Professional beach volleyball is coming to Malibu. As part of the Malibu Surf and Sports Festival, the newly created National Volleyball League will have men’s and women’s teams competing at Zuma Beach this Saturday and Sunday. The top 32 men’s and top 32 women’s teams will each compete for $75,000 in prize money.
Albert Hannemann, an 18-year veteran of the now-defunct Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) tour, founded the National Volleyball League in late 2010. Hanneman said he hopes the National Volleyball League will emerge in 2011 as the premiere association for professional volleyball players, fans and sponsors.
“We are excited about coming to Zuma Beach,” Hannemann said. “We want to enhance the Malibu Surf and Sports Festival by bringing 128 of the best beach volleyball players in the world to Malibu. Zuma is such a famous beach and we want the fans to really enjoy their time watching exciting volleyball.”
The National Volleyball League kicked off its inaugural season in Baltimore, Md. at Baltimore Beach. The semifinals and finals took place May 21 on the Pimlico infield during the running of the 136th Preakness Stakes.
John Hyden (Pensacola, Fla.) and Sean Scott (Kailua, Hawaii) became the National Volleyball League’s first champions by defeating Billy Allen (Fallbrook, Calif.) and Matt Prosser (Ventura, Calif.), 21-16, 21-15.
The best players in the world will compete in National Volleyball League events in such settings as Baltimore and Malibu followed by stops at Virginia Beach, Va., Aspen, Colo., Miami, Fla., and Long Beach, Calif. Hannemann designed the tournaments to coexist with large-scale lifestyle events to increase attendance and cut down production costs.
“The players had a blast in Baltimore,” Hannemann said. “It was amazing with 100,000 fans watching. We expect to have a great time in Malibu as well.”
A crowd of 50,000 is expected to visit Zuma Beach during the two-day tournament. The women’s championship will take place at 2:30 p.m. and the men’s final at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. At 3:45 p.m., there will be a celebrity exhibition match to raise awareness for childhood obesity.
Five to 10 celebrities will compete in a fun atmosphere of competitive volleyball in support of “Let’s Move!,” a program launched by First Lady Michelle Obama. “Let’s Move!” is dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams.
The men’s competition will feature the top-seeded team of Prosser and John Mayer, tour champion and Pepperdine University alumnus. The second-ranked team is Allen and former Olympian Jeff Nygaard. Other notable players include Casey Jennings, who has won multiple AVP championships, and Mark Williams, an AVP tour champion and two-time Olympian for Australia.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Prosser said. “It is the first professional event in Malibu. Everyone is excited and the weather should be nice. There are high expectations and high hopes for Zuma.”
Prosser lost in the championship match in Baltimore. This time he teams up with Mayer and he hopes the two can play well enough to win the title. Mayer was a starting opposite hitter on Pepperdine’s 2005 National Championship team.
“You have to play at a high level of excellence to win,” said Prosser, a two-time All-American middle blocker at Long Beach State University. “You can’t have any peaks and valleys. We rely on one another to do our job. Hopefully we can play consistently well enough to win.”
Prosser said he is happy that Hannemann formed the National Volleyball League after the Association of Volleyball Professionals went bankrupt and threatened the future of beach volleyball. The new league is a saving grace for this popular sport that attracts thousands of fans to the beaches.
“It was tough on all the men and women players and referees when the AVP stopped,” Prosser said. “We are chasing a dream to play on a beach professionally. Financially it’s very important to us. There is a lot of time and training involved. We are excited to be back and to come to Malibu this weekend.”
On the women’s side, the top-seeded team is Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik. The No. 2 seeded team is Jennifer Snyder and Angela Lewis, and the third-seeded team is Tealle Hunkus and Heather Lowe, champions in Baltimore.
The double-elimination tournament begins each day at 8 a.m. and will finish at approximately 6 p.m.