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   PART  I (1st 10 AVP 2007 events)

   PART  II (2nd half 8 AVP 2007 events)

   PART  III (last 4 AVP 2007 events)

  PART I Hot Winter Nites (19 AVP 2008 events)

  PART II (1st 10 AVP 2008 events)

  PART III (2nd half 8 AVP 2008 events)

  PART IV (last 4 AVP 2008 events)

  PART I Hot Winter Nites (19 AVP 2009 events)

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AVP TOUR Y2K8-YEAR 2008metalavp.jpg

SCHEDULE

2008 Schedule Announcement

*Tentative schedule for the AVP Tour in the year 2008

Dates             Event                               Location                             City     State

04/11 - 04/13 AVP Cuervo Gold Crown Miami Open Bicentennial Park Miami FL 
 
04/19 - 04/22 AVP Cuervo Gold Crown Dallas Open Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Dallas TX 
 
05/01 - 05/04 AVP Cuervo Gold Crown Huntington Beach Open Huntington Beach Pier Huntington Beach CA 
 
05/08 - 05/10 AVP Charleston Open Family Circle Tennis Center Charleston SC 
 
05/24 - 05/26 AVP Louisville Open Waterfront Park Louisville KY 
 
05/30 - 06/01 AVP Atlanta Open Atlantic Station Atlanta GA 
 
06/05 - 06/08 AVP Hermosa Beach Open Hermosa Beach Pier Hermosa Beach CA 
 
06/20 - 06/22 AVP Belmar Open Belmar Beach Belmar NJ 
 
07/04 - 07/06 AVP Crocs Slam Boulder Open Boulder Boulder CO 
 
07/11 - 07/13 AVP Crocs Slam Boston Open Marina Bay Boston MA 
 
07/18 - 07/20 AVP Crocs Slam Brooklyn Open Coney Island Brooklyn NY 
 
07/25 - 07/27 AVP Crocs Slam Long Beach Open Marina Green Park Long Beach CA 
 
07/31 - 08/01 AVP Crocs Slam Chicago Open North Avenue Beach Chicago IL 
 
08/29 - 08/31 AVP Crocs Cup Shootout Cincinnati Open Lindner Family Tennis Center Cincinnati OH 
 
09/06 - 09/07 AVP Crocs Cup Shootout Santa Barbara Open Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA 
 
09/12 - 09/14 AVP Crocs Cup Shootout San Francisco Open Pier 30/32 San Francisco CA 
 
09/19 - 09/21 AVP Manhattan Beach Gods & Goddesses of the Beach Manhattan Beach Pier Manhattan Beach CA 
 
09/26 - 09/28 AVP Glendale Best of the Beach Westgate City Center Glendale AZ 

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                                                                            FIVB 2008 Swatch Beach Volleyball Tour Men's & Women's Schedule





F I V B  FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE VOLLEYBALL
PRESS RELEASE 18.12.2007
2008 SWATCH FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar released. A record number of Opens and Grand Slams scheduled for next season, on the road to Beijing

The 2008 SWATCH FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour is ready to start in Adelaide in March
Lausanne, 17 December 2008 – The FIVB released today the official 2008 SWATCH FIVB World Tour calendar. The Beach Volleyball world season will start in Adelaide in March and will be closed by the city of Sanya, in China, with a double gender Open in November. For the first time ever, the FIVB has scheduled a record number of Grand Slams, the top Women’s and Men’s tournament which sets its prize money and bonus pool to 600,000 US dollars each. 6 different countries (Austria, France, Germany, Norway, Russia and Switzerland) will host the FIVB Beach Volleyball main events. Open and Grand Slam have been assigned to 24 cities overall, covering North and South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. After a long bidding process, many venues are new entries in the Beach Volleyball season: cities like Osaka, Adelaide, Prague, Barcelona, Dubai and Sanya will host for the first time the Beach Volleyball world stars.
Stressing the success of the SWATCH FIVB World Tour, the total prize money combined with the bonus pools reaches for 2008 the amazing amount of 8,500,000 US dollars. This quantity will be split exactly in two parts: the same amount for Men and Women, giving an equal opportunity to each gender. Men and Women will also have the same number of tournaments (20) in their season schedule.
The first tournaments of the year will all be part of the Beach Volleyball Olympic Qualification process, which already covers all the 2007 season. The players will have at least 12 other tournaments (13 for Men) to choose the 8 best results which can guarantee the ticket to Beijing. The last tournament to assign Olympic points to the players will be played in Marseille from 14 to 20 July 2008. Then on Saturday 26 July, in Gstaad, the official Olympic drawing of lots will be staged to determine the Pools composition and the first days of the match-up of the Beach Volleyball tournaments in Beijing. The provisional Olympic Ranking is published on the FIVB website, Beach Volleyball page.
For Men:
Click Here
For Women:
Click Here
At this stage the FIVB is working diligently with its organizers in Canada and UAE to confirm the double genders events tentatively scheduled respectively on 8-13 July and 5-11 October 2008. The city of Mallorca through a promoter has shown a strong interest to stage a Men’s Open in September but this event needs to be confirmed in the forthcoming days. The 2008 event in Finland has been postponed to 2009 due to the difficulties in scheduling it in August.
Two other great appointments of the 2008 season will be with the future generations of the sport. For the very first time, Great Britain and the Netherlands will host a major FIVB Beach Volleyball event. The city of Brighton is going to host the eighth edition of the SWATCH-FIVB Junior (Under 21) World Championships on 3-7 September 2008, while The Hague will welcome the seventh edition of the SWATCH-FIVB Youth (Under 19) World Championships from July 30 to August 3, 2008.
The assignment of the 2009 World Championships will probably be announced next January, due to the in-depth verification of the bidding documentation.


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 AVP & Other Beach Volleyball Events Schedule



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AVP Professional Men's Beach Volleyball

2007 TELEVISION SCHEDULE  Volleyball.org
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AVP ON NBC TV !!!     :>p~


TV Air Dates:

NBC

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EVENT BROADCAST DATE / TIME

The AVP is proud to bring you over 10 hours of NBC broadcast coverage and over 40 hours of cable coverage of Fox Sports Net! Check out the television schedule below and be sure to watch all the AVP tournaments throughout the season. All broadcasts are listed in local time unless otherwise specified.*

Location Event Dates Network Coverage
 
Miami, FL Apr. 13 - Apr. 15 FSN
Dallas, TX Apr. 19 - Apr. 22 FSN
Huntington Beach, CA May 3 - May 6 FSN
Glendale, AZ May 10 - May 13 FSN
Hermosa Beach, CA May 17 - May 20 FSN
Louisville, KY May 24 - May 27 FSN
Tampa, FL May 31 - Jun. 3 FSN
Atlanta, GA Jun. 7 - Jun. 10 FSN
Charleston, SC Jun. 14 - Jun. 17 FSN
Seaside Heights, NJ Jul. 5 - Jul. 8 FSN
Long Beach, CA Jul. 19 - Jul. 22 NBC and FSN
Chicago, IL Aug. 2 - Aug. 5 NBC and FSN
Manhattan Beach, CA Aug. 9 - Aug. 12 NBC and FSN
Boston, MA Aug. 16 - Aug. 19 NBC and FSN
Brooklyn, NY Aug. 23 - Aug. 26 NBC and FSN
Cincinnati, OH Aug. 30 - Sept. 2 FSN
Las Vegas, NV Sept. 6 - Sept. 8 FSN
San Francisco, CA Sept. 14 - Sept. 16 FSN

*All air times are regional. Please check local listings for viewing times.

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The AVP Is Back on NBC nbc_masthead_080200.gif

Five Live/Tape Broadcasts During the 2007 Season Marks the Return Of Beach
Volleyball to Network Television for the fourth year in a row

The AVP is proud to bring you over 10 hours of NBC broadcast coverage and over 40 hours of cable coverage of Fox Sports Net! Check out the television schedule below and be sure to watch all the AVP tournaments throughout the season.

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FOX SPORTS NET       foxlogo123.gif

EVENT BROADCAST DATE / TIME

 *Check you local listings for Broadcast times yet to be announced actual event dates below only not necessarily brodcast dates

Location Event Dates Network Coverage
 
Miami, FL Apr. 13 - Apr. 15 FSN
Dallas, TX Apr. 19 - Apr. 22 FSN
Huntington Beach, CA May 3 - May 6 FSN
Glendale, AZ May 10 - May 13 FSN
Hermosa Beach, CA May 17 - May 20 FSN
Louisville, KY May 24 - May 27 FSN
Tampa, FL May 31 - Jun. 3 FSN
Atlanta, GA Jun. 7 - Jun. 10 FSN
Charleston, SC Jun. 14 - Jun. 17 FSN
Seaside Heights, NJ Jul. 5 - Jul. 8 FSN
Long Beach, CA Jul. 19 - Jul. 22 NBC and FSN
Chicago, IL Aug. 2 - Aug. 5 NBC and FSN
Manhattan Beach, CA Aug. 9 - Aug. 12 NBC and FSN
Boston, MA Aug. 16 - Aug. 19 NBC and FSN
Brooklyn, NY Aug. 23 - Aug. 26 NBC and FSN
Cincinnati, OH Aug. 30 - Sept. 2 FSN
Las Vegas, NV Sept. 6 - Sept. 8 FSN
San Francisco, CA Sept. 14 - Sept. 16 FSN

*All air times are regional. Please check local listings for viewing times.

AVP on TV
  2007


To catch all the Men's and Women's 2007 AVP Crocs Tour action make sure to visit Fox Sports Net and check your local listings for viewing times.


New to the AVP last year was OLN televising the Men's and Women's semifinal matches. OLN has gone back to televising Hockey & Soccer in 2007 no more Volleyball.


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    AVP Womens News - TV Update
* OLD 2002 information below,stay tuned as to what AVP women's events will be
   scheduled for broadcast on this network in  2005.Oxygenlogo_index.gif

NEW YORK (Variety) - Geraldine Laybourne's Oxygen Media will cablecast five of the seven women's Assn. of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) tournaments this summer. The deal is consistent with Oxygen's recently announced strategy of focusing only on high-visibility women's sports. Six weeks ago, Oxygen laid off 20 people in its sports division, reducing the number of events from 31 per year to about 12. Lydia Stephans, president and executive producer of Oxygen Sports, called the AVP tournaments "the premier women's beach volleyball competition in the world." In addition to the five Oxygen cablecasts, the AVP will get three live broadcasts on NBC.
Oxygen's five cablecasts will run on consecutive Sunday afternoons at 2, beginning June 9.

