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AVP Beach Bodies to invade Daniel Island
By Tom Ratzloff
May 8, 2008 - 10:18:47 AM

Phil Dalhausser

The bodies are back.

Breathes there a soul so dead who has not noticed the massive posters of bronzed volleyball stars on the tennis stadium on Seven Farms Drive?

Those players will be here in the flesh next week for the second annual AVP Charleston Open, which is South Carolina’s only professional beach volleyball tournament. More than 150 top men and women players, including U.S. Olympic gold medalists and the biggest superstars of the game, will battle for more than $200,000 in prize money during the May 15-18 tournament on Daniel Island.

The term beach volleyball may conjure images of surfer dudes and beach bunnies, but this is not your Uncle Jimmy’s spike-and-giggle picnic volleyball game.

Fans will see hard-fought, give-no-quarter matches as players hone their games for upcoming Olympics competition. AVP volleyball is an intense, demanding sport where competition is fierce and the outcome is not foretold.

On Sunday, for example, Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal broke the season-long domination by tour leaders Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers to capture the Cuervo Gold Crown Championship in Huntington Beach, Calif.

The 2007 inaugural AVP Charleston Open featured upsets, too, when fourth-seeds Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger defeated Dalhausser and Rogers to win the title. It was the first time in the 2007 tour that the title did not go to the team seeded first or second. In women’s competition, top seeds Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won the Charleston tournament with convincing wins over third-seeds Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs.

An important sidelight of last year’s AVP season was the farewell tour by legendary volleyballer Karch Kiraly. At next week’s tournament, fans will be able to see another retiring veteran, Holly McPeak, who is ending her beach volleyball career at the end of the 2008 season. She and Kiraly have been driving forces in the growing popularity of beach volleyball through their competitive play and television commentary.

"This is my 18th season, and it will be my final season," McPeak said. "I’m looking forward to a fun season. It’s going to be interesting. I’m healthy, I’m focused, and I think anytime you’re used to playing volleyball every weekend and traveling for 18 seasons, it’s going to be interesting to stop. But I’m looking forward to it."

Kiraly had high praise for McPeak.

"She played her first pro tournament, I think it was 21 years ago," he said. "She looks so fit now, I think she must have been 8 years old when she played in that first pro tournament. It’s been an honor for me to know her for most of that time, and certainly to work with her in the TV booth in the last few years, both on the AVP and in the college ranks."

McPeak played in her first professional beach volleyball tournament in 1987 and claimed her first AVP Tour title in 1993. She is one of only five women worldwide to have competed in all three Olympic Games in beach volleyball, winning the bronze medal at the 2004 games in Athens with then-partner Elaine Youngs, where they became the first U.S. women to medal in beach volleyball. She ranks No. 3 on the list of beach volleyball players in terms of titles won. She held the record until 2007, when it was broken by Misty May-Treanor. That same year, she became the second woman to break the $1.5 million mark in career prize money.

chris smith Holly McPeak was at the ready during action at last summer’s inaugural Charleston AVP open.

The Family Circle Tennis Center will once again be transformed into beachfront property as more than 1,500 tons of pristine white PGA bunker-quality sand will be trucked in to create five world-class volleyball courts spread out over the 32-acre facility. Last year more than 12,000 fans attended the inaugural AVP Charleston Open.

"Our site plan will be similar to last year’s layout, but we’re integrating a host of improvements focused on enhancing the experience for both the fans and players alike," noted Eleanor Adams, AVP Charleston Open tournament co-manager. "We’re excited to have the chance to build on the success of our inaugural event, incorporate some of what we’ve seen by attending other AVP events around the country, and create some fun new activities of our own that are sure to entertain the whole family."

Qualifying rounds are free to attend, and tickets for main-draw action includes weekend packages and individual session sales. Tickets are available at avp.com, the official Web site of the AVP Crocs Tour, as well as Ticketmaster.com, local Ticketmaster outlets, and charge-by-phone at 843-554-6060.

"Be sure to put Charleston’s hard-hitting action-packed event of the year on your calendars today," said tournament co-manager Elizabeth Skogman. "The AVP Charleston Open promises to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout all four days of competition."