Week 6 Preview – NYC Central Park Gets a Beach July 19-20
Central Park Gets a Beach Upgrade
We dropping 300 tons of sand onto Central Park Wollman Rink for the first professional beach-volleyball event EVER held inside this iconic NYC park. Tickets sold out in under three days, so if you aren part of this historic event in the park, your TV screen is the only way to experience this. Tune in on Saturday, July 19th to The CW and Sunday, July 20th, on CBS broadcast television!
What on the Line
| Team | Current W-L | Post-season Outlook |
| Palm Beach Passion – Men | 4-2 | Clinched Chicago berth. Playing for AVP League Cup |
| Palm Beach Passion – Women | 5-1 | Clinched. Chasing a top-2 seed, first-round bye and League Cup |
| San Diego Smash – Men | 3-3 | Win 1 and they clinch. An 0-2 skid could drop them to 7th. |
| San Diego Smash – Women | 2-4 | A win over Nitro locks the last ticket. |
| Austin Aces – Women | 4-0 | Unbeaten, eyeing Championships |
| Austin Aces – Men | 0-4 | Must win-out to stay alive. |
| New York Nitro – Men | 3-1 | A sweep puts them in first-round bye contention. |
| New York Nitro – Women | 0-4 | A must win weekend. |
AVP League Math: The combined men + women record decides the AVP League Cup, and the top-6 of eight teams (per gender) reach the AVP League Championships in Chicago. Top-2 seeds get a first-round bye.
Top Storylines Going Into The Weekend
- Phil Dalhausser last ride. 2008 Olympic gold medalist, AVP legend—this will be one of the last times we see the Thin Beast suit up.
- Trevor Crabb vs Chase Budinger, Round 2. After Budinger shove in Chicago 24, handshakes are optional.
- Olympic rematch. Wilkerson/Humana-Paredes knocked out Nuss/Brasher in Paris and won silver. But in AVP play, Nuss/Brasher lead 8-3.
- Devon Newberry breakthrough. Called up for an injured Toni Rodriguez, she torched L.A. last weekend with Urango and now aims to keep Smash alive.
- Perfect vs Winless. Austin women duo (4-0) carry the league only spotless record on the women side, while their men duo (0-4) hasn won a match. Nitro split is almost mirrored (men 3-1, women 0-4).
- Cup pressure. Passion and Smash finish their regular season here in New York—a lot of pressure falls on these two teams to finish the regular season strong.
Full Schedule (ET)
Sat 19
6 pm – Women: Austin Aces vs NY Nitro (YouTube)
7 pm – Men: Austin Aces vs NY Nitro (YouTube)
8 pm – Women: Palm Beach Passion vs SD Smash (CW)
9 pm – Men: Palm Beach Passion vs SD Smash (CW)
Sun 20
12 pm – Women: Passion vs Aces (CBS)
1 pm – Men: Nitro vs Smash (CBS)
2 pm – Men: Passion vs Aces (YouTube)
3 pm – Women: Nitro vs Smash (YouTube)
Teams to Watch
- Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes (Passion) – Olympic silver medalists now seeking a first-round bye in the Chicago AVP League Championships.
- Taryn Brasher and Kristen Nuss (Aces) – 8-3 lifetime edge over the Canadians, looking for revenge after Paris exit.
- Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander (Nitro) – A weekend sweep would put them in contention for a first-round bye in Chicago.
- Chase Budinger and Miles Evans (Smash) – One win from the post-season, but also two losses from possibly ending their season. This team will have to face both Crabb brothers in Central Park this weekend.
One Last Thing
Clear your Sunday: 12pm to 2pm ET on CBS! Two straight hours of live national TV—no cable hoops, just grab the remote and witness AVP history in Central Park.
Credit: avp.com