EVENT BROADCAST DATE / TIME

*Check you local listings for Broadcast times yet to be announced actual event dates below only not necessarily brodcast dates

Oxygen will no longer be carrying Volleyball in 2007.


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AVP Hour on the radio

Courtesy of Hugo Rec.Sport.Volleyball
 
 In yesterday's LA Times (May 17, 2002), a column
 written by Larry Stewart, he mentiones that:
 
 "Karch Kiraly and Sinjin Smith will co-host a new
 weekly show, "The AVP Hour," on KMPC (1540 AM) Thursdays,
 7-8 p.m., beginning next week (May 23, 2002)."
 
 However, I listened to KMPC earlier today (Sat. May 18)
 and I heard a commercial for it and "Geeter" (Chris McGee)
 said that he and Sinjin will be hosting this new
 weekly show. He also said that if you don't listen
 you'll get sand kicked in your face! ;-) Anyway,
 whoever is hosting, it's good to know that the
 vball community is getting high profile ambassadors
 of the game to get the word out about beach
 volleyball on the radio!
 Yay volleyball! I hope that we can continue this
 well into the future. :-)
 
 Hugo
 
 Hey Hugo,Thanks for the info.Any coverage of the AVP by its Players
 is welcome news.By the way Ian Clark has had his own radio show of
 sorts on Live365 for over 2 years now.Take a listen to DJ
 Slimknicky1 at the following link:
 
 Listen!!! to "I-RADIO AVP" IMAN'S Broadcasting in Stereo!!!24/7
 
 Featuring "DJ- KNICKY" playing all the hits for AVP fans!!!

 Coming SOON,Player I-Views & Past Years &Current AVP Event coverage in  Real Audio!

 
  http://www.live365.com/stations/slimnicky1
  I-RADIO AVP



"Karch Kiraly and Sinjin Smith will co-host a new
 weekly show, "The AVP Hour," on KMPC (1540 AM) Thursdays,
 7-8 p.m., beginning next week (May 23, 2002)."

You can listen to it live on the internet on your computer here,follow this link:

KMPC
Sporting News Radio
Los Angeles
1540
Los Angeles, CA.

Click Here

 The AVP Hour

**HAVE NOT HEARD YET IF THERE ARE TO BE RADIO BROADCASTS IN 2007 STAY TUNED but for now listen to archives above.........

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Dig Magazine

Click Here

First Issue: April 2003   (40-pages, around 80 volleyball photos)

Articles:
This month on tour - Ft. Lauderdale, Tempe

Locals only - where AVP players eat, drink and kick it in Fort Lauderdale and Tempe

The scene - Huntington Beach

Ten ways not to break into the AVP tour

Beach Vocabulary 101

Hot tunes

AVP 2003,  Photo Profiles
Misty May - Kerri Walsh
Holly McPeak - Elaine Youngs
Jenny Johnson Jordan - Annett Davis
Carrie Busch - Leanne McSorley
Lisa Arce - Rachel Wacholder
Women's Contenders

Eric Fonoimoana - Dax Holdren
Stein Metzger - Kevin Wong
Mike Whitmarsh - Canyon Ceman
Karch Kiraly - Brent Doble
Albert Hannemann - Sean Scott
Men's Contenders

Hot Gear - Spring Wraps

Fashion Flashback

Legend Connection  Ron Von Hagen - Karch Kiraly

The Clinic - Beach Facts & Myths on Hitting Big

Beach Smack with Brian Lewis

DIG
The next best thing to being at an AVP event!!
Official Magazine of the AVP Tour
Volleyball • Lifestyle • Competition
6 issues for just $18
Call toll free to subscribe:
# 1- 800-999-9718
Get a DIG t-shirt or Hat for just $6 when you subscribe for six issues.
DIG is published six times April through October around AVP events.

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Articles 2007-2008 Off Season

-Catch up on your reading as to what happened after the end of last year's AVP season here.

Planning my winter vacation
AVP.com's Monique Moyal and Laura Boyko compiled this report
AVP stars discuss what they'll do in the brief offseason
Now that the 2007 AVP Crocs season is over, we asked some of the Tour's top players what they had penciled in on their calendars for the rest of the year and during the offseason before the AVP continues with the 2008 Hot Winter Nights Tour, beginning in January.
Phil Dalhausser: I'm gonna sit on my couch for a couple months straight, but nothing much really. I might go to Volleyball Vacations with Al-B and Fonoi in late October, take a little vacation [to the Turks and Caicos Islands].
Barbra Fontana: I will take a trip to Brazil for my hubby's family as we always do. One of his cousins is getting married in San Paolo in November, so we will do a family trip there for two weeks, which is always a highlight. Then I will return up here for my 20th class reunion at Stanford in October, and I will take a week then to bop around [Northern California] and visit friends with the whole family. Just a lot of snuggling with the family by going to parks and enjoying downtime. I miss it.
Anthony Medel: Probably take a couple of weeks off and then right back into the gym for a great offseason. I want to get Freddy back out here from Brazil and get going with our new coach — though I'm not going to say who he is yet — but we've got exciting things planned for the offseason. And then try to get a wedding in there too — there'll probably be a lot of AVP athletes in that wedding. But we definitely want to get it going before the next season and before anything else comes up.
Sean Rosenthal: Lots of golf. I might move down to Orange County, so it'll be easier for Jake and I to train, and we'll make a good effort together this offseason. We'll be together all offseason, playing and getting better and hopefully making our way to Beijing.
Dianne DeNecochea: I'm being inducted into the Hall of Fame in Tennessee [at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville] in November, so we're taking a family trip there, and my family's coming from Michigan to that. And then we bought a new house in Bay Park, San Diego, and we're remodeling the kitchen and trying to finish that. So it's been a crazy season trying to get settled in our new house.
John Hyden: Rest. We have get ready for next season — I know it's coming up pretty quick. So I want to get ready for that right away. I'll probably take small little vacations — two, three or four days here and there — but I'll be training most of the time always between those — maybe not on the beach, but definitely in the gym.
Elaine Youngs: It starts with an "R" and ends with an "X": relax. The only thing I really have planned is going to Hawaii and stay in an amazing Hilton Resort in Maui, and I'm really looking forward to that. Otherwise I'm going to lay low and take it easy and get my legs strong for the grind. It's mostly just taking a break from volleyball for three months. So I do a lot of hiking and cross country skiing, do a lot of yoga. I live on 35 acres in Durango, Colorado, so I can just put on my skis and go out my door. It's a beautiful place.
Matt Fuerbringer: Relaxing, helping my wife [Joy] with the volleyball club [Mizuno Long Beach Elite 12] that she runs and relaxing. I'll also try to go on a couple of car trips, so I am not flying, stay in shape and come up to the Bay Area a couple of times. I want to hang out with this one [pointing to daughter Charlie], do some home improvement stuff and take a step back to get the body ready for another year.

