Pro tour hits the sand in S.F.
They’re bringing beach volleyball into the shadow of the Bay Bridge.
That’s the backdrop for this weekend’s San Francisco Open, a picturesque stop on the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Pro Tour. The event officially started Thursday and runs through Sunday at Pier 30/32, up the street from AT&T Park and just south of the bridge.
The game’s biggest names, Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor, are no longer are part of the show. But the players on hand in San Francisco include a quartet of Stanford alums with strong volleyball backgrounds.
On the women’s side, Alix Klineman was a four-time All-American with the Cardinal and Karissa Cook, who gained all-conference honorable mention as a player, now is an assistant coach at the school.
Among the men, Curt Toppel was a three-time All-American at Stanford and Myles Muagututia played volleyball and also football (as a walk-on) for the Cardinal.
Another notable player in this weekend’s event is Reid Priddy, a four-time Olympian who has earned one gold medal and two bronze medals in indoor volleyball (including a bronze with the U.S. team last year in Rio de Janeiro). Priddy made his pro beach debut in Huntington Beach in May.
The San Francisco Open is the fifth stop on the AVP Tour’s eight-city tour, crisscrossing the country from New York and Austin, Texas, to Chicago and Southern California.
Qualifying play was held Thursday, with opening rounds scheduled for Friday, elimination rounds Saturday and the semifinals and finals Sunday.