Kicking off AVP ‘24 in Huntington beach
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Yes, we really do have beaches in Michigan!
The start to a new AVP season is like opening day… fresh excitement and a different perspective for us. We have said this before but our view of AVPs have changed so much since we started international play. They are a nice mental break and I think you could see that in this tournament. I am not sure I have smiled or laughed as much as I did. T and I both agree… it felt like the beginning of our AVP career… two friends getting to play a sport they love and call it “work”.
6am airport arrivals are never fun but on Thursday, May 16 the sky treated us to the most beautiful pink and purple sunrise. The picture does it no justice. As you are aware we fly a lot and all that flying is finally starting to pay off. For being platinum medallion members on Delta airlines you get to select a choice benefit, so naturally my pick was 4 regional upgrades to first class. I chose to use it for this trip since ATL-SNA was about a 4hr flight, and I am sure glad we did because it was actually delta one instead of first class. This means we were able to be horizontal for the 4hr 15 minute flight. Truly is the best way to fly. During the flight, I finally started editing our vlogs. The one that is soon to be released is our travel day to Paris from last year… little behind. Taryn and I were both following the qualifier and texting each other back and forth with updates (we were not seated together). Of course Taryn got to chatting with the older gentleman she was seated next to and come to find out he is a VERY big deal in the dental community.
While airborne we also decided it would not be a bad thing to get massages since our bodies were feeling pretty sore. All the sport specific massage places were booked so we were left with Massage Envy. We did not have high expectations and thank goodness we did not. They actually just made us appreciate Trifecta Sports Therapy, our recovery place at home, significantly more. We both walked out discussing our sessions and both of us were like, “ Trifecta is soooo much better. Even the sheets are significantly more comfortable.” Taryn also shared that her masseuse was very chatty. He was offering her life/coaching advice, discussing how he thought Taryn should go surfing, his near death shark attack, and how he cannot see himself hitting a volleyball with his hand. We left Massage Envy with some good laughs and very greasy (they used far too much lotion). Before our Uber picked us up en route to Great Bites for dinner we ran into the Albertsons across the street to cure my carbonation craving by stocking up on Sprite 0s for the weekend.
The AVP treated us nicely with the selection of the 4 star Paséa Hotel and Spa as the host hotel. It was a refreshing change from our recent mold infested and stained sheets and towels in Mexico and Brazil. I told Taryn it was nice to not have to lift up the sheets in search of bugs, so thank you AVP for treating us well. Before passing out at 9:30, I laid in the comfortable bed watching Friends while sipping on a refreshing Sprite 0 (we are not sponsored by them - they are just so delicious).
The two hour time change had me up scrolling on my phone at 6:15am. I did that for about an hour waiting for Taryn to wake up and also the breakfast in the athlete tent was not scheduled to start until 7:15. The night prior Taryn had sent me a video on Instagram of people trying to run with the same arm and leg moving so naturally I attempted it. If you ever want to feel dumb or look like an idiot please attempt to do it. We were greeted in the tent by so many players we hadn’t seen in awhile. Crazy how 4 years ago we didn’t even walk into the tent because we were so scared. Now we are having casual chit chat with Phil Dalhausser and Mark Schuermann. After about an hour or so of catching up we went in search of caffeine before heading back to the hotel to watch some of the matches on tv.
Pregame fuel while watching games! Yes, we split it ha
It was time to start warmups and I definitely had some nervous jitters. We were the #1 seed playing the 16th seed and they were originally the 27th seed so we were expected to win. Way different perspective from 4 years prior. However, once we got into the game the nerves were gone. We were clicking, laughing and smiling and we were casually walking away with a 21-11 21-11 win. Post game we were treated to homemade scotcharoos from Taryn’s family. We had a somewhat quick turnaround so my lovely parents picked us up in their rental, drove us to Sur’s to get more caffeine, drop us off at the hotel for a quick 20 minute rinse off and change, and then pick us up and drop us off at TRU Bowl Superfood Bar to get an açaí for prematch fuel. Our second match was similar to the first, more smiles and laughs and another W.