'07 saw the best show their greatness
A year in review after a long season of excitement
By Mike Scarr / avp.com
The 2007 AVP Crocs Tour unfolded largely as expected, but it opened with a surprise.
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, and Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser dominated the women's and men's draws, respectively, as May-Treanor and Walsh won 13 team titles and Rogers and Dalhausser won 10.
But when the season kicked off in Miami, Karch Kiraly's last as a touring professional, there was one notable exception.
May-Treanor and Walsh lost.
They were coming off a streak in which they had won 36 straight AVP matches, a string that also included seven tournament victories. Throw in Walsh's Goddess of the Beach crown of 2006 and the best women's team was on a considerable roll.
But May-Treanor and Walsh had switched coaches in the offseason and had yet to find their stride.
After seeing the streak reach 39 matches, Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh grabbed the first event of the year by ousting May-Treanor and Walsh in the semis and then defeating April Ross and Jennifer Boss in the final.
It was only second time in 46 AVP events that Walsh and May-Treanor had not reached the final and the first time since the 2004 Manhattan Beach Open.
Rogers and Dalhausser had won eight team events in 2006, with Rogers also claiming the title of God of the Beach, and they picked up where they left off with a victory in Miami to open the season by defeating Sean Rosenthal and Jake Gibb.
They followed that with a victory in Dallas, where May-Treanor and Walsh also won their first tournament of the season. The tour then headed west for the first Southern California event of the year.
The Huntington Beach Open was not only the first true beach event, but the $100,000 Cuervo Gold bonus was also on the line. Despite neither winning the tournament, Branagh-Youngs and Dalhausser-Rogers claimed the bonus while May-Treanor and Walsh won on the women's side and Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger claimed their first tournament victory of the season.
Simply the best
The May-Treanor and Walsh juggernaut had officially reestablished itself and the tour rolled into Glendale, Ariz. for the first time. There, May-Treanor was able to tie Holly McPeak with her 72nd overall tournament victory to set the stage for her record-breaker the following weekend in Hermosa Beach as the tour returned to Southern California.
May-Treanor and Walsh lost just their second match of the season en route to the victory but advanced easily from the contender's bracket without dropping a set.
They followed that by rattling off four straight AVP tournament victories before heading to Europe for Olympic qualifying. While the domestic tour resumed after the Fourth of July holiday in Seaside Heights, May-Treanor and Walsh traveled to Montreal for an FIVB event. Youngs and Branagh seized the opportunity for their second victory of the year.
May-Treanor and Walsh would play in six more team events on the year and claim five titles while recording their only loss in a final when Youngs and Branagh secured their third victory of the season by taking the Boston Open.
But May-Treanor and Walsh would avenge that loss the following weekend in Brooklyn and then proceed to win the remaining two team events, including Best of the Beach in San Francisco as Crocs Cup champions.
Professor and the Beast
Dalhausser and Rogers enjoyed similar success if not quite as thorough.
After placing third in Huntington Beach, Dalhausser and Rogers rattled off three straight victories to capture five of the first six events on the men's side. But as Tropical Storm Barry rolled through Tampa, a familiar face also got on a roll as Kiraly and partner Kevin Wong shocked Dalhausser and Rogers to earn a berth in the semifinals and an eventual berth in the final.
Rosenthal and Gibb would capture the title in Tampa, their first of the season, and follow that with another victory the next weekend in Atlanta.
Metzger and Lambert lost in the final, but the defending Crocs Cup champions would find their stride to win the next two AVP events while taking out Dalhausser and Rogers in the process.
With a victory the first weekend in August in Chicago, Lambert and Metzger were back on top as the No. 1 seed and claimed their third victory in four AVP events.
After returning from Olympic qualifying, though, Dalhausser and Rogers would follow with a victory in Manhattan Beach to begin a string of four straight tournaments titles to end the regular season and a Crocs Cup championship in Cincinnati. It was their 10th team victory in 2007.
Immortals
Teams split the following weekend for the individual God and Goddess of the Beach event in Las Vegas and it produced two more surprises at Caesar's Palace.
With May-Treanor out of the tournament to rest sore knees, Walsh emerged as the odds-on favorite to win the women's title. And while the defending champion did reach the final, it was Youngs who earned the honor of Goddess.
Rogers earned a first-round bye as the defending champion but saw his bust knocked from the pedestal when he failed to emerge from his pool. Dalhausser did advance to the final but in an upset victory, John Hyden lay claim to the title of God for 2007.
The ties that bind
With summer came new romances, as teams felt the season growing short opted for new partners, some old and some new.
On the women's side, Barbra Fontana and Dianne DeNecochea, and Holly McPeak and Logan Tom parted ways while Dax Holdren and Jeff Nygaard, Nick Lucena and Will Strickland, and Jason Ring and Matt Olson split up.
But with break-ups came success and, in one instance, considerable success.
Casey Jennings played the first 10 events with Mark Williams while Matt Fuerbringer paired with Sean Scott in the first three months of the season. But with just six events to go in the regular season, the former partners got back together.
Not only did each qualify for Las Vegas as individuals, but Jennings and Fuerbringer also qualified as a team for the season-ender in San Francisco and won. It was the only victory all season for either player but it came in Best of the Beach.
Breakout campaigns
The solid pairings of Boss-Ross and Rachel Wacholder-Tyra Turner established themselves in 2007 while Branagh earned her first victories as a professional.
Boss and Ross made two final appearances and reached four other semifinals while Wacholder and Turner advanced to four finals and appeared in seven additional semifinals.
Angie Akers and Brooke Hanson improved their seed from a No. 12 at the beginning of the year to seventh in the last full women's field in Brooklyn. They also earned postseason berths and finished fourth in San Francisco.
On the men's side, Brad Keenan appeared in his first final when he and Hyden advanced in Chicago. The pair also played in five other semifinals for a solid follow-up to Keenan's 2006 Rookie of the Year campaign. Also making some noise were Aaron Wachtfogel and Scott Wong, who advanced to their first career final.
Still got it
Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan proved two things: they have an enduring partnership and they can still produce victories.
Davis and Johnson Jordan won in Chicago this season and reached the semifinals on six other occasions. Johnson Jordan also helped Youngs win the Goddess of the Beach crown as her partner in the final.
Farewells
While McPeak, a finalist this season in Louisville, announced that 2008 will be her last season, Kiraly finished his career in 2007. He appeared in one final and one additional semifinal this past season, but a left calf injury prevented Kiraly from completing the year.
His last AVP tournament was the Seaside Heights Open in New Jersey, where he and Kevin Wong finished ninth. But that didn't stop the King from getting his props at the Champions dinner in Manhattan Beach in August.
Kiraly finished his career with 148 victories, three Olympic Gold Medals and three national championships at UCLA and the respect of his peers.

May-Treanor, Walsh to Play in Final; Dalhausser, Rogers in Semifinal in Brazil
B.J. Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
BJ.Evans@usav.org
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 28, 2007) – Reigning Olympic and three-time world champions Misty May-Treanor (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Kerri Walsh (Santa Clara, Calif.) will renew their rivalry with three-time SWATCH-FIVB World Tour points champions Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca of Brazil on Saturday in Fortaleza, Brazil on the Praia de Iracema for the US$32,000 first-place prize at the Banco do Brasil Open.
After each team advanced through the winners’ bracket on Friday with four straight wins, May-Treanor/Walsh and Juliana/Larissa won semifinal matches with wins over pairs from their respective countries.
The top-seeded May-Treanor and Walsh scored a 21-16 and 21-15 win in 40 minutes over fifth-seeded Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) and Elaine Youngs (El Toro, Calif.) while the second-seeded Juliana and Larissa posted a 19-21, 21-19 and 15-7 victory in 62 minutes over seventh-seeded Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede.
Branagh and Youngs fought their way through the consolation bracket to the semifinals with victories on Friday over two Brazilian teams: 28th-ranked Sandra Pires Tavares and Ana Paula Connelly (12-21, 22-20, 15-9) and third-seeded Renata Martins Rebeiro and Talita De Rocha Antunes (21-12, 21-17), all from Brazil.
Earlier in the day, Adriana Behar and Shelda defeated the U.S. team of Jen Boss (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Newport Beach, Calif.) in the consolation bracket (14-21, 24-22, 15-11).
May-Treanor and Walsh, who have now won 39 of 47 semifinal matches in 54 SWATCH-FIVB World events, extended their international winning streak to 34 with their last defeat being at the Norwegian grand slam in Stavanger three months ago to Jia Tian and Jie Wang of China (21-19, 21-19).
In the men’s bracket, “The professor” will be playing on his 34th birthday on Sunday as Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) will be seeking a SWATCH-FIVB World Tour medal with his American partner Phil Dalhausser (Orlando, Fla.).
The former college coach and Dalhausser, who snared the season’s biggest prize by capturing the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Championships in the Swiss Alps village of Gstaad two months ago, advanced to the semifinals of the US$400,000 the Banco do Brasil Open with a pair of wins.
The second win was over reigning Olympic champions Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos as the Americans posted a 26-24 and 21-16 win in 49 minutes to validate their win over the top-seeded Brazilians in the world championships.
Joining the fourth-seeded Dalhausser and Rogers in claiming a semifinal berth Friday afternoon were third-seeded Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes of Brazil. In registering four-straight wins this week, Marcio Araujo and Fabio secured their berth with a 21-13 and 21-10 win in 39 minutes over 18th-seeded Martin Laciga and Jan Schnider of Switzerland.
Schnider and Laciga will challenge the winner of the match between fifth-seeded Pedro Cunha/Franco Neto of Brazil and 14th-seeded Emiel Boersma and Bram Ronnes of the Netherlands for a semifinal spot opposite of Dalhausser and Rogers.
Emanuel and Ricardo must defeat the winner of the match between sixth-seeded Reinder Nummerdor/Richard Schuil of the Netherlands and 27th-seeded Rodrigo Monteiro/Ricardo Brandao of Brazil to advance to the semifinal. 
In other action on Friday, the 11th-ranked U.S. team of Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.) defeated Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Casey Jennings (Las Vegas, Nev.), seeded 28th, in the second round of consolation, 21-17, 16-21, 8-15. Gibb and Rosenthal went on to lose to Boersma and Ronnes, 21-11, 19-21, 12-15.
Tenth-ranked Mike Lambert (Kaneohe, Hawaii) and Stein Metzger (Honolulu, Hawaii) fell to France’s Fabien Dugrip and Grègory Gagliano, ranked 24th, 11-21, 21-18, 10-15, in the second round of consolation.
More information is available on the FIVB beach volleyball web site at www.fivb.org/en/BeachVolleyball/index.asp

May-Treanor, Walsh Win Fifth-Straight International Title; Branagh, Youngs Take Bronze
B.J. Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
BJ.Evans@usav.org
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 29, 2007) – Saturday was a great day for U.S. teams competing in Fortaleza, Brazil as Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won their fifth-straight international beach volleyball gold medal, Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs claimed their second-straight SWATCH-FIVB World Tour bronze medal and Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers advanced to the men’s final.
Top-seeded May-Treanor (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Walsh (Santa Clara, Calif.) extended their international beach volleyball women streak to 35 by defeating Brazil’s second-seeded Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca 21-16, 21-14 in the 40-minute finale at the US$400,000 Banco do Brasil Open. Juliana and Larissa went on to celebrate their third-straight season points title.
 With their 30th SWATCH title in 54 FIVB starts together since 2001, May-Treanor and Walsh shared the $32,000 first-place prize. Juliana and Larissa, who are now 3-8 against May-Treanor and Walsh in FIVB gold-medal matches, split $22,000 for second-place after winning their last three international starts in Norway, Finland and Russia.
“It was not our best Beach Volleyball in the first set,” said the 29-year old Walsh, who was named the SWATCH most outstanding player for the Banco do Brasil Open.  “After trailing early, we were able to turn things around and make enough plays to win the first set. We played a lot better in the second set and put Juliana and Larissa on the defensive. The Brazilians are a great team and they are very deserving of winning the SWATCH tour championship.”
In the third-place match, fifth-seeded Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) and Youngs (El Toro, Calif.) claimed a 21-16 and 21-14 win in 43 minutes over Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede to share the $16,000 prize. A six-time FIVB tour season point’s winner, Adriana and Shelda split $12,000 for fourth-place.
With her fifth event SWATCH most outstanding player award this season, Walsh was honored at Saturday’s ceremonies as the tour’s top player this season. Larissa was the 2006 top player while May-Treanor compiled the most SWATCH event MOPs to claim the 2005 honor.
The SWATCH-FIVB World Tour point’s title is based on a team’s best 12 finishes on the 2007 calendar. The reigning Olympic champions, May-Treanor and Walsh rank fifth internationally with 5,240 despite playing in only seven events this season. The Americans can move into the fourth spot ahead of Brazil’s Talita Antunes and Renata Ribeiro of Brazil (5,380) with a 13th or better finish in the women’s SWATCH-season finale in Phuket at the start of November.
May-Treanor and Walsh improved their 2007 SWATCH mark to 47-1 by winning 94 of 102 sets this season. With a 311-35 match mark since forming their partnership in 2001, May-Treanor and Walsh have now shared $1,378,040 in international winnings to rank second behind Adriana and Shelda ($2,207,965).
In the men’s bracket, fourth-seeded Dalhausser (Orlando, Fla.) and Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) will play Brazil’s top-seeded Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos in a Sunday match featuring past and present SWATCH-FIVB World champions.
Rogers, who will celebrate his 34th birthday Sunday, and Dalhausser joined May-Treanor and Walsh in winning the second most prestigious title in the sport of beach volleyball two months ago in the Swiss village of Gstaad. Emanuel and Ricardo recorded their world title at the 2003 finale.
Both men’s teams won semifinal matches Saturday afternoon. In rebounding from a 17th-place finish in their last SWATCH start last month in Austria, Dalhausser and Rogers scored a 21-16, 21-12 win in 36 minutes over 18th-seeded Martin Laciga and Jan Schnider of Switzerland.
The reigning Olympic champions, Emanuel and Ricardo rallied from a Friday afternoon setback to Dalhausser and Rogers (26-24, 21-16 in 49 minutes) to win a pair of matches Saturday, including a 21-23, 21-18, 15-10 win in 75 minutes over third-seeded and Brazilian rivals Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes.
Sunday’s title meeting will be the eighth SWATCH match between the two teams with Emanuel and Ricardo holding a 4-3 edge. The Americans have won the last two meetings, including a 21-16, 13-21, 19-17 semifinal win in 68 minutes as the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Championships.
Both teams have competed twice against each other for 2006 FIVB gold medals with Emanuel and Ricardo netting a title against the Americans in Croatia (21-14, 21-17). Dalhausser and Rogers upset the Brazilians in the Austrian grand slam finale (21-19, 21-17).
More information is available on the FIVB beach volleyball web site at www.fivb.org/en/BeachVolleyball/index.asp.

