This was taking Sunset On the Beach to a new level.
The competitors in Saturday’s inaugural AVPNext volleyball tournament weathered the usual outdoor elements on Queen’s Beach, such as heat and wind. The winning pairs also overcame fading sunlight with enough ambient lighting to play past the expected 7:18 p.m. sunset.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played in the dark,” said Nikki Taylor, a Rainbow Wahine indoor and beach player who teamed with former SandBow Natasha Bell to win the women’s title. “It was a little difficult to see the ball at the end.”
“Plus you had a few distractions, like the (flashing blue lights from) the police car in the background,” Bell added. “It was about mental strength and we stayed strong mentally.”
The second-seeded Bell-Taylor also stayed undefeated in the event that lasted some 11 hours, pulling out the final against top-seeded Kaui Salzman — who played collegiately at Saint Mary’s — and Hawaii Pacific sand coach Eva Tcholakova — who played on the FIVB Tour — 19-21, 21-16, 15-10. It was the second meeting of the day for the two top seeds, with Salzman-Tcholakova having to fight back through the contenders bracket with two wins after losing in the semifinals of the winners bracket to Bell-Taylor.
The men’s final finished some 15 minutes earlier, as top-seeded James Ka-Spencer McLachlin swept No. 5 seeded Bryan Starks-James Bartholow 21-12, 21-13 to also finish undefeated. After being sent into the contenders bracket by Ka (Kamehameha, Pepperdine) and McLachlin (Punahou, Stanford) in the quarterfinals, Starks-Bartholow outlasted Johann Timmer-Dennis Roberts 14-21, 21-17, 15-11.
The double-elimination format meant that both Bell-Taylor and Ka-McLachlin had nearly a two-hour break in between matches while waiting for the contenders bracket to play out.
“That wasn’t the tiring part,” said McLachlin, who heads for Seattle for the AVP Open in two weeks. “It was the heat. But that is what you have to play through.
“Overall it was a great tournament, well-run, and a lot of fun.”
Bartholow, who played volleyball at Juniata, agreed that the playing was great “but it was really hot today. Having to come out (of the contenders bracket) was a grind. It was all about grinding out wins.”
There also were some anxious moments for organizer Kevin Wong as the courts grew darker. Had Salzman-Tcholakova defeated Bell-Taylor, it would have forced a deciding match that many doubted could be completed.
As it was, after Bell-Taylor had tied it up, Wong suggested a shortened Set 3, but both women’s teams said they wanted it played out to 15.
“I’m glad we did it that way,” Bell said. “It was the fair thing to do.”
Each winning pair split $500, with $300 going to the runners-up and $200 for third place. Salzman-Tcholakova prevented an all-Rainbow Wahine (current and former) final by defeating Heather Boyan-Hi’ilawe Huddleston 21-18, 21-12.
The tournament drew 20 teams, 10 of each gender. Wong expects AVPNext, the developmental arm of the Association of Volleyball Professionals to return to Honolulu next summer with perhaps additional tournaments.
“It was nice to be able to offer something for the adults,” said Wong, whose Spike and Serve organization focuses on youth volleyball. “There is a demand for these kind of tournaments here.
“We probably lost a little money on this, but the point was to get our feet wet. I’m happy how it went.”
There was an unexpected treat for the faithful who had remained through the finals: the nightly fireworks off Waikiki.
It is believed to be the first time since the AVP men’s tournament of 1985 at Fort DeRussy that a pro event finished after sunset.
