The stakes were high in the AVP Huntington Beach Open qualifier yesterday. Fifty-three men’s teams and 42 women’s duos threw their hats in the ring in hopes of making it through the single-elimination qualifier bracket and into the main draw. Only four teams per gender achieved that goal, and this morning, they have the pleasure of facing off against the highest seeds in the tournament. Do you enjoy cheering on the underdog? Get to know the eight teams who emerged from the qualifying rounds into today’s main draw.

Miles Evans and Curt Toppel

The 6-9 Toppel patrols the net for this newly formed partnership. A former Stanford star outside hitter and three-time All-American, Toppel earned a fifth-place finish at the the Manhattan Beach Open last summer with Mark Burik. His young partner Evans played a year at UC Santa Barbara and qualified for his first AVP main draw at the 2014 Huntington Beach Open with Matt Jones.

Evans and Toppel will play Ryan Doherty and John Mayer, champions of last month’s AVP New Orleans Open, in the first round.

Avery Drost and Gregg Weaver

Drost—a 6-5 Redlands, California, native—played the New Orleans Open with Dave McKienzie, but found himself in need of a new partner before Huntington Beach. So far, the newly formed partnership with Englishman Gregg Weaver has gone well, as they swept two of their three qualifier opponents. Weaver played on the FIVB tour for England, claiming a career-high 13th at the 2011 Quebec Open with partner Jody Gooding. He now serves as the business director at Velocity Sports Performance in Redondo Beach, California, where fellow AVP pro Ed Ratledge trains.

This duo faces brothers Taylor and Trevor Crabb in the first round.

Maddison and Riley McKibbin

Known affectionately as the Beard Bros, Maddison and Riley McKibbin burst onto the beach volleyball scene last summer after very successful collegiate and professional careers indoors. Both USC grads, Maddison, 25, stands 6-6 and played outside and opposite for the Trojans. Older brother Riley, 27, was the starting setter at USC for three years. The brothers earned two 13th-place finishes last year on the AVP in New York and Seattle.


These two Hawaii natives and products of the revered Punahou High School volleyball program, will have the pleasure of facing Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser, who are playing in their first AVP tournament of the year, in the first round.

Michael Brunsting and Chase Frishman

By far the youngest team competing in the Huntington Beach Open main draw, Brunsting and Frishman played together in college at UC San Diego. Frishman, 24 and a 6-1 libero, left the Triton program with the second most all-time career digs before heading to Switzerland where he played professionally for two years. Brunsting, 23, played opposite and setter at UCSD and earned a career-high 13th with Paul Arazia at the 2014 Huntington Beach Open.

Brunsting and Frishman will line up across the net from Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson in the morning’s first match at 9:30 a.m. PT.

Taylor Nutterfield and Claire Smalzer

These two young athletes made the journey to Huntington Beach from Austin, Texas. Smalzer, 27, hails from Palos Heights, Illinois, and played libero at Duke. Now a strategic account manager at Dell, the 6-0 Smalzer is playing in her second AVP tournament of the year. Nutterfield, 25, played club at Texas State and competed in three AVP tournaments last summer. She earned a 17th in last month’s New Orleans Open with Courtney Trevino.

Nutterfield and Smalzer will face Kelley Larsen and Betsi Metter Flint in today’s first round.

Avery Bush and Carol Welcher

Laguna Beach native Bush played beach and indoor volleyball at Loyola Marymount, including competing as one half of the Lions No. 1 pair this beach season alongside Rachelle Suaava. Welcher played professionally in Europe off and on from 2005 to 2012. The 6-2 former Cal State Dominguez Hills Toro played in her first AVP qualifier in 2005 and boasts a career-best 13th-place finish in last year’s New Orleans Open.

This duo finds themselves matched up against the No. 1-seeded Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross in the first round.

Katie Lindquist Jameson and Tracy Lindquist Jones

Although they appear on the bracket at Jameson and Jones, this duo is well known in the volleyball world as the Lindquist sisters. Both only 5-6, the sisters set for Division I teams in college—Jones at USC and Jameson at San Diego. As a team, Jones and Jameson have finished third on the AVP three times: at the Muskegon Open in 2009 and the Belmar and Louisville Opens in 2008. On their way through the qualifier bracket, the sisters never dropped a set.

Jameson and Jones will play Kim DiCello and Kendra Van Zwieten in today’s first round.

Ali McColloch and Kelly Reeves

McColloch and Reeves are team blue and gold. These two UCLA grads paired up for the 2016 season and have already earned four medals on the NORCECA beach volleyball tour—including two golds. This is their AVP tour debut as partners, however, and Reeves’ first-ever domestic tour appearance. McColloch played with Emily Stockman last year, snagging a career-best third-place finish at the Cincinnati Open.

It’ll be a former-partner battle in the first round for McColloch as she and Reeves match up against Stockman and Amanda Dowdy.