Dalhausser, Rogers Fall to Brazilians in SWATCH-FIVB Final
B.J. Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
BJ.Evans@usav.org
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 30, 2007) – With their seventh gold medal in 15 SWATCH-FIVB beach volleyball world tour starts this season, top-seeded Brazilians Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos snapped a two-game victory drought against fourth-seeded Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States by scoring a 21-13 and 21-15 win in 39 minutes to share the $32,000 first-place prize on Sunday at the Banco do Brasil Open in Fortaleza, Brazil.
Played before an overflow crowd of 3,000 fans that arrived in the early morning hours to fill the Praia de Iracema centre court, Emanuel and Ricardo avenged an earlier 26-24 and 21-16 defeat to the Americans in the Banco do Brasil Open’s winner’s bracket quarterfinals Friday afternoon.
Dalhausser (Orlando, Fla.) and Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.), who split $22,000 for their second-place Banco do Brasil Open finish, had also defeated the Brazilians in their previous match before this week’s season-ending men’s international Beach Volleyball event by posting a 21-16, 13-21 and 19-17 win in the semifinals at the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Championships in Switzerland.
The Brazilians now hold a 5-3 edge over Dalhausser and Rogers as Sunday’s meeting was the third gold-medal match between the two teams. Emanuel and Ricardo defeated the Americans in 2006 finale in Croatia with the Americans upsetting the Brazilians two months later in the Austrian Grand Slam title match.
“It was good to end the international season with gold medal,” said the 34-year Emanuel, who has now teamed with Ricardo to win 30 SWATCH titles since forming their partnership 70 FIVB events ago at the end of the 2002 season. “The Americans are a very competitive team that blends the blocking and hitting of Dalhausser with the excellent defense of Rogers. That match today could be a preview of things to come.”
Emanuel, who was named the SWATCH most outstanding player for the Banco do Brasil Open, was referring to a possible confrontation with the Americans at the 2008 Olympic Games next August in Beijing where he and Ricardo are the top-ranked team on the qualifying list with 5,240 points for their best eight placements this season.
Dalhausser and Rogers are expected to qualify as the top American team after winning the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Championships two months ago in Gstaad. The Americans need two more SWATCH placements to reach the minimum number of eight FIVB finishes to qualify for Olympic consideration.
In clinching their fifth-straight SWATCH-FIVB World Tour point’s championship three weeks ago in Poland, Emanuel and Ricardo finished the 2007 season with 6,940 for their best 12 finishes this year. For the third-straight, Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes placed second to their Brazilian rivals with 6,340 points as the South American country had four of the top five teams on the 2007 SWATCH circuit.
Ricardo was also honored at Sunday as the 2007 SWATCH most outstanding player.  Ricardo also won the award in 2005 with Emanuel collecting the SWATCH most outstanding player trophy in 2007. Emanuel finished second this season with three event MOP awards as compared to Ricardo’s four SWATCH trophies.
Brazil now holds a 22-16 win over the United States in men’s SWATCH gold medal matches as the Americans had won the previous two finals, including a win in last October’s 2006 season finale in Mexico when Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal defeated Emanuel and Ricardo for the Acapulco crown.
In the bronze-medal match, third-seeded Marcio Araujo and Fabio Magalhaes of Brazil posted a 21-14 and 21-17 win in 46 minutes over 18th-seeded Martin Laciga and Jan Schnider of Switzerland to share the $16,000 third-place prize. Laciga and Schnider split $12,000.
More information is available on the FIVB beach volleyball web site at www.fivb.org/en/BeachVolleyball/index.asp.

AVP to hand out awards Thursday
The best on tour will be recognized at the annual banquet
By Mike Scarr / avp.com
The AVP Crocs Tour will pass out the hardware when it holds its annual awards banquet Thursday.
For both men and women, that includes Most Valuable Players, Rookies of the Year, Most Improved Players and Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year. The Crocs Cup champion teams will also be honored.
The awards are determined through a vote by the players. Here is a quick look at the leading candidates for the postseason honors.

Men
MVP
Todd Rogers: The reigning MVP put himself in a solid position to repeat. Rogers set a series of three goals for 2007 and while he and teammate Phil Dalhausser fell short of total domination, they made a nice run with 10 team titles. A God of the Beach repeat title eluded his grasp, but Rogers routinely put his team in a position to win and also eclipsed the $1 million mark in career earnings.
Phil Dalhausser: If a player unseats Rogers, the strongest candidate is his own partner. Dalhausser won Most Improved honors last season for his tremendous growth as a player and in 2007, the 6-foot-9 blocker was the tour's dominant force at the net on the men's side. Dalhausser also played in the God of the Beach final.
John Hyden: Just as Rogers helped Dalhausser improve last season, Hyden paired with Brad Keenan and helped last season's Rookie of the Year reach his first career final. Hyden also won God of the Beach honors in 2007.
Honorable mentions
Stein Metzger, Mike Lambert, Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal
 
Rookie of the Year
Will Strickland: Starting the season with Nick Lucena and closing with Canyon Ceman, Strickland enjoyed nine top-10 finishes in 2007 and a season-high of fifth.
Eyal Zimet: A native of Israel who lives in Hawaii, Zimet fought through the qualifiers for much of the season before hooking up with Mike DiPierro for a ninth-place finish in Chicago.
Vincent Robbins: Robbins pulled off one of the season's biggest upsets when he and Jason Wight defeated second-seeded Lambert and Metzger in Huntington Beach. Robbins posted a season-high 13th in Cincinnati.
Billy Allen: The 2007 season was a shot in the arm for Allen, who discovered he could play with the tour's best by reaching the main draw in 11 tournaments, nine of those coming through qualifying.
Russ Marchewka: Using a total of seven different partners in 2007 didn't keep Marchewka from posting his 11 best finishes of his young career.
Jon Mesko: Paired with John Moran, Mesko earned a career-high 13th in Chicago and also posted two 17ths.

Most Improved
Keenan had one third-place finish in 2006 but enjoyed a second and five thirds in 2007. Anthony Medel had three third-place finishes in 2007, all career highs. Among nominees for top rookie, Strickland jumped 44 spots in ranking while Zimet elevated his ranking by 68 slots. Marchewka jumped 41 slots, Robbins improved by 46, Allen by 27 spots and Mesko by 22.

Team of the Year
There is no mystery here as the top team has already been determined by virtue of the Crocs Cup championship. Dalhausser and Rogers were the class of the field with a tour-leading 10 team titles. Their lowest finish on the year was a fourth in the Best of the Beach at the end of the season.
Honorable mentions
Metzger and Lambert were second in the Crocs Cup and second in victories with four team titles. Gibb and Rosenthal won twice and led the tour with seven second-place finishes.

Best Offensive Player
Dalhausser has won the last two offensive awards and is a probable unanimous choice to win the award for the third time. Jake Gibb, Mike Lambert and Sean Rosenthal also deserve recognition.

Best Defensive Player
Recognized by his peers as the best defensive player on tour, it's likely Rogers will win his fourth straight award for best defense. Casey Jennings, who won the award in 2003 before Rogers began his run, also deserves consideration.

Women
MVP
Misty May-Treanor: She's the world's best player and will likely be honored with her third straight MVP award. About the only thing she did not accomplish in 2007 was a Goddess of the Beach title. But May-Treanor did not play in the event due to sore knees.
Kerri Walsh: May-Treanor's partner also put together a campaign worthy of MVP honors. Her dominant play at the net allowed May-Treanor to excel in the backcourt.
Elaine Youngs: The veteran is a darkhorse for the award but Youngs' efforts in 2007 cannot be overlooked. She helped Nicole Branagh win her first three professional events and then Youngs went to Las Vegas and earned a surprise victory in the Goddess of the Beach tournament.
Honorable mentions
Rachel Wacholder and Jennifer Boss

Rookie of the Year
Jenny Kropp: Playing with Julie Romias and Jen Pavley this past season, Kropp enjoyed three top-10 finishes in 2007 and placed third in Chicago.
Chrissie Zartman: The 24-year-old played with six different partners in 2007 and had seven 17th-place finishes.
Claire Robertson: Robertson had three 13th-place finishes in 2007, all career highs.
Sara Dukes: Playing in nine events in 2007, Dukes earned her six best career finishes with a high of 13th.
Angela Knopf: The native of Troutdale, Ore. finished a career-high 17th six times in 2007.
Tara Kuk: With Kim Whitney as her partner, Kuk posted a career-high ninth in Louisville this past season.

