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.

Concluding the Season

Well, the weather is starting to cool off and the days are getting shorter. All the signs are pointing to summer's drawing to an end. Doesn't mean that our season is over just yet, and we're going to squeze out every ounce of playing we can get in. This coming weekend is the big Motherlode tournament in Aspen, Colorado. It is the largest pro-am in the country, with open and masters divisions in the sand and a plethora of other divisions played in the grass. We'll be up in the sand playing the men's open division, which is guaranteing a solid turnout as always this year, with some deep competition. The Motherlode website is showing 62 teams in the men's division including some solid players that have been spending time on the AVP tour this year. It looks like our lead sponsor for the event will be Eighteen Panel Sport. Word on the street is we should have a pretty good seed going into the event and we will be looking to improve on last year's ninth place finish. There are three other teams from NM competing in the men's open as well.
Looking a bit further down the road, we're planning on playing the BadAss Grass tournament in Albuquerque again this year, celebrating the annual "wearing of the shoes and getting dirty on the grass" event. There is an outside chanve we may be able to make one more trip out to California to play in a CBVA event, especially if some sponsor support comes through. We are planning to conclude the season by competing in the Phoenix EVP event in late October. This looks like a great event with some good prize money. There should be some very good teams competing and it sounds like these are always well run tournaments. So, lots of volleyball left before winter's Hibernation sets in!

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.

Sneakerz #6 - The Championship!

That's right, all the big $$$ and prizes are being awarded. This is the final battle in the men's sand division of the mighty Sneakerz beach volleyball series in Albuquerque, NM. An air of excitement is permeating the entire state. OK, maybe that's a bit of overhype, but this should be a good tournament as we're expecting a solid turnout. Here's the list as of now:
1) Adam Rubel/ Loric Box
2) Chris Roosalid/ Rob Pierce
3) Larry Cromwell/ Dave
4) Jeff Poole/ Desi Vigil
5) Matt Gordon/ ??

Sneakerz #5 Results

Desert beach volleyball is alive and well in New Mexico. We had a good turnout this past weekend with ten strong teams making an appearance at the next to last event of the Sneakerz summer series. Everybody's looking forward to the final event at the end of this month, with its larger payout and expected large draw. It was good to see Matt and Vince back together playing. Tony and Ricardo worked their way through the bracket to a strong finish. Chris and Matt V. round out some of the teams preparing to make an appearance at the big Motherlode event in Aspen. Here are the results as I recall:
1) Loric Box/ Adam Rubel
2) Vince Vandermay/ Matt Gordon
3) Ricardo Sanchez/ Tony Perrera
4) Matt Valencia/ Chris Hammock