Olympians rule the AVP court

Huntington Beach, CA (News 4 Us Online) – The AVP Pro Volleyball Tour might as well be called Olympics United. The number of Olympians taking part year round in tournaments that stretches from Miami to Los Angeles has made it a gathering of the best of the best. 

The 2026 AVP Huntington Beach Open acclimated that fact. You could pick a court to catch some beach volleyball action and most likely find yourself watching Olympic stars from the past and those aspiring to make that leap.

In a non-Olympic year, everywhere you looked at the Huntington Beach Open, there were Olympians everywhere.

The end result of the 2026 AVP Huntington Beach Open was that two teams came out victorious. The Brazil duo of Thamela Coradello and Victoria Lopes defeated Devon Newberry and Savannah Simo to win their first AVP title on the women’s side of play. 

Taylor Crabb and Andy Benesh took out Miles Evans and Chase Budinger to capture the men’s title. But a much bigger deal outside of the two teams winning the Huntington Beach title was the level of competition they had to go up against.  

The AVP Huntington Beach Open was not a walk in the park with quality of play dominating the scene for three consecutive days. For three days, top-tier athletes from all over the world competed in one of the most coveted beach volleyball tournaments in the country.    

The 2028 Olympics come to town in about two years from now. Huntington Beach didn’t have to wait for the Olympic experience to visit Southern California. 

That’s because the popular beach town has been attracting Olympians and elite international teams for years, thanks to AVP, the beach volleyball league that travels all over the country and abroad. 

The 2026 AVP Huntington Beach Open was no different. There were Olympians all over the place. There were so many that one could easily just as well refer to the AVP Tour as Olympic Fest. 

The rundown of names was impressive. Canada’s dynamic duo of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, silver medalists at the 2024 Olympics, was one of the top teams in the tournament. 

In 2024, Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson took home the top prize at the AVP Huntington Beach Open. The pair got off to a great start, winning their first two matches with ease before hitting defeat at the hands of the Taryn Brasher and Kristen Nuss Cruz tandem.

It was the 21st time that Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson squared off against Brasher and Cruz, both of whom also played at the 2024 Summer Games. Brasher and Cruz were ousted from their Olympic medal run by Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson. 

The women’s side of the beach volleyball side was loaded with world-class talent. Going into the Huntington Beach tournament, Thamela and Victoria were ranked third in the world, according to the FIVB world rankings. 

Brasher and Cruz are right behind Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson at the No. 4 spot. 

Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson (No.9) are ranked No. 8, and are more than capable of fixing the solution. Exceptional play on both sides gave way to solid play throughout the duration of the tournament. 

Switzerland sisters Anouk and Zoé Vergé-Dépré are ranked No. 9 globally, and brought their Olympic skills with them. Anuk is a two-time Olympian, while Zoe made the cut just once so far. By now, you get the picture. Olympic beach volleyball is a big deal. The level of play is extraordinary. 

Anouk Vergé-Dépré said she and her sister, Zoe, were thrilled to be able to play in the tournament.

“It’s a huge thing, I think, that allow now international wildcards, whereas it’s a really big pleasure to play here, to have to feel that American beach volleyball community,” she said. “I hope there’s many more tournaments where they allow also international wildcards.”

The same goes for the men’s side of things. 

Crabb is a former national player of the year star while competing at the collegiate level for Cal State Long Beach University. And yes, he too, is an Olympian, having represented Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

One of the more dynamic matches of the tournament came on the second day of the tournament when Crabb and Benesh, the men’s No. 2 seed, went toe-to-toe with the No. 8 team in the world in the Qatar duo of  Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Younousse, bronze medalists at the 2020 (2021) Olympics.       

While their match lasted just two sets, Crabb and Benesh admitted that the Qatar stars were a tough out. 

“Very good team,” Crabb said. “One of the top teams in the world. We played great; didn’t get started from our service pressure and passing with these conditions-shallow sand. Good win.”

After defeating Tijan and Younousse, Crabb and Benesh went on to knock 2024 Paris Olympians Evans and Budinger. Other Olympians who made the rounds at the Huntington Beach Open included Kelly Cheng, Sara Hughes and Phil Dalhausser.   

When asked if he would consider season an off-Olympic year, Crabb rebuffed that thought.

“I don’t consider this an off year, just because it is a new partnership, so we have limited time before 2028,” Crabb said. “So yeah, we’re full head of steam right now, back in LA training full time. We get to practice every day, and now with our USA centralized training, we have three head coaches and all the top teams are practicing together, which I think is great for us, and we’re just excited. I’m excited to be back on the world tour and back on the AVP.”

Cover art/Lead image: Teammates and 2024 Olympic silver medalists from Canada Melissa Humana-Paredes (left) and Brandie Wilkerson made their presence felt at the 2026 AVP Huntington Beach Open