Most Improved
April Ross placed as high as ninth in 2006 but elevated her game in 2007 with two seconds, four thirds, seven fifths and three sevenths. Tyra Turner's previous career high was a third-place finish in 2006 before she finished second four times and earned seven third-place finishes in 2007. Among rookie candidates, Kropp jumped 233 slots on the rankings list while Zartman jumped 31, Robertson improved by 19, Dukes jumped 35, Knopf improved by 28 and Kuk elevated her standing by 25 spots.

Team of the Year
Aside from a blip on the radar screen in the season opener in which they failed to reach the final, May-Treanor and Walsh were absolutely dominant. Without even playing a match at the regular season closing tournament in Cincinnati, May-Treanor and Walsh won the Crocs Cup for the second straight year with a haul of 13 team victories.
Honorable mention
Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh won three times on tour and finished second seven times. They also handed May-Treanor and Walsh their lone defeat in a final this season.

Best Offensive Player
May-Treanor has won the last three offensive player awards and should win her fourth while partner Walsh, who won in 2003, and Nicole Branagh will draw some attention.

Best Defensive Player
May-Treanor is favored to complete the triple crown by winning her second straight defensive player award with Wacholder also receiving consideration.

Ricardo Headlines Men’s 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour Award Recipients
2007 SWATCH most outstanding player Ricardo Santos (right) with Brazilian partner Emanuel Rego (left) and Nadia Waelti of SWATCH
Lausanne, Switzerland, October 15, 2007 - Led by Brazilian Ricardo Santos, the top men’s players on the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour were announced here Monday based on the results of the voting by SWATCH representatives, players, coaches, referees and officials associated with the international Beach Volleyball circuit.
For the second-time in three seasons, Ricardo was recognized as the SWATCH Most Outstanding Player for 2007 season at the year’s last double gender event in Brazil at the end of September in Fortaleza.  The women’s post-season awards will be announced next month after their final event next month in Phuket, Thailand.
The men’s SWATCH Most Outstanding Player was selected by representatives from SWATCH and the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), who also selected Igor Kolodinsky as the SWATCH top server for the 2007 season as the Russian twice recorded record serves of 110.0 km/h.
Ricardo, who teamed with Emanuel Rego to win a fifth-straight SWATCH team-of-the-year award by capturing the 2007 point’s championship, was also honored for the third-straight year as the top offensive player on the international Beach Volleyball tour.  He also finished second in the balloting as the top hitter and blocker, and received mention as the inspirational and top sportsman in 2007.  Ricardo was also voted as the 2005 SWATCH top hitter.
“It is always an honor to be recognized as the top player,” said the 32-year old Ricardo.  “However, I have a great partner that inspires me a lot.  I share this award with him like he has shared his awards with me.  We are a team that plays off of each other’s energy and takes advantage of our individual abilities.  We are fortunate to have each other.”
A reigning Olympic champion and 2003 SWATCH-FIVB World champion with Emanuel, Ricardo and his partner completed the 2007 season by winning seven gold medals with eight podium placements, nine “final four” appearances, a 75-18 match mark and US$347,500 in earnings.
The SWATCH most outstanding player at 2007 events in Canada (Montreal), Austria (Klagenfurt), Norway (Kristiansand) and Poland (Stare Jablonki), Ricardo ranks second all-time in gold medals and earnings in the 21-year history of the men's tour behind Emanuel.
In completing his 10th full-season on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour, Ricardo has compiled 47 FIVB gold medals, 83 podium placements, 94 “final four” appearances and $1,237,470 in earnings for 131 international events.  In addition, Ricardo teamed with Emanuel to capture the 2007 Pan American gold medal this past July in Rio de Janeiro.
Emanuel has 67 FIVB titles and $1,830,385 in earnings with 121 medals and 130 “final four” finishes in 173 career starts.  While Emanuel has compiled an 861-193 match mark in his 14 FIVB seasons with eight different partners, Ricardo has a 650-158 career record with five different teammates.
The 34-year old Emanuel finished second in the 2007 inspirational voting while placing third in the sportsman, offensive and hitting balloting along with receiving votes as a top defender.  He was the most outstanding player (2006), top hitter (2006) and sportsman (2005) in previous SWATCH seasons.
The unanimous pick as the 2007 SWATCH rookie-of-the-year, Kolodinsky posted 46 of the 57 “good” serves over 100.0 km/h this season.  The Russian had 16 of the top 17 centre court serves this season with only Germany’s Eric Koreng (109.4) breaking the Russian string at the Austrian Grand Slam event.
Russia’s Dmitri Barsouk and China’s Linyin Xu tied for the most improved player award on the 2007 SWATCH tour.  Barsouk and Kolodinsky finished third in SWATCH points behind Emanuel/Ricardo and Brazilians Marcio Araujo/Fabio Magalhaes while placing second at the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Championships for the first of two gold medal match appearances this past season.
Xu and Penggen Wu were sixth in SWATCH points and had a grand slam bronze medal finish in Norway where the Chinese defeated Barsouk and Kolodinsky in the third-place match.  Xu was second in the sportsman balloting and received votes as a top offensive player.  Wu also received votes as a top hitter.
Franco Neto, who at 40 became the oldest player to win a SWATCH-FIVB World Tour event when he and Pedro Cunha teamed to capture a gold medal this past July at Marseille, France, was named the most inspirational and top sportsman for the second-straight season.
Americans Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, who captured the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Championships this past July in Gstadd, Switzerland, combined to finish atop the balloting in three categories.  Dalhausser was named the top SWATCH blocker for the second-straight season while being named the best hitter.  Dalhausser also won the tour’s most improved player in 2006.
Rogers won the top defensive award in 2007 after tying Argentina’s Martin Conde for the 2006 honor.  Rogers also finished second in the 2007 voting for top setter to Marcio Araujo after sharing the award in 2006 with the Brazilian and winning it outright in 2005.
Two of the women’s SWATCH-FIVB World Tour awards have been determined with the other honors to be announced after the Phuket finale.  Kerri Walsh of the United States has secured the SWATCH most outstanding player award after being named an event MOP for the fifth-time this at the last FIVB double event of the season at the end of September in Fortaleza.
With a silver medal finish in Fortaleza, Brazilians Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca clinched their third-straight SWATCH team-of-the-year award by capturing the 2007 point’s championship.  The young Brazilians won five of their 13 FIVB appearances this season with $328,400 in winnings.

2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour Men’s Post-Season Awards

Most Improved Player
1, Linyin Xu, China
1, Dmitri Barsouk, Russia
3, Riccardo Bizzotto, Italy
3, Reinder Nummerdor, Netherlands
3, Florian Gosch, Austria
Also receiving votes - Renato "Geor" Gomes, Georgia, Alexander Horst, Austria, Bram Ronnes, Netherlands, Shun Zhou, China, Emiel Boersma, Netherlands, Tarjei Skarlund, Norway, Peter Gartmayer, Austria, Pedro Salgado, Brazil, Richard Schuil, Netherlands, Penggen Wu, China, Jorge "Gia" Terceiro, Georgia, Clemens Doppler, Austria, Rivo Vesik, Estonia, Kristjan Kais, Estonia and Jian Li, China.

Most Inspirational
1, Franco Neto, Brazil
2, Emanuel Rego, Brazil
3, Mark Heese, Canada
3, Martin Conde, Argentina
Also receiving votes - Stein Metzger, United States, Ricardo Santos, Brazil, Clemens Doppler, Austria, Andrew Schacht, Australia, Reinder Nummerdor, Netherlands, Linyin Xu, China

Rookie of the Year
1, Igor Kolodinsky, Russia
2, Leonel Munder, Cuba
3, Alexander Horst, Austria
3, Mischa Urbatzka, Germany
Also receiving votes - Pedro Salgado, Brazil, , Bram Ronnes, Netherlands, Martins Plavins, Latvia

Sportsman of the Year
1, Franco Neto, Brazil
2, Linyin Xu, China
3, Emanuel Rego, Brazil
3, Rivo Vesik, Estonia
Also receiving votes - Marcio Araujo, Brazil, Ricardo Santos, Brazil, Kirk Pitman, New Zealand, David Klemperer, Germany, Clemens Doppler, Austria, Todd Rogers, United States, Igor Kolodinsky, Russia, Richard Schuil, Netherlands

Best Defensive Player
1, Todd Rogers, United States
2, Marcio Araujo, Brazil
3, Martin Conde, Argentina
3, Kristjan Kais, Estonia
Also receiving votes - Emanuel Rego, Brazil, Francisco Alvarez, Cuba, Mark Heese, Canada, Andrew Schacht, Australia, Harley Marques, Brazil, David Klemperer, Germany

Best Offensive Player
1, Ricardo Santos, Brazil
2, Harley Marques, Brazil
3, Emanuel Rego, Brazil
3, Marcio Araujo, Brazil
Also receiving votes - Phil Dalhausser, United States, Andrew Schacht, Australia, Todd Rogers, United States, Clemens Doppler, Austria, Dmitri Barsouk, Russia, Linyin Xu, China

Best Blocker
1, Phil Dalhausser, United States
2, Ricardo Santos, Brazil
3, Fabio Magalhaes, Brazil
3, Jonas Reckerman, Germany
Also receiving votes - Florian Gosch, Austria, Joshua Slack, Australia, Mike Lambert, United States, Franco Neto, Brazil

Best Setter
1, Marcio Araujo, Brazil
2, Todd Rogers, United States
3, Jorre Kjemperud, Norway
3, Martin Conde, Argentina
Also receiving votes - Phil Dalhausser, United States, Joshua Slack, Australia, Harley Marques, Brazil, Jonas Reckermann, Germany, Mark Heese, Canada

Best Hitter
1, Phil Dalhausser, United States
2, Ricardo Santos, Brazil
3, Emanuel Rego, Brazil
Also receiving votes - Harley Marques, Brazil, Marcio Araujo, Brazil, Fabio Magalhaes, Brazil, Joshua Slack, Australia, Igor Kolodinsky, Russia, Clemens Doppler, Austria, Penggen Wu, China

Men's SWATCH-FIVB World Tour Award Winners

Most Outstanding
2007 - Ricardo Santos, Brazil
2006 - Emanuel Rego, Brazil
2005 - Ricardo, Brazil

