by Paul Teetor
The Association of Volleyball Professionals jeopardized that by extending the game through Saturday night and with play beginning early Sunday morning, they were able to complete the tournament in time to avoid the widely predicted hurricane/tropical storm/earthquake before it soaked and perhaps wiped out the oldest and most prestigious event on the AVP Tour.
The result was a Saturday night show that drew more than a thousand fans who watched from the pier and bike path as teams of two battled it out on the outdoor courts well into twilight.
Then Sunday morning came and just as the semi-final match started at 7am, it began to rain in a slow but steady drizzle. Predictions of a hurricane, tropical storm or something even more ominous were in the air, but nothing could stop the players who had battled for three days to make it to the semi-finals with a chance to win the prestigious event and see their names on forever engraved on the pier.
Fan excitement appeared to have been fueled by Hurricane Hillary during Sunday’s Manhattan Open final.
The fans were just as resilient and determined as the players to get through the day, no matter what came from heaven. Although the stands were never as crowded as they were on a normal day during the semi-finals and final, fans used their umbrellas, sun hats and bin bags to protect themselves from the rain.
“Hey, I came all the way from Calabasas to watch world-class volleyball and by God I’m going to watch world-class volleyball,” said Kim Hughes. “To hell with this rain.”
Even as the steady drizzle turned to a steady downpour in the men’s final, that didn’t stop Talyor Crabb from finally adding his name to that of his brother Trevor Crabb, who has already been to the pier three times – and found himself on the other side of the net trying to to win his fourth Manhattan Beach Open in four years.
But this time, Taylor Crabb and his partner Taylor Sender were finally able to make every volleyball player’s dream come true.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything more than to play him in the finals and stop his four-peat,” said Taylor Crabb. “We now have four commemorative plaques in the house. It is great. I’ve been there for every one of his wins and I’ve always been happy for him when he’s won and I’m sure we’ll celebrate together tonight.”
Trevor Crabb has won the last three AVP Tour Gold Series Manhattan Beach Open titles and was the top seed this year with partner Theo Brunner. He was gracious about the loss, noting that he and Taylor were the first blood relatives to win the Manhattan Beach Open.
Brunner and Trevor Crabb took a 5-0 lead in the first set. But the team of two Taylors – Crabb and Sender – closed the gap until there were 19 total. At that very moment, announcer Mark Schürmann lost his power, the rain increased in intensity and the final part of the set played out in a surrealistic setting: almost total silence save for the relentless pounding of the rain.
But without Schürmann’s verbal ideas and the accompanying outbursts in the audience, the most dramatic part of the game took place in complete silence. From 19:19 to 25:25, the two teams traded set points, with neither team able to concede the elusive final point and secure the set.
Theo Brunner and Taylor Crabb squeeze the moisture out of the ball during Sunday’s rainy Manhattan Beach Open final.
The tension built as the set progressed until finally the two Taylors – Crabb and Sender – held a 26-25 lead with Taylor Crabb serving. His serve barely made it over the net – the ball was so caked with sand and rain it felt like a lead balloon – and his brother snatched the return and passed it to Brunner, who set it up beautifully for a kill shot .
But this time Trevor Crabb swung a little too hard, his shot landed too wide, and suddenly the epic set ended when the little brother – by two and a half years – and his partner won 27-25. The second set felt more like a climax as both sides looked to escape the muddy conditions. In the end it was 27-25 and 21-16.
While the men’s final was held in wet conditions, the rain had turned to a steady downpour by the time the finalists took to the pitch.
Top seeded Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles made it another first, losing their first match to 32nd seed Chloe Loren and Natalie Robinson and having to work their way through the contenders group to the semis and then the finals.
After enduring the near-death experience of losing in the first round, they were determined to see it through in the finals against 7th-seeded Hailey Harward and Kelly Kolinske. And again the same pattern prevailed as in the men’s final: a tight first set followed by a second set where we’d rather get out of here than drown.
This time it was 22-20 and 21-13. The rain let up just long enough for the two winners to collect their trophies. They thanked everyone who had helped them reach the holy ground at the pier – it was both a first time – and got out of the rain just in time.
About 10 minutes later the sky opened up and really let loose. But it didn’t matter anymore: the AVP had gambled and won their race against time.
Contact: [email protected]
Follow: @paulteetor
Comments are closed.