Last Updated on July 23, 2025 by BVN
Jon Gaede | BVN Sports
The (AVP) Association of Volleyball Professionals has formed an eight-city indoor league that brings both authentic beach sand and Olympic caliber athletes to venues normally used for basketball and concerts.
The AVP Team Beach Volleyball Tour includes the Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers, for the fifth stop of their eight-city tour. Approximately 300 tons of sand was brought in from local beaches to create the authentic courts.
The team-based indoor league features male and female teams competing in a shorter structured tournament with shorter games to 15 points and best two out of three sets. The teams compete for prize money to be won at the league championship in Chicago.
AVP and the Intuit Dome venue created an enhanced fan experience by condensing the seating area around the single sand court, giving fans a unique proximity to every hit of the action. Fans were treated to the highest level of play from world class men and women’s teams, including several players from last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Saturday’s results included a double win for the San Diego Smash as the team of Geena Urango (UCLA) and Devon Newberry (UCLA) defeated Kelly Cheng (USC) and Molly Shaw in two sets. For the men, former NBA player Chase Budinger and Miles Evans defeated James Shaw and Chaim Shchalk in three sets.
Fans were treated to the greatest blocker in the sport, six-time Olympic Gold medalist, Phil Dalhausser who has announced his retirement at the end of the season. At 6’9, Dalhausser has accomplished everything in the sport of Beach Volleyball to include 6 Olympic Gold Medals for the United States and induction into the International Beach Hall of Fame in 2023.
