AVP Next: Clearwater, FL
Photo By: Michael Gomez
December 5-6, 2020: Clearwater, FL
“This was yet another tournament where we were able to compete and also come out victorious against teams that have made a name for themselves on the AVP tour. I am not at all content with where our game/play is at right now, but this tournament was very eye-opening to all of our hard work over the past couple of months and even years for me coming to fruition. ”
- Kristen Nuss
“This was a great event! All of the athletes and coordinators that made this big event happen were incredible. I had a great time in Florida playing with Kristen by my side. Still so much to improve on but very excited for the journey.”
- Taryn Kloth
We had 7 matches in 2 days on the shallow Clearwater beach. We played (in this order) against Anna Hall and Julianne Norman, Allie Olsonoski and Kaylie McHugh, Jordan Benoit and Kaeli Crews, Violeta Slabakova and Lydia Smith, Jessica Wilson and Rachel Iaquaniello, Bree Scarbrough and Katie Hogan, and Kim Hildreth and Sarah Schermerhorn.
The weekend started very slow with only two matches on the first day. The second day we were going nearly back to back to back before the sun would go down. We battled each team and would try to throw food in our mouths before we would have to hop on another court to play. We were racing the sun that entire day. We were accompanied by our families, including my sister who had her first real taste of beach volleyball and is now obsessed with it too. We just don’t have anything like it in the midwest. My mother also had a big win that weekend herself. She won the dance off on the center court following our finals match. That kick started our night. We were so excited, school was out, and we were surrounded by friends and family.
The first thing on the agenda, a celebratory shock top beer and some food to follow. We needed to eat after a long day. We all sat in the hotel restaurant, Mainstay Tavern and sure enough the friendly sport of beach volleyball showed through. Soon the Mainstay Tavern was full of people that had just watched the finals or had been playing all day. We met so many wonderful people and we talked and talked and talked some more before heading to the infamous Taco Bus. We stayed up all night long with our new friends and hilarious jokes that will forever cause us to cramp because we were laughing so hard.
These are the moments that I will forever cherish, not the wins and loses but the relationships you build because of this great sport that is played on a beach with music blasting. After it’s all over we can head inside away from the elements and come together to appreciate our weekend workout and see everyone at another location later that year. One takeaway from this entire beach season is that beach volleyball is a tight knit family and I could not be more happy to now be a member of it.
By: Taryn Kloth
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