Best Blocker
2007 - Phil Dalhausser, United States
2006 - Dalhausser, United States
2005 - Fabio Magalhaes Brazil

Best Defensive Player
2007 - Todd Rogers, United States
2006 - Martin Conde, Argentina and Rogers, United States
2005 - Marcio Araujo, Brazil

Best Hitter
2007 - Phil Dalhausser, United States
2006 - Emanuel, Brazil
2005 - Ricardo, Brazil

Best Offensive Player
2007 - Ricardo, Brazil
2006 - Ricardo, Brazil
2005 - Ricardo, Brazil

Best Server
2007 - Igor Kolodinsky, Russia
2006 - Iver Horrem, Norway
2005 - Conrad Leinemann, Canada

Best Setter
2007 - Marcio Araujo, Brazil
2006 - Marcio Araujo, Brazil and Rogers, United States
2005 - Rogers, United States

Most Improved Player
2007 - Dmitri Barsouk, Russia and Linyin Xu, China
2006 - Dalhausser, United States
2005 - Fabio, Brazil

Most Inspirational
2007 - Franco Neto Brazil
2006 - Franco, Brazil
2005 - Mark Heese, Canada

Sportsperson
2007 - Franco, Brazil
2006 - Franco, Brazil
2005 - Emanuel, Brazil

Team of the Year
2007 - Emanuel/Ricardo, Brazil
2006 - Emanuel/Ricardo, Brazil
2005 - Emanuel/Ricardo, Brazil

Top Rookie
2007 - Igor Kolodinsky, Russia
2006 - Sean Rosenthal, United States
2005 - Matteo Varnier, Italy & Jake Gibb, United States

Men’s SWATCH-FIVB World Tour Points Champions
Season........................................................ Team, Country
1989-90................. Sinjin Smith/Randy Stoklos, United States
1990-91................................... Smith/Stoklos, United States
1991-92................................... Smith/Stoklos, United States
1992-93................................... Smith/Stoklos, United States
1993-94............................ Franco Neto/Roberto Lopes, Brazil
1994-95....................... Jan Kvalheim/Bjorn Maaseide, Norway
1995-96................................... Franco/Roberto Lopes, Brazil
1996.......................... ZeMarco de Melo/Emanuel Rego, Brazil
1997.............................................. ZeMarco/Emanuel, Brazil
1998........................ Para Ferreira /Guilherme Marquez, Brazil
1999.......................................... Emanuel/Jose Loiola, Brazil
2000..................................... ZeMarco/Ricardo Santos, Brazil
2001...................................... Emanuel/Tande Ramos, Brazil
2002....................... Mariano Barcetti/Martin Conde, Argentina
2003............................................... Emanuel/Ricardo, Brazil
2004............................................... Emanuel/Ricardo, Brazil
2005............................................... Emanuel/Ricardo, Brazil
2006............................................... Emanuel/Ricardo, Brazil
2007............................................... Emanuel/Ricardo, Brazil

Misty reigns at awards banquet
Dalhausser, Rogers earn top honors for men
By Mike Scarr / avp.com
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Superior play deserves recognition, and the top players received their props Thursday night at the annual AVP Crocs Tour awards banquet.
Like during the season, Misty May-Treanor dominated the women's side of the draw, capturing her third straight most valuable player award while also getting the nod as best offensive and defensive player.
May-Treanor and partner Kerri Walsh also pulled down best team honors as Crocs Cup champions determined by a season-long points race.
"I feel like Sonny and Cher," May-Treanor said after taking the stage for the third time to accept an award.
Supplanting partner Todd Rogers on the men's side was Phil Dalhausser, who was named most valuable player. Dalhausser was also named best offensive player while Rogers pulled down his fourth consecutive defensive player award. He shared the honor with Sean Rosenthal, who won his first.
Rogers and Dalhausser additionally won the season's points race and earned their first Crocs Cup.
Billy Strickland and Jenny Kropp were named rookies of the year on the men's and women's side of the draw, while Brad Keenan and April Ross were each named most improved.
With Kerri Walsh as partner, the AVP tour has been May-Treanor's personal playground. She and Walsh appeared in 14 finals in 2007 and were victorious in 13, including the season-ending Best of the Beach. That matched their domestic win total of 2006.
May-Treanor and Walsh didn't just dominate play in the United States. They also went abroad to score victories in six of the seven events they played in 2007 on the FIVB circuit as they accelerated their quest to defend their Olympic gold medal. The Olympic Summer Games will be held next August in Beijing.
"This is really our award," May-Treanor said. "I wouldn't be a great player without a great partner."
But the number of tournament titles accumulated by May-Treanor and Walsh only told part of the story, as they compiled a 123-4 match record this season combining both the AVP and FIVB tours.
"This is a team award, and we're very blessed," Walsh said. "It has been a special partnership."
While May-Treanor won best offensive player for the fourth straight year, it was just the second year in a row for best defensive player and she credited not only her coach Troy Tanner, who took over the duo prior to the season, but also to watching other players on tour.
"I want to thank Todd (Rogers)," May-Treanor said. "Yes, I watch you. You may not know that, but I pick up things. I'd like to thank the rabbits for running around back there."
As for her offensive title, May-Treanor was again effusive in her praise for Walsh.
"I wouldn't be the best offensive player if I didn't have a great setter," May-Treanor said. "She serves me up nectar."
Dalhausser's ascendance to top player has quickened since teaming with Rogers at the beginning of last season. He's won 18 titles in two years on the AVP tour, and the pair also won the FIVB world championships this summer in Gstaad, Switzerland.
Rosenthal teamed with Jake Gibb to win twice on the AVP tour in 2007, a year that also saw them lead the tour with seven second-place finishes. Rosenthal won AVP's best setter award in 2002 and was named top rookie on the FIVB circuit last year.
"To win an award with Todd is amazing," Rosenthal said. "He is the best defensive player out there."
Rogers was quick with the return and cited a play Rosenthal made in the Best of the Beach tournament when he ran to the back line for a dig that cleared the net and fell just inside the back line in the far court for a point.
"The play he made in San Francisco was stupid," Rogers said.
But Rogers quickly gave credit to his own partner, who has become a dominant force on the AVP tour.
"It is easy when you have the best blocker out there," Rogers said. "It makes my job pretty simple."
Both Ross and Keenan followed rookie of the year campaigns in 2006 to pull down most improved honors.
With John Hyden as partner, Keenan reached the first final of his career, losing to Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger for a runner-up finish in Chicago. Keenan had 11 of his 12 top career finishes in 2007 in only his second year on tour.
Ross was equally adept at making the jump to the upper echelon on tour. Just prior to the beginning of the season, Ross hooked up with veteran Jennifer Boss and the two players gelled quickly. They reached the final in the season opener in Miami and played in the Seaside Heights final while also making four semifinal appearances.
She and Boss added a gold medal in the FIVB event in Stavanger, Norway.
"I want to thank Jen Boss for picking me up when things didn't look that great," Ross said.

PHOTOS:
2007 AVP Awards Banquet

A Thai disappointment
Missed opportunity could come back to haunt Ross, Boss
By April Ross
November 2
I really didn't expect to be out of the tournament while composing this blog. We had a great draw yesterday in a German team who had upset a higher-seeded team. On paper we were supposed to beat them, but they were on fire and we were having some "rhythm problems." After winning the first, we were up 16-12 in the second and couldn't finish. They came out serving really tough in the third and immediately we started off down, we managed to make some plays, but it wasn't enough and they took us down, 15-13. To make it worse, they reacted to the win like they just took home the gold.
In the next match, we drew China's third team, a good draw, even in the loser's bracket. We were playing well and won the first, but then Jen's groin injury (sustained when we began training here) kicked in and we just couldn't keep the boat afloat. We gave it our all, but fell in three, 20-18, in the third.
For Jen and I, the way we finished here in Thailand is a huge disappointment. We trained hard for three weeks, finally got to really work on some stuff that needed tweaking only to lose to lower-seeded teams that normally we would defeat. We took home a ninth. Yes, there are ways of framing this in a positive light ... we are still replacing bad finishes, EY and Nicole still have ninths in their top finishes, and we get a full offseason (that we haven't had yet as a team) to prepare for next season's four grand slams, but in reality this was a missed opportunity that could come back to haunt us. We pretty much gave this tournament to Branagh-Youngs and Wacholder-Turner. It's even harder to accept because we weren't able to capitalize on our good draw in Fortaleza either, which would have gotten us into the final four. Apparently we'd rather do things the hard way.
Despite the frustration we felt from losing the way we did, I must admit, every match we played was fun for me. I haven't enjoyed volleyball that much for a while; I'm sure it was due to the month off, which is awesome because that means I'm going to be super fired up after four and a half months of no competition. The fact that I got to play full-time defense also added to my enjoyment (due to Jen's groin she had to run up and block full-time). Defense is my favorite aspect of the game and, as I've said before, eventually I'd like to be a full-time defender.
EY and Nicole are on path to play Rachel and Tyra again today, so one of them will be knocked out with a fifth and one will make it to the final four. Kerri and Misty are in the semis and just waiting for their next victim. Jen and I are going to make them all jealous they didn't get a ninth too by going surfing in front of the site while they're playing.
So now that the season is over I'm really excited to relax a little bit, NOT travel and catch up with my friends and family. That is, after our trip to the Dominican. Through the AVP and Crocs, we are going there to hand out free Crocs to kids who were hit hard by the tropical storm or who weren't very well off to begin with. I'm thankful we get this opportunity at the end of a season that has been so good to us to give back to people who aren't as fortunate. I'm sure it's going to put a lot into perspective, but really I just hope our effort helps out and provides a little hope after such a disaster. I will let you all know how it goes, so keep reading!
October 31
Before we left on Friday night, Jen [Boss] and AB (her hubby), Brad and I went to the USC vs. Cal volleyball game at the Galen Center then cruised over to La Barca (a staple in every trip to USC) for dinner and a margarita. It was fun and a good way to "de-stress" before our flight. After dinner we got dropped off at the airport and said our goodbyes. (I found out once I got to Thailand that SC beat Stanford the next night. Fight on!)
Once again, Jen and I had an uneventful trip. Granted, it was twenty hours of flying, but we slept most of the way, and, minus about four gate changes in Hong Kong, nothing went wrong. The hotel we're staying at is a tropical resort with the nicest, most exotic pool I've ever been to, right in the middle is a swim up bar under a huge Buddha head that is at least the height of a two story building. And despite Jen's mishap last year (you'll have to ask her about it), they let us in, and our room is pretty nice, not to mention only fifty bucks a night.
This tournament to me is a kind of milestone. It's the first international tournament I've been to twice, so technically it's my one year anniversary on the FIVB. I think I took it for granted a little last year, for some reason it seems nicer, more tranquil and more like a vacation destination this year. It's so beautiful, and everything's extremely cheap! Jen and I have gotten two hour-long massages for less than $10 each time. We went shopping at the little shops along the beach, and I got a bag, a wallet and a dress for about $35, and I could have managed less, but I feel bad when I try and bargain too low.
The site is awesome, right on the water, a little too close apparently, because the waves have been washing away the courts! They remade them several times, but they couldn't get them to stay until yesterday when they got the big tractors out there and piled up the sand as high as they could and still the waves were slowly eating away at it. They erected two side courts down the road on a soccer field, but hopefully they'll find a lasting solution at the center court.
As I mentioned, Jen and I had an easy time getting here. Not so for our physio, Chris. He got both his checked bags fine, but the bag with all his athletic equipment never showed up, so we have to improvise. Rachel (Wacholder) tried to arrange for someone to tape her before practice yesterday and what she got was a Thai girl offering her some Scotch Tape, that wasn't going to work. And today Jen went looking for an anti-inflammatory (like Aleeve), but only managed to find some suspicious looking pink pills that claimed to be ibuprofen, she decided she could live without them.
This morning we woke up at 6 a.m. (still trying to adapt to the 15-hour time change), enjoyed the wonderful hotel buffet and then rented scooters for the day (think moped). We drove up the coast a little ways until we came across a beautiful resort in a cove surrounded by cliffs, so we decided to check it out and ended up seeing a baby elephant!
We drove back to the site to watch Rachel and Tyra play; they beat Mexico (and my former teammate Bibiana Candelas) in two to qualify. The Philippines (Diane Pascua and Heidi Illustre, former AVPers) also qualified, beating Kazakhstan, which, thanks to Borat, made watching the match, oh, so much more interesting. We practiced after these matches then hopped back on the scooters for more adventure.
This time we went up the coast in the opposite direction and found a nearby beach that looked like it was right out of a Travel Channel feature. We also found a cute little coffee shop (and everyone who knows me knows I love coffee shops), so we stopped and had an amazing chocolate chip muffin and strawberry smoothie. Our day with the scooters was so outstanding we decided to rent them for two more days. They only cost six bucks a day so why not, right?
Tomorrow the main draw starts so I have to get some rest. We have Canada first, the same team we practiced against two days ago. It never fails — we always play the team we practice against in the tournament. I think Wacholder-Turner are scheduled to come up against Branagh-Youngs at some point, but we have all foreign teams lined up at the moment in stark contrast to the Fortaleza event. Well, last tournament of the season, no better time to go all out. Wish us luck!

