Kristen Cruz flung herself to the left, trying to push the ball to what she saw was an open patch of sand. After a long rally that had captivated the crowd at Oak Street Beach, she wanted to catch her breath and just wanted the point to be awarded to whichever team in the AVP Women’s League Championship.
Luckily for her, the ball found that patch of sand she spotted.
“They were both at the front of the net, and I was back at the line,” Cruz said. “I honestly just wanted to end the point and saw open sand and just went for it. Luckily, it scored in the court.”
It gave the Austin Aces a 12-11 lead in the second set and sent the crowd into a frenzy. In a match with numerous long rallies, that point might have been the most exhilarating.
“Electric,” her partner, Taryn Brasher, said. “I love watching her just like falling into the sand, and trust exactly what her decision-making is, and her touch on the ball is insane and volleyball IQ overall.”
The Aces went on to score four of the final points, including the final three, to claim the title in straight sets over the Palm Beach Passion. Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson finished with the best record in the league but fell in the championship for the second straight year. Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson were the silver medalists at the 2024 Paris Olympics in beach volleyball.
A previous Olympic gold medalist captivated the crowd in the morning, then put on an encore later in the afternoon in the men’s championship.
Phil Dalhausser, who pulled out of the Manhattan Open last month because of a calf injury, returned to partner with Trevor Crabb to win their second straight title. The Palm Beach Passion men’s duo beat Logan Webber and Hagen Smith of the L.A. Launch a year ago at Oak Street Beach, and defeated Chaim Schalk and James Shaw of the New York Nitro for the title Sunday.
“Man, at this point in my career, I’ve played with multiple injuries,” the 46-year-old Dalhausser said. “It is what it is. Every single guy out here is banged up, including Trevor. You just learn how to play with being uncomfortable. That’s all it is.
“If you focus on it, it’s just going to hurt worse, so I don’t pay any attention to it.”
Dalhausser, who had a wrap around his left calf, racked up six blocks in the championship match, putting on display the skill that helped him capture the 2008 gold medal. He tallied nine blocks in the gold medal match in Beijing.
“This is not an individual sport,” Dalhausser said. “Everyone sees the blocks, but no one notices the service placement by Trevor and putting the opponent in kind of an awkward position, and that makes it so tough for them to side out.”
Dalhausser and Crabb took a thrilling semifinal in straight sets over the San Diego Smash in the men’s first match of the day. Dalhausser scored seven points in a 9-0 run in the first set, which they took 15-11.
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“It was a little slow start, mainly by me, and then just siding-out wise,” Crabb said. “First game of the whole weekend for us, so that could have been part of it. Phil went back and got a few points on his serve and then blocks, which got us to come back in that first set. Once we knew we had that lead, it helped to win the next one.”
Dalhausser blocked a Smash attack to seal the 19-17 win in the second set and finished with three aces in the match, but didn’t record an ace in the championship match — and he was more than OK with that.
“I practiced this past week, and I was like, when I get my jump serve going and focus on that a lot, and I got it going in one set,” Dalhausser said. “But after that, I couldn’t get it going. So, I’ll take it for the one set. But other than that, siding out, blocking, everything else was good.”
The Aces beat the Miami Mayhem, Kelly Cheng and Megan Kraft, in straight sets in Sunday’s women’s semifinal. The Aces rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the first set to win 15-8 and took the second set 15-9 to advance to the championship.
“It’s just taking it one point at a time,” Cruz said. “Not necessarily worrying about the score and just focusing on our side of the net, controlling that first ball and then trusting that we’ll make some plays on defense.”
Andy Martinez is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.