(The following is a press release; its contents were not editorially vetted by The Desk.)
Building on the momentum of beach volleyball at the Paris Olympics, the men’s and women’s finals of the AVP Manhattan Beach Open will air Sunday, Aug. 18 on ION.
AVP is America’s only national beach volleyball league. The AVP Manhattan Beach Open, part of the AVP Heritage Series, was established in 1960 and is considered a marquee event of the beach volleyball season.
ION, a national entertainment, sports and live-event network that reaches every U.S. TV household through over-the-air TV, major pay and connected TV services, will broadcast the championship matches held at the Manhattan Beach (California) Pier, from 3 to 5 p.m. ET.
“There has been incredible excitement at the Olympics in Paris with the sport of beach volleyball,” AVP chief operating officer Robert Corvino said. “This will be the first opportunity coming out of Paris to watch these incredible athletes on the men’s and women’s sides. And the stakes are higher than ever, as the winners of the AVP Manhattan Beach Open will get an automatic bid in the inaugural AVP League, which begins in September.”
The four U.S. women who competed in the Olympics – quarterfinalists Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes and Round of 16 participants Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss – will all be in Manhattan Beach. So will 2020 Olympic gold medalists April Ross and Alix Klineman.
Men’s U.S. Olympians – quarterfinalists Andy Benesh and Miles Partain and Round of 16 participants Chase Budinger and Miles Evans – also will compete in the AVP Manhattan Beach Open, plus 2008 gold medalist Phil Dalhausser.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for fans who were so engaged during the Olympics to continue to enjoy the sport of beach volleyball at one of the premier events of the AVP,” said Brian Lawlor, Scripps Sports president.
The AVP broadcast team includes Kevin Barnett, two-time Olympian; Camryn Irwin, AVP play-by-play; and Rich Lambourne, Olympic gold medalist. ION is home to Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Friday night doubleheaders and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Saturday night doubelheaders, the iconic Scripps National Spelling Bee and some of the most popular contemporary drama series on television.