On our walk to dinner at the same spot as the day prior, a guy was walking his dog when he looked up and saw Taryn and stated in awe, “You are so beautiful. Holy shit.” Talk about a nice confidence boost. We had dinner with Drew and Mary which we have not been able to do in sometime. That is how wild our schedules have been. We also all got to listen to my bother’s hype song that will be debuting soon and I really think it could be a huge hit! On the walk back to the hotel I was looking forward to my nightly routine of enjoying a Sprite 0 along with 3 squares of the dark chocolate sea salt Gatsby bar. Highly recommend it (again, not sponsored just think it’s delicious).
New morning but same early wake up and routine. In the tent we were able to make our own avocado toast before walking to get coffee. Along the way we bumped into some familiar faces. It’s cool to run into people that you see support you in places all over the world. We continued our walk to Milk and Honey and while sipping the coffee realized how thankful I am for our americanos we make at home because no other coffee has tasted as good (this may actually be a bad thing).
I was standing on the endline while Mark was announcing Taryn to come out on the court. He was talking about us qualifying for Paris and how we are still so new to the tour and I was just standing there thinking how crazy our life is… we qualified for the Olympics. It was such a cool feeling and truly just a woah moment before I had to dial it in for game time.
Mel and Brandie were clicking first set. They could do no wrong and we were not necessarily playing our best. The definite good side/bad side was adding to the challenge as well as this was the most wind we had dealt with in awhile. We had to figure it out and quickly as the second set was starting to get away from us. Brandie was ripping jumpers into the wind and we were struggling. Drew in the timeout had told not to let the ball drop in front of us. He did not think she could hit it hard enough to reach the back line so as we are standing in serve receive Taryn and I both take a step forward. Of course, the next ball we let go and it hits the back line and we all bust out laughing. Here we are in a tight match and the three of us are all laughing after we get aced. That just kind of explains us as a team. (ps. sometimes i really wish the microphone picked up what we talk about during timeouts because for the most part it is the most random stuff) We somehow pulled out the second set even though we went to the bad side down 18-17 and the managed to make plays in the 3rd sending us straight into the semifinals Sunday afternoon.
Peep the socks!
Post match we had an autograph signing by the Slunks tent and a large amount of people came which was wild. It got to the point where I could not sit/stand and keep baking in the sun so I had to ask our agent to cut off the line. Showering felt so nice to scrub off all the dark and ashy sand before heading the nearby Mexican restaurant. I had been craving Mexican which is not a bad craving to have when in California. We went to Ola Mexican Kitchen where we split delicious guacamole and I had three mouth watering tacos. Taryn’s outfit of choice for the evening was rather interesting.
Since we were flying to Portugal on Monday we had to repack/organize our suitcases Saturday evening. We also had to fully pack them since we would have to checkout of our room Sunday morning. The night ended with both of us finally comfortable in bed but realizing we did not lower the air. Taryn said rock paper scissor to which I threw out paper to Taryn’s rock and she was less than enthusiastic about getting up to lower the air.
Another championship Sunday… it does not get old. You know what does get old though?? Warming up… I hate it. My warmup time decreased just about every game. And our 12 o’clock match was no different. Turns out we may not have needed to warmup a whole bunch anyways since unfortunately Betsi and Julia had to forfeit due to injury. You never want that to happen but it definitely worked out in our favor especially given our quick turnaround to another tournament. Once less game was ideal. We caught the end of the other semifinal in the players tent and just kind of hung out in there until it was again time to move around. The sun was out in full force and the sand was starting to get toasty so warmups turned into how can Taryn and I pepper with our feet staying in one place.
It was again time for Mark to call us out onto the court and not long after it was him saying the infamous line, “Brandi, Melissa, pause, Taryn, Kristen… who will be Huntington Beach AVP champions? We will find out… right now”.
There were so many crazy plays and long rally’s during this match. During the third set, Drew was like I have to go as he ran off the court. Him and Mary had a flight to catch out of LAX. He missed us take the lead in the third set 13-11 to then come up short and lose 15-13. Letting the serve go at 13 all is one that will stick with me for awhile but I am certainly proud of our tournament. It is the most consistent fun I have had during a tournament in awhile.
The gracious physio staff was able to provide us some treatment after the match before we walked to get some food before Ubering (aka parents driving) to our new hotel right by LAX. We again showered turning the white wash cloth to black and then I went and hung out with my parents and Jasmine while they enjoyed dinner and I at a slice of carrot cake that happened to be on the dessert menu. I returned to the room, set a 4:45 alarm, and tried to get some zzz’s before our Portugal travel festivities began.
By: Kristen Nuss
