There was a lot of buzz surrounding the start of the 2017 AVP beach volleyball tour in Huntington Beach, CA, last week, and the drama on the court was equally intense. Top-seeded Brittany Hochevar and Emily Day wrapped up the four-day tournament by winning the women's title on Sunday, while No. 3 seed Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena earned the championship on the men's side.

Here are our favorite storylines from the weekend.

The match-point rules create some epic comebacks and upsets.

Most notably, in the third round of the qualifier, Katie Jameson and Tracy Jones (aka the Lindquist sisters) matched up across the net from 6-foot-5 Canadian Olympian Sarah Pavan and Brazilian FIVB champion Maria Clara Salgado. The extremely undersized sisters (both are listed as 5-6) lost the first set 19-21 but won the second 21-19. In the third, Pavan and Salgado held a 14-11 lead when the match-point side-out scoring and no-let serves rules kicked in. Pavan hit a trickler serve, and on her re-serve Jameson and Jones sided out, launching their comeback that resulted in a 16-14 victory and Pavan and Salgado's elimination from the tournament.

Kelley Larsen and Betsi Flint don't get enough credit.

At the Huntington Beach Open, Larsen and Flint made their third AVP final. The duo lost to Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat in the championship of the 2016 Chicago Open, the last event of the 2016 season, and won the title at the 2015 Cincinnati Open. Larsen and Flint first played together in 2014 after Larsen graduated from Pepperdine and a year before Flint finished her indoor and beach careers at Loyola Marymount. Since Flint graduated in 2015, they've played together consistently, scoring five NORCECA podium finishes and four FIVB tournament appearances.

In Huntington, the pair didn't lose a match until the final, sending April Ross and Whitney Pavlik to the contenders' bracket with a dominant 21-7, 21-19 victory and then taking out Lane Carico and Lauren Fendrick in the semifinals 21-17, 21-13.

Expect to keep seeing these two in action on Sundays.

Alix Klineman and Jace Pardon could be dangerous.

Former Stanford stud and indoor volleyball pro Alix Klineman made her first main draw in Huntington Beach, playing alongside Florida State beach volleyball alumna Jace Pardon. The pair lost to eventual champions Brittany Hochevar and Emily Day in the first round but then pulled off victories over tour regulars Sheila Shaw and Brittany Tiegs and Angela Bensend and Geena Urango before losing to Jen Fopma and Kelly Reeves in a three-set battle.

If these two decide to form a long-term partnership, they'll be a team to watch.

Phil Dalhausser just keeps getting more legendary.

With a 21-16, 21-17 victory over Ryan Doherty and John Hyden in the 2017 AVP Huntington Beach Open men's final, Dalhausser earned his 50th AVP title and his 86th overall title, tying Brazilian legend Emanuel Rego in all-time titles.

During the broadcast of the final, Kevin Wong called Dalhausser a once-in-a-generation player, and he certainly has the all-around skills to back that claim up. The Thin Beast is a two-time AVP Best Blocker, two-time Best Defensive Player, Best Offensive Player every year from 2005 to 2009 and 2016, and three-time Most Valuable Player. On the FIVB, he's been named Best Blocker six times, Best Hitter four times, Best Offensive Player four times, Best Server once, Best Setter seven times, and Most Outstanding Player three times.

Just because you're an Olympian or international pro doesn't mean you're going to qualify.

The AVP Huntington Beach Open qualifier featured a stacked field that included Olympians Sarah Pavan, Reid Priddy, Paul Lotman, and international beach pros Chaim Schalk and Maria Clara Salgado, but none of them earned a spot in the main draw.

As previously mentioned, Pavan and Salgado fell at the hands of the Lindquist sisters. Lotman and his partner Alejandro Parra lost to Brian Cook and Miles Evans, and Priddy and Schalk ended their tournament versus 22-year-old former Harvard player Brandon Clemens and 20-year-old Ben Vaught.