Phuket takes on an American flavor
FIVB final to feature Misty-Kerri, Nicole-EY
By Mike Scarr / avp.com
It will be an all-American final Sunday at the FIVB Phuket Thailand Open.
The teams of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, and Nicole Branagh-Elaine Youngs both advanced out of the semifinals with straight-set victories.
In Saturday's first semifinal, May-Treanor and Walsh easily dispatched No. 14 Rieke Brink-Abeler and Hella Jurich of Germany, 21-17, 21-16, while Branagh and Youngs took out the No. 2 seed of the tournament with a 21-17, 21-17 victory over China's Jia Tian and Jie Wang.
It was the first final four appearance for Abeler and Jurich, who will face Tian and Wang in Sunday's bronze-medal match.
"We reached the quarterfinals in Berlin earlier this year for our previous highlight, but now we are in position to medal internationally," Brink-Abeler said before her semifinal match. "We are excited, but we face a big challenge against the American champions."
The victories have produced the 16th international gold-medal final between U.S. squads and the first since 2005 when May-Treanor and Walsh defeated Youngs and then-partner Rachel Wacholder in Austria.
May-Treanor and Walsh will be looking for their 31st gold medal, which would tie Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede of Brazil for the most ever in international competition.
Sunday's matchup will also pit May-Treanor and Walsh against the team that handed them their last defeat. Branagh and Youngs outlasted May-Treanor and Walsh, 15-21, 21-19, 16-14 in August at the AVP Boston Open.
Since that loss, May-Treanor and Walsh have won 26 straight matches, including 11 on the FIVB circuit. On Sunday, they'll be playing for their seventh international gold medal this season in eight tournaments. They also hold a 14-2 series edge over Branagh and Youngs and have won all four matches between the two teams in FIVB play.
May-Treanor and Walsh had the relatively easy road to Sunday's final in Thailand, losing two games in five matches, while Branagh and Youngs opted for the much tougher route by dropping their second match of the tournament to fall into the loser's bracket at the hands of qualifiers Tyra Turner and Wacholder.
But Branagh and Youngs methodically worked their way through the opposite side of the draw. And while May-Treanor and Walsh played just 35 minutes of volleyball Saturday, Branagh and Youngs needed to find the energy to carve out three match victories.
They opened with a 21-17, 21-15 win over No. 7 Lu Wang and Man Zuo of China and then avenged Thursday's loss by returning the favor against Turner and Wacholder with a 21-12, 21-13 victory.
Youngs and Branagh then took out Tian and Wang, who are currently the top-ranked Chinese squad and are running second behind May-Treanor and Walsh overall in Olympic qualification points. Youngs and Branagh are also riding a pair of bronze-medal finishes in their last two FIVB events.

An amazing week in Thailand
Wacholder gets some great relaxation in Phuket
By Rachel Wacholder
November 4
I'm in Phuket, Thailand and just competed in my last match of the season. We ended up with a fifth-place finish. We played some of our best volleyball and some of our worst, but overall I am happy with the progress we made in this event.
Our seed was bad, because of poor finishes, so we had a tough draw. We won our first three rounds, beating France, upsetting the fourth seed (EY-Nicole) and then the fifth seed (Talita-Renata from Brazil), before losing to Misty-Kerri and then playing EY-Nicole again and losing. We have proven we are capable of beating top teams, but we have struggled with consistency.
Although fifth is not where we want to be, we are moving in the right direction and I feel like we gained a level of trust and respect that we were lacking for a lot of this year. We have had our ups and downs this season and were a little disappointed with our international results, but we have grown a lot as a team and believe that our best volleyball is yet to come. We know we have not come close to our potential and look forward to working our butts off this offseason and making a push to be the second U.S. team in Beijing.
Aside from volleyball, I have had an amazing week in Thailand. We are so lucky that there is a beautiful Hilton resort right next to the tournament. Kerri and I are staying together -- Casey and Sean stayed home -- and we have a beautiful room overlooking Karon Beach. My dad and his friend are also here along with Tyra and Chad. The staff has been incredible. They have taken care of every request we have had and been extremely accomodating.
I haven't been this relaxed for a long time -- I think I have slept better this week then I have for the last 10 years. We have gone to some amazing spots for dinner and enjoyed the company of some of our international friends that we won't be seeing for awhile. I think that has been one of my favorite things about playing internationally -- having the opportunity to get to know people from all over the world. I have made some wonderful friends that I hope to keep in contact with for the rest of my life.
I just got back from getting a 1 1/2-hour massage for under 10 dollars. If I lived here, I would be doing a lot of that. Everything is so cheap. Ty, Chad and I walked around an outdoor market yesterday and ended up buying tons of stuff. We got stuck inside one of the tents when it started to rain, and ended up watching Misty and Kerri's match on TV. It was pretty funny -- sitting there in the middle of this cluttered market, with knick knacks, clothes, bags, you name it hanging everywhere and then the three of us watching a TV, plugged into who knows what, with a bunch of Thai vendors and a dirty little poodle. It was great!
My time is up on this computer, so I have to run. I am off to the airport in a few hours. I fly to Bangkok and spend the night and then leave early in the morning for Japan and then Hawaii. Sean is meeting me there and we are going to get married on Nov. 10. I will share all the details in my next blog.

Misty, Kerri trying to lock up Beijing
Top Americans enter Phuket with commanding lead
By Mike Scarr / avp.com
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh swept most of the postseason honors, but they have one piece of unfinished business: Olympic qualifying.
The dominant women's domestic team wants to secure its spot atop the international field and ensure a berth for the beach volleyball tournament in the Olympic Games next August in Beijing.
"We want to end the season on a high note," May-Treanor said of the FIVB tournament that opens on Halloween. "Obviously we want to win but just to stay healthy and get through this last one and hopefully wrap up our qualification."
May-Treanor was named MVP of the AVP Crocs Tour while Walsh earned most outstanding player honors on the FIVB circuit. They also won the Crocs Cup as the AVP's top women's team while May-Treanor added best offensive and best defensive honors.
But there is one prize the pair targets above all others and that is the Olympic gold medal, a championship they won at the 2004 Games in Athens and one they look to defend next summer.
"That is the ultimate goal," Walsh said. "That's what we're working for. We want to do it again."
The FIVB beach volleyball calendar concludes next weekend with a women's tournament in Phuket, Thailand, Oct. 31-Nov. 4. The men wrapped up international play last month in Brazil.
The odds are leaning in favor of May-Treanor and Walsh achieving their stated goals of completing the qualification process before the 2008 schedule even begins. They currently have the highest total of qualifying points internationally in just seven tournaments played and the Phuket Open will provide the base minimum for qualification of eight tournaments.
Already in 2007, May-Treanor and Walsh have won six FIVB events including the world championships in Gstaad, Switzerland, that netted the pair 1,000 points. Their lowest finish was a third in Stavanger, Norway.
Their competition for an Olympic berth is not the international teams but teams from the United States. The two highest ranked teams from each nation competing in the FIVB qualifying tournaments will advance to the Olympics with host China getting an automatic berth.
May-Treanor and Walsh currently have a 2,080-point lead over Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs, their nearest American pursuers, and a 2,700-point lead over April Ross and Jennifer Boss. Tyra Turner and Rachel Wacholder are also entered in the Phuket Open but will have to fight through qualifying to get to the main draw.
Branagh and Youngs have helped their cause in the last two FIVB tournaments with consecutive bronze medals while Boss and Ross have demonstrated an ability to compete internationally with a first and a second in 2007.
May-Treanor and Walsh, though, would prefer to see Branagh-Youngs, Boss-Ross and Turner-Wacholder battle for the second U.S. slot while they cherry-pick from next year's FIVB calendar in hopes of peaking for the Olympics. A victory in Thailand would virtually salt away that berth.
"We're going to play in a couple of FIVB tournaments, because you have to stay up with the rest of the world," May-Treanor said of next year's schedule. "This will allow us to pace ourselves leading into the [Olympics] so we won't have to worry about qualifying into those last tournaments. Hopefully this will lessen some of the wear and tear on our bodies."
The 2008 FIVB schedule opens March 25-30 in Adelaide, Australia. A total of 13 events, including four Grand Slams will be played prior to the Olympic qualifying deadline of July 20, 2008.

