BOSS & SMITH NET FIRST PRO BEACH VOLLEYBALL TITLE;AVP PAUL MITCHELL OPEN AT VIRGINIA BEACH CONCLUDES SUNDAY IN THE RAIN
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. - Fifth-seeded Aaron Boss and Collin Smith avenged an early
morning loss here Sunday (July 29) to score a 21-19 and 21-19 win over
eighth-seeded Ian Clark and Adam Jewell in the finals of The Paul Mitchell Open
at Virginia Beach.The 38-minute title match was played in a driving rainstorm on the Sixth Avenue Beach.  Boss and Smith recovered from a 21-12 and 21-18 loss to Clark and
Jewell in Sunday's opening match played to win their next three matches to earn
a share of the $14,000 first-place prize in the Association of Volleyball
Professionals (AVP) Pro Beach Volleyball Tour event."This is great," said Smith of his first pro beach title in four seasons of play.  "The rainy conditions were the same for both teams.  I thought we played very steady in the championship match after being really tight this morning. We got down early in both matches, but were able to come back with some big plays." Smith's best previous finish was a fourth earlier this season in Huntington
Beach with Mike Lambert while Boss had posted a fourth in 1998 with Albert
Hannemann in Atlanta.  Hannemann teamed with Sean Scott to capture third place
Sunday with a 21-14 and 21-12 win over fourth-seeded Scott Ayakatubby and
Eduardo Bacil.Clark and Jewell, who were playing in only their second pro beach event
together after placing 13th last weekend in Belmar, shared $9,250 for
second-place.  The third-seeded Hannemann and Scott split $6,600 for third
while Ayakatubby and Bacil shared $4,850.The top two-seeded teams in the Paul Mitchell Open at Virginia Beach were eliminated earlier Sunday.  Top-seeded Canyon Ceman and Mike Whitmarsh placed seventh after losing 17-21, 21-19 and 15-13 to Ayakatubby and Bacil. Second-seeded Brent Doble and Lee LeGrande, who had won the previous two AVP
Pro Beach Volleyball Tour stops, placed fifth after being eliminated by Boss and Smith 21-18, 19-21 and 16-14 in 72-minutes."This was not an easy day of play for any of the teams," said Boss, who is in the midst eighth-season on the beach.  "I thought we were the steadier team in the finals.  Smooth (Smith's nickname) made some great digs and we were able to overcome some early game difficulties to win."
Sunday's competition ended a three-week eastern swing for the AVP Pro Beach
Volleyball tour after stops in Muskegon, Mich. (July 13-15) and Belmar, N. J.
(July 20-22).  Brighton Entertainment of New York, N. Y. taped The Paul
Mitchell Open at Virginia Beach action for replay August 6 on FOX Sports Net.
Doble and LeGrande had won the last two Sundays (July 15 in Muskegon and July
22 in Belmar) on the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour.  Doble and LeGrande were
seeking to become the first AVP team since August 1998 to win three straight
titles when Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson won events in Milwaukee, Atlanta and
Hermosa Beach, Calif.The AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour takes the next two weekends off before resuming play with California stops in Santa Barbara (August 17-19) and
Manhattan Beach (August 24-26).  The 2001 AVP season concludes September 7-9 in
Las Vegas, Nev., for The Paul Mitchell King and Queen of the Beach competitions
at the Hard Rock Hotel.