USA Volleyball hosted a playoff at Manhattan Beach yesterday to determine which Team USA duos would have the opportunity to play in the next three NORCECA beach volleyball events. The winning team in each gender now has the opportunity to play in NORCECA events in Canada, Cuba and Puerto Rico. If the U.S. gets to send two teams to any or all of these events, the teams that finished second would have an opportunity to attend as well.

On the women’s side, Sara Hughes and Kelly Claes defeated Ali McColloch and Kelly Reeves in the final of the single-elimination tournament. Hughes and Claes, who recently concluded their undefeated junior seasons of NCAA beach volleyball, dominated the competition, never dropping a set and only allowing opponents an average of 13 points per set. Against McColloch and Reeves in the final, they posted scores of 21-12, 21-19. Kerri Schuh and Branagan Fuller defeated Whitney Pavlik and Shelia Shaw in the third-place match.

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Adam Roberts and Marty Lorenz secured the men’s NORCECA berth, winning by forfeit over Miles Evans and Spencer McLachlin in the final. McLachlin had to leave to catch a flight, so Roberts and Lorenz will have first dibs on the three upcoming NORCECA tournaments. In the likely event that USAV gets to send two teams to each of these events, Evans and McLachlin will also have the opportunity to attend. Kevin McColloch and Avery Drost took third thanks to a two-set victory over Dave McKienzie and Andrew Dentler.

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The upcoming NORCECA events are in North Bay, Canada, June 30-July 4; Varadero, Cuba, July 13-17; and Boqueron, Puerto Rico, August 3-8.