HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) launched its season in Huntington Beach, California, where ten Lions proudly represented LMU over the weekend.
Thursday: Qualifiers
Five Lions entered the qualifiers on Thursday. Current Lion Michelle Shaffer, paired with alum Iya Lindahl '21, engaged in a closely contested battle in the first round against Ekstrom/Lindstrom, ultimately falling 21-16, 18-21, 14-16.
Meanwhile, Jacinda Ramirez '24, alongside Celia Agraz, and Avery Poppinga '22, partnered with Madison Shields, secured victories in their opening round matches but were unable to advance past the second round.
Marine Kinna '22, seeded 15th, triumphed in all three of her qualifying matches, defeating the 2nd seed Anderson/Kan and 7th seeds Dickens/Ozee, earning her spot in the main draw alongside Devon Sours.
Friday: Opening Rounds
As the tournament progressed, two coaches and four players from LMU entered the opening rounds.
Kinna faced a tough challenge against top-seeded Kloth/Nuss, ranked second in the world, dropping both sets
Emily (Day) Capers '08, in partnership with Zana Muno under the guidance of LMU assistant coach Benny White, narrowly fell short to Rodriguez/Urango, losing 17-21, 21-19, 12-15.
Megan Rice '22 and Brook Bauer, unfortunately, lost both sets to Harward/Deberg.
However, 5th seed Betsi (Metter) Flint '15, alongside partner Julia Scales under the leadership of head coach John Mayer, secured victory in their first round match against Hildreth/Van Gunst 21-16, 21-18, before bowing out to 4th ranked Humana-Paredes/Wilkerson.
Coach Mayer also guided the men's pair of Billy Allen and Paul Lotman, who won two three-set matches to advance to the winner's semi-finals.
Saturday: Survival Saturday
On the second day of the Huntington Beach Open, Lion alums faced elimination.
Rice and Kinna succumbed to defeat in their early morning elimination matches, finishing with a 13th place ranking.
Capers and Coach Benny, however, clinched a victory against Kinna/Sours 21-17, 21-16 before falling to the 6th seed in a closely contested match, ending with a 9th place finish.
Flint continued her success with two sweeping victories over Whitmarsh/Newberry and Denaburg/Kraft, advancing to Championship Sunday.
For Mayer's pair of Allen/Lotman, they lost their only match of the day to Schalk/Bourne and moved to the contenders bracket.
Sunday: Championship Sunday
Flint and Mayer's championship hopes remained alive on the final day of the Huntington Beach Open.
Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles fought a hard-contested battle, prevailing over Harward/Deberg 16-21, 21-19, 15-13 to advance to the semifinals, where they competed against the top-ranked Kloth/Nuss before forfeiting due to injury. Betsi Flint and Coach Mayer secured a commendable 3rd place finish.
For Allen/Lotman, they dropped their match to Bomgren/Field 19-21, 16-21, finishing 5th place under the guidance of Coach Mayer.
Lion alums will continue their professional season at the Denver Open July 6th-7th.
