Smith Twins Advance to Main Draw

Twin sisters qualify on walkover

NEW YORK — With qualifying under way in the Brooklyn Open, those moving on are out to prove that if they can make it here, they can make it anywhere.

The pace of play has been crisp with four teams on the women's side already advancing into the main draw, which begins Friday. Top seed Chara Harris-Brooke Langston, No. 5 Angie Hall-Lauren Mills, No. 8 Laura Ratto-Colleen Smith, and twin sisters No. 18 Becca and Rachel Smith.

Eight teams from both the men's and women's sides will qualify for 32-team main draw.

The Smiths advanced in a walkover when Kelly Wing pulled out of the tournament with post-concussion syndrome, an injury she suffered in the 6-on-6 tournament in Manhattan Beach.

Vincent Robbins and Adam Roberts, the No. 1 seed on the men's side, defeated Dameon Holmquist and Andreas Olesen, 21-14, 21-19, in early action while No. 42 Pavel Bodjanac and Tom Kohler pulled off an early upset by ousting No. 23 Affonso Canedo and Wayne Holly, 21-18, 16-21, 16-14, in an hour-long match.

Other upsets on the men's side included No. 36 Gregory Hunter and Tony Yates eliminating No. 29 Erik Laverdiere and Brad Vallett, 21-11, 21-11; and No. 35 John Coon and Dave McKienzie defeating Jeff Schietzelt and Jason Stefon, 27-25, 21-14.

Yankee Sponsors AVP Boston Event

Yankee Volleyball was a sponsor at the AVP Boston event this past weekend in Quincy, MA. With the help of 25 volunteer staff members, Yankee was able to promote their organization and the indoor volleyball season which starts in September.

Staff personnel handed out Yankee promotional items including hats, t shirts, chap stick, backpacks, sunscreen, USAV rulebooks, mints, Yankee postcards, and mini volleyballs from Friday to Sunday.

"We spoke to hundreds of people from New England that play in leagues that have never heard of Yankee Volleyball or didn't know how to get into the organization and start playing. The promo items were a big hit, the mini volleyballs and drawstring backpacks flew off the table, and it was great to see so many AVP patrons wearing Yankee apparel and truly interested in our organization and wanting to get involved in playing volleyball." (Jonah Mytro, Yankee President)

The event itself was an amazing experience, we are still waiting on a final attendance count but Saturday and Sunday was packed with patrons at center court as well as on the side courts as the men and women competed through out the day.

Based on the initial response from the AVP, I expect Boston to be a regular stop on the tour each year.

Check out the rest of the AVP events as the season comes to a close

AVP Boston Event a Hit!

From AVP.com
There was no shortage of positive reviews to be heard for the Bob's Stores Boston Open — the first AVP event in Beantown in 12 years — as the field of competitors was whittled down on Saturday and Sunday.

Both the stadium and side courts appeared to be filled to capacity during the weekend sessions, and the crowd wasn't shy about letting the players know they were there. Raucous fans at Saturday's men's final and again for Sunday's women's final left a lasting impression on those who played in the event, as well as those who sponsored it.

"For all intents and purposes, it was a boring [men's] final," said champion Todd Rogers, who, along with Phil Dalhausser, defeated Matt Fuerbringer and Casey Jennings, 21-16, 21-12, in Saturday's final. "Yet the crowd's intensity remained at a really high level. It's just not something that you usually see. I'm impressed, really happy and looking forward to coming back next year.

"The crowd is insane and the venue lays out very nicely," he added. "You can't ask for something better in a first-time event than what I just saw, in my opinion. Some of the other [first-time] events were fun this season, but this one was far and away the best event. I'm really impressed."

Stein Metzger, who was the top seed in the main draw with partner Mike Lambert, was surprised by the constant intensity he saw from the crowd throughout the tournament.

"The crowd was incredible," he said. "Even in the semis they were going nuts. It's always rewarding to come to a new spot. You never know what's going to happen. Sometimes they're duds and people don't really take to it. Sometimes they just go crazy.

"We really appreciate that when we show up and the fans are totally into it. A lot of fans have talked to me after the games this weekend and said that they really appreciate that we're here and they're looking forward to us being here for years in the future."

Read the entire article at avp.com

AVP QualifiersCompleted - Main Draw Starts Friday

From AVP.com

A pair of double-digit upsets highlighted early qualifying play at the Boston Open in Quincy.

On the men's side, a pair of Massachusetts natives, No. 40 Jonah Mytro of Allston and Thomas Olson of Needham, defeated No. 25 Jack Delehanty and Phil St. Pierre. Mytro-Olson were eventually knocked out by No. 8 Joey Dykstra and Mark Van Zwieten in second-round action. In the women's bracket, the No. 23-seeded Puerto Rican tandem of Ania Ruiz Negron and Yarleen Santiago upset No. 10 Lisa Marshall and Marla O'Hara, setting up a match with No. 7 Erin Byrd and Stephanie Chapek in the second round.

In other upsets, No. 36 Evan Engle and Steven VanderWerp knocked out No. 29 Alfonso Canedo and Wayne Holly. On the women's side it was No. 18 Heidi Miller and Cindie Valeriano overtaking No. 15 Katie Steffens and Jennifer Walker, setting up a second-round matchup with No. 2 Sara Dukes and Chrissie Zartman.

Also in women's play, No.1 Angela Knopf and Catie Mintz defeated Newport, R.I., natives No. 16 Becca and Rachel Smith and will face the winner of the Dana Schilling-Alicia Zamparelli and Gina Kirstein and Kristin Ursillo second-round match. Also, No. 5 Whitney Pavlik and Kelly Wing will face No. 12 Keegan Featherstone and Ashley Groothuis.

In men's play, No. 1 Mike Morrison and Ty Tramblie began play with a win over No. 33 Erik Laverdiere and Brad Vallett, who upset No. 32 Jason Harris and Dave Johnson in the first round. No. 14 Danko Iordanov and Lucas Wisniakowski will face another team from Puerto Rico, No. 19 Joaquin and Jonathan Acosta. No. 15 Gaston and Marcus Macau take on No. 18 Adam Minch and Mike Morales, and New England natives Tim Church (Springfield, Mass.) and Matthew Terrell (Guilford, Conn.) will face No. 10 Braidy Halverson and Dane Jensen.

AVP VIP Winnners Announced

The following people have won AVP VIP Tickets for this weekends event.

Timothy L. Casey
Steve Ng
Gene Gullickson

Congrats!

AVP Qualifiers - Thursday Aug 16th

The AVP Boston qualifiers are being held on Aug 16th at Marina Bay.

Come watch New England Volleyball players trying to qualify for the AVP main draw event.

MEET The AVP Pros - THURSDAY NIGHT

Meet some of the AVP Pros on Thursday night at McFaddens in Boston.

The location for this event is
McFadden's
148 State Street
Boston, MA

Time:6-9pm

There will be a book drive to donate books for Dig for Kids (www.digforkids. org) at the bar as well as at the AVP tour-- so looking for books for school age children

Stayed Tuned for more information

Also- same night and location is the BSSC Rem-Dawg event.... two great events in the same location so you dont have to choose which one to go to-- -you can go to both!!!!!