Misty, Kerri tie FIVB mark in Phuket
World's No. 1 team's 31st FIVB gold ties Adriana-Shelda
By Mike Scarr / avp.com
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh logged their names into another record book by capturing the gold medal at the FIVB Phuket Thailand Open on Sunday.
By earning their seventh international title this season, May-Treanor and Walsh matched Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede of Brazil with their 31st FIVB team gold medal, which is tops all-time and came at the expense of fellow Americans Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs in a 21-18, 16-21, 15-13 victory.
Jia Tian and Jie Wang of China defeated Germany's Rieke Brink-Abeler and Hella Jurich, 21-18, 21-15, to win the bronze medal.
"This was not our best tournament of the year," said Walsh. "Competing against Nicole and Elaine is always tough since we have played them so many times in the last 14 months."
The victory has virtually assured May-Treanor and Walsh of qualifying for the Olympic Summer Games in Beijing next August, when they will be looking to defend their beach volleyball crown from the Athens Games in 2004.
A silver-medal finish in the Phuket Open also significantly boosted the Olympic campaign of Branagh and Youngs, who closed out the 2007 FIVB season with three-straight podium appearances.
They are currently the No. 2 U.S. squad behind May-Treanor and Walsh and sixth overall. May-Treanor and Walsh lead all international teams in Olympic qualifying points with 5,840.
May-Treanor and Walsh, and Branagh and Youngs both reached the minimum FIVB eight finishes necessary for Olympic eligibility. With the qualification period ending July 20, 2008, both teams solidified their positions.
Only two teams per nation will qualify for the Olympic tournament. May-Treanor and Walsh extended their comfortable lead while Branagh and Youngs widened their gap to 920 points over April Ross and Jennifer Boss, and 1,556 points over Tyra Turner and Rachel Wacholder.
Turner and Wacholder placed fifth in Thailand while Ross and Boss finished ninth.
Sunday's gold medal final was the first between two American teams since 2005, when May-Treanor and Walsh beat Youngs and then-partner Wacholder for the title.
Branagh and Youngs, who were the last team to defeat the top women's duo in the world when they won a three-setter in the AVP Boston Open final in August, extended May-Treanor and Walsh to three games Sunday in Thailand. It was just the third game of the tournament dropped by May-Treanor and Walsh, who ran their series record against Branagh and Youngs to 15-2.
"Nicole had by far her best tournament and we are very fortunate to win today," Walsh said.
With a loss in the semifinals to Tian and Wang at the Norway Grand Slam in Stavanger their only international blemish this year, May-Treanor and Walsh concluded the 2007 FIVB season with a 53-1 mark and closed by winning 41 straight matches.
Coupled with 13 tournament victories on the AVP Crocs Tour, May-Treanor and Walsh won 20 titles and finished with an overall match record of 129-4 this year. May-Treanor, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the Phuket Open, also extended her own record of 34 FIVB titles. She paired with Holly McPeak for three international gold medals in 2000.
The FIVB schedule resumes March 25, 2008 in Adelaide, Australia, offering a total of 13 tournaments -- four of which are Grand Slams -- before the Olympic qualifying deadline July 20.

MAY-TREANOR & WALSH TIE SWATCH-FIVB WORLD TOUR MARK FOR GOLD MEDALS
Phuket, Thailand, November 4, 2007 - In the first All-American women’s finale on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour since August 2005, reigning Olympic and three-time world champions Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh tied the international Beach Volleyball mark for most team gold medals here Sunday by winning the US$200,000 Phuket Thailand Open powered by ptt.
With a 21-18, 16-21 and 15-13 win in 58 minutes over fourth-seeded Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs, May-Treanor and Walsh secured the $32,000 first-place prize while capturing their 31st SWATCH-FIVB World Tour gold medal to tie the record established by the legendary Brazilian pair of Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede.
Sunday’s gold medal victory was also the 41st-straight SWATCH win this season for May-Treanor and Walsh, who won seven of their eight FIVB starts this season with a 53-1 match mark and $309,500 in earnings. The American’s only FIVB setback was in the semi-finals at the Norwegian grand slam in Stavanger where China’s Jia Tian and Jie Wang posted a 21-19 and 21-19 win over May-Treanor and Walsh.
In defeating Branagh and Youngs for the fifth-straight time on the SWATCH-FIVB World Tour, May-Treanor and Walsh have a 15-2 edge in the series with their American rivals with both Branagh and Youngs’ victories being on the United States domestic tour earlier this season. Counting both FIVB and domestic wins, May-Treanor and Walsh finished the season with 20 titles for 23 events with a 129-4 match mark.
May-Treanor and Walsh’s 31 SWATCH gold medals were achieved in only 55 FIVB starts since the formation of their partnership in 2001. Adriana and Shelda’s 31st SWATCH gold medal was achieved in their 87th FIVB event at a 2004 stop in Milan, Italy. Sunday’s title was also May-Treanor and Walsh’s second gold medal in nine Asian FIVB starts with the first being at a 2002 SWATCH stop in Maoming, China.
Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos hold the men’s record with 30 SWATCH titles in 69 FIVB starts as the Brazilians captured the men’s 2007 season finale at the end of September in Fortaleza where May-Treanor and Walsh claimed the women’s title a day earlier in the South American coastal city.
“This was not our best tournament of the year,” said the 29-year old Walsh, who saw her team drop three sets in the Phuket Thailand Open competition to teams Ukraine, Brazil and the United States. “Competing against Nicole and Elaine is always tough since we have played them so many times in the last 14 months. Nicole had by far her best tournament and we are very fortunate to win today.”
May-Treanor, who was named the SWATCH most outstanding player for the Phuket Thailand Open, also extends her record for most women’s FIVB gold medals by a women’s player with her 34 title in 68 international Beach Volleyball starts. Three of her gold medals were with Holly McPeak in 2000. Walsh has 33 SWATCH titles in 59 FIVB events with two gold medals in 2004 with Rachel Wacholder when May-Treanor was sidelined with an abdominal strain.
Branagh and Youngs finished the 2007 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour season with three-straight podium placements with the $22,000 second-place prize for the Phuket Thailand Open silver medal their best international finish together. The Americans were playing their ninth match Sunday after losing in the second-round Thursday to Tyra Turner and Wacholder. Branagh and Youngs avenged the setback Saturday to advance to the semi-finals.
Second-seeded Jian Tian and Jie Wang of China captured the bronze medal and the $16,000 third-place prize with a 21-18 and 21-15 win in 38 minutes over 14th-seeded Rieke Brink-Abeler and Hella Jurich of Germany, who were appearing in their first ever international Beach Volleyball semi-final. The Germans split $12,000 for fourth-place.
The 2008 SWATCH-FIVB World Tour is scheduled to start at the end of March with an inaugural event in Adelaine. A total of 13 women’s Olympic qualifying events are on the provisional SWATCH calendar until the end of the Beijing process July 20, 2008. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Beach Volleyball competition will be held August 9-22 at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground.

Ivy, Ruen advance at HK challenger
Hong Kong event gives more AVPers chance to shine
By Mike Scarr / avp.com
With the championship portion of the FIVB beach volleyball schedule done for the year, one American team is looking to score some points on the Challenger circuit.
Ashley Ivy and Janelle Ruen won both of their matches Wednesday at the Women's FIVB Hong Kong Challenger and have advanced to the main draw, which begins Friday at Victoria Park.
Ivy and Ruen used a 21-18, 25-23 victory over fellow Americans Angie Akers and Chrissie Zartman in the first round and then downed the second seed of the qualifier, Manokharan Iswari and Luk Teng Kee of Malaysia, 21-13, 21-11, in a quick 25 minutes.
It's the first appearance together for Ivy and Ruen. Ivy paired with Heather Lowe throughout the 2007 AVP Crocs Tour and played with Stacy Rouwenhorst earlier this summer in an FIVB Challenger event in Geroskipou, Cyprus.
Ruen, who is playing in her first FIVB event, played all of 2006 with Jennifer Snyder and the first nine AVP tournaments this year before pairing with five different partners to finish the season.
Akers played with Brooke Hanson throughout 2007, which included a fifth-place finish in the Pan Am Games. Zartman played with six different partners in 2007 and was making her second career appearance in an FIVB event. She paired with Sarah White last year in Montreal.
FIVB Challenger events are open to men's teams not ranked in the top 24 internationally and women's teams not ranked in the top 16 within 30 days of the start of the event. Two teams from the host county and two wild card entries are exempt.
The bouncing ball: FIVB president Dr. Rubén Acosta introduced a new indoor ball specifically designed for next summer's Olympic Games.
While detailing the organization's new digs set to open in April, Acosta also showed off two versions of a ball manufactured by Mikasa, which have reportedly been retooled for greater performance and will be made available to World Cup teams for feedback.
"We've studied a new type of ball for our sport and we will ask the teams to test the prototypes and report to us their feelings," Acosta said in a release. "Volleyball was the first sport to use a colored ball and other sports followed us. Now it is time for new visions, with a new design and a different technological process that could affect positively not only the appeal of v