner to win the VAO AVP Next Brick Open in Prescott, AZ. During that same time, Adam teamed with a Denver player to finish 4^th in the prestigious King of the Mountain event in Vail, CO.
• Two trips to California to play the nations toughest competition. Top finish was a 13^th place out of 43 teams in the Pro CBVA Bud Light Premier Tour stop in Hermosa Beach, CA.
• Competing against various AVP teams including the 2006 Rookie of the Year.
• Conducted Beach Volleyball clinics in Albuquerque to help build participants skill level and interest in the sport.
• Lots, and lots of fun.

I'll be getting up more on off-season training and plans for 2007 soon!

BadAss Grass #11

Well, a little slow in reporting. Sorry, I've been super busy with work lately. Anyhow, a few weeks back we played the 11th BadAss Grass in Albuquerque, our annual foray into the grassy volleyball world. It was a fun day and a great tournament. We wound up playing Desi and Tony P. in the finals. It was a good match, and our grass legs held out long enough for us to take the bladed crown. Admittedly, it was a while ago and I don't recall the other finishers, so apologies. Good stuff, though. Yes, that is Eighteen Panel apparel we have on, thanks to them for supporting us for the event! Look for the line to be widely available soon.

Aspen Motherlode Volleyball Tourney

Well, it was a good time as always up in Aspen. Unfortunately, we were probably as far off our game as we had been at any time this year, and we played some solid teams. We started strong on Saturday, winning our first two matches. This included defeating a pretty good Chicago team with one big hitter that has been playing on the indoor volleyball national team practice squad. On Sunday, we got to play the AVP team of Baxter/ Roberts. This match was a blast. We started out real strong, and were able to hang with them for the majority of the match. I think we only gave up three natural points the whole first game, but weren't able to break through enough points to pull out a win. Monday morning we did not play well at all, and lost our 8:30 AM game to a solid team from San Diego. So, we weren't able to improve on last year's ninth place finish, but ended up in 17th. It was a real strong tournament, with more AVP teams flying out as well as many other good teams playing. Turns out Loric got pretty sick right after the tourney and was struggling with something during the event, maybe that helped to throw off our chemistry. Oh well, the event is always good motivation to work harder in the off season. I'm sure we will bounce back for our next few tournaments. The other NM teams had a tough run, even though they all played well at times. Hopefully motivation for everybody to work harder to bring the level statewide even higher. We want to thank 18 Panel Athletic for sponsoring us for the event and Paul Sanchez for snapping some pics. I'll post some up once he gets them online.

We'll be out at the Badass Grass tourney in Albuquerque this weekend, for out annual foray into the world of grass volleyball. Should be a good time. We'll be out training and trying to keep our edge in preparation for the EVP Phoenix event in late October.

Sneakerz Championship/ Series Results

It was a great weekend for volleyball. The sixth and final event of the series saw some strong teams and some heated battles as players jockeyed for position in the Sneakerz Cup. It was also the first time that Jeff and Desi made an appearence in a final this summer. Their solid play throughout the day brought them to the winners final and then back through the contenders bracket into the tournament finals. Here are the results of the event:
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel
2) Jeff Poole/ Desi Vigil
3) Matt Gordon/ Brian Luck
4) Chris Rooslid/ Rob Pierce
There was also a bonus pool payout for overall finishes during the season. Here's the New Mexico Beach Volleyball Bonus Pool results:
1) Adam Rubel
2) Loric Box
3) Matt Gordon
4) Chris Rooslid
Thanks again to Tavake and Sneakerz for another great season of New Mexico Beach Volleyball Doubles. We're looking forward to continued successful tournaments next year.