Long Beach is once again home to professional beach volleyball as the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) kicked off its weekend event at Alamitos Bay on Saturday for Week 5 of the regular season.
The last time the AVP stopped in Long Beach was in 2020, when the league played three consecutive weeks without fans due to the pandemic. Saturday’s return brought a flurry of local sports fans and beach volleyball enthusiasts to Alamitos Beach, which will serve as the site of beach volleyball during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Fittingly, a number of Olympians took to the sand on Saturday in a pivotal week at the midpoint of the AVP regular season. One of those Olympians is Long Beach State alum Paul Lotman, whose jersey hangs in the rafters of the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid in honor of his career with the Beach from 2005-08.
The only other Long Beach State alum competing during Week 5 in Long Beach was Taylor Crabb, an AVCA National Player of the Year during his career with the Beach from 2011-14. Crabb and Miami Mayhem teammate and Olympian Andy Benesh defeated LA Launch’s Hagen Smith and Logan Webber to improve to 4-1 on the season.
“It was a serve-and-pass battle,” Crabb said of the pair’s key to the win. “Hagen (Smith) was the Server of the Year last year, so we knew he was going to bring it. We just wanted to match their intensity from the service line from start to finish.”
Although he now lives in nearby Redondo Beach, Crabb admitted it’s always extra special getting to play in Long Beach.
“I give everything to Long Beach for what this city has done for my career,” Crabb said. “I definitely wouldn’t be here without everything Long Beach State has done for me so anytime I get to come back to Long Beach it’s awesome. I really enjoyed it.”
Lotman and fellow Olympian Miles Partain closed Saturday’s four-match slate with the day’s most competitive contest, mounting a comeback that ultimately fell just short. After dropping the opening set, Lotman and Partain pushed each of the final two sets to extra points before Brooklyn Blaze’s Derek Bradford and Evan Cory closed out the match for the victory.
On the women’s side, LA Launch’s Maddie Anderson and Alaina Chacon opened the day with a straight-set victory over defending league champions Lexy Denaburg and Julia Donlin of Brooklyn Blaze. The win improved LA Launch to 3-2, keeping the team in the thick of the tightly contested league standings.
Olympian Kelly Cheng and partner Megan Kraft also picked up a sweep for the women’s Miami Mayhem with a win over Dallas Dream’s Hagen Smith and Logan Webber. With the victory, Miami now sits tied with LA Launch at 3-2, and the two teams will face off Sunday in Long Beach on the second and final day of AVP Week 5.
That matchup will kick off the day at Alamitos Beach at 1 pm, followed by another women’s matchup between Brooklyn Blaze and Dallas Dream. The men’s LA Launch will then take on Brooklyn Blaze before Miami Mayhem and Dallas Dream close out the weekend in a matchup featuring both Long Beach State alumni Crabb and Lotman.
Saturday’s Results:
Maddie Anderson/Alaina Chacon (Women LA Launch) def. Lexy Denaburg/Julia Donlin (Women’s Brooklyn Blaze) 15-7, 15-13
Taylor Crabb/Andy Benesh (Men Miami Mayhem) def. Hagen Smith/Logan Webber (Men LA Launch) 15-11, 15-9
Kelly Cheng/Megan Kraft (Women Miami Mayhem) def. Kylie DeBerg/Betsi Flint (Women Dallas Dream) 15-8, 15-11
Derek Bradford/Evan Cory (Men Brooklyn Blaze) def. Paul Lotman/Miles Partain (Men Dallas Dream) 15-11, 14-16, 18-16
