The 2017 AVP New York City Open kicks off on Thursday, June 8, with the men's and women's qualifiers on the Hudson River Park's Pier 25 and 26.
 
This event's qualifier features a heavy dose of local talent, along with some tour regulars who didn't quite make the cut for the main draw.
 
Here are the teams we'll be keying in on during the AVP NYC qualifier.
 

Elsa Baquerizo and Maria Clara Salgado

Women's qualifier #30 seed

 
Brazilian FIVB World Tour gold medalist Maria Clara Salgado entered the qualifier in Huntington Beach Open with Canadian Sarah Pavan and the Austin Open with fellow Brazilian Priscilla Piantadosi-Lima. After failing to qualify in either event, Salgado is testing out a third partner: two-time Spanish Olympian Elsa Baquerizo McMillan, who played in the London and Rio Olympics alongside Liliana Fernandez. However, Fernandez is taking the season off to have a child. On the FIVB tour, Baquerizo McMillan picked up 25-year-old Angela Lobato Herrero for the Rio Four-Star event, taking home a 25th-place finish.

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Ricardo Santos and Chaim Schlak

Men's qualifier #35 seed

 
You'll find the most decorated player in the entire AVP NYC Open battling for a main draw spot during Thursday's qualifier. Brazilian Ricardo Santos is a four-time Olympian with an Olympic medal of each variety. The 42-year-old, who has won 55 gold medals on the FIVB tour, recently moved to Florida, where he serves as the Orlando Tampa Volleyball Association director of beach volleyball. He will be making his second AVP appearance (he finished third with longtime partner Emanuel Rego at the 2009 Glendale Open) alongside Canadian pro Chaim Schalk, who is married to American Lane Carico.

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Lane Carico and Sarah Pavan

Women's qualifier #1 seed

 
New York City marks the second AVP event for Canadian beach volleyball Olympian Sarah Pavan. Playing in Huntington Beach with Brazilian Maria Clara Salgado, Pavan failed to make the main draw, losing in the third round of the qualifier to Katie Jameson and Tracy Jones, aka the Lindquist sisters. In NYC, Pavan has paired up with main draw regular Lane Carico. Carico won the 2016 AVP Seattle Open with Summer Ross, and as the top seed in the NYC qualifier, she and Pavan will be expected to qualify and perhaps do some serious damage in the main draw.

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Brittany Howard and Corinne Quiggle

Women's qualifier #26 seed

 
Many partners in qualifier teams suffer from a lack of experience playing with each other. Not so for Brittany Howard and Corinne Quiggle, who just finished competing as the No. 2 pair for Pepperdine's beach volleyball team. With a 28-3 record, Howard and Quiggle had the best winning percentage of any of the starting pairs at Pepperdine and will be a real threat in New York City, despite their low seed.


​Photo by Eric Bouscher

Maddison McKibbin and Reid Priddy

Men's qualifier #2 seed

 
Maddison McKibbin and Reid Priddy formed their partnership after McKibbin's brother and usual partner Riley McKibbin injured his hand prior to the AVP Austin Open. In Austin, McKibbin and Priddy received a wild card into the main draw and ended up finishing fifth, a career-high for both athletes. In New York, with many of the athletes who chose to play the FIVB event in Rio instead of competing in Austin back on the AVP entry list, they will have to battle through the qualifier before they start trying to improve on their Austin finish.

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Dana Fiume and Kristine Monforte

Women's qualifier #13 seed

 
New York native and Syracuse grad Dana Fiume is used to carrying the hopes of the home crowd on her shoulders. For the past two years, Fiume has come through the qualifier and made it to the main draw at the AVP NYC Open. This year, she's pairing up with Kristine Monforte, an alum of the Webber International and Florida International beach volleyball teams who boasts three 13th-place finishes on the AVP.
 

Delaney Knudsen and Lindsey Knudsen

Women's qualifier #18 seed

 
Sisters Delaney and Lindsey Knudsen are both NCAA beach volleyball players, with Delaney finishing her senior season at Pepperdine this spring with a national runner-up finish and a 20-12 overall record at the No. 1 spot. Younger sister Lindsey just concluded her sophomore year at Saint Mary's, where she plays beach and indoor. Lindsey and her partner, Payton Rund, handed Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes of USC their only loss of the season. The NYC will mark Lindsey's third AVP event ever and Delaney's ninth.

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Piotr Marciniak and Roberto Rodriguez-Bertran

Men's qualifier #3 seed

 
Puerto Rican Roberto Rodriguez-Bertran and Poland native Piotr Marciniak have had a fair amount of success playing with other people in the first two events of the 2017 AVP season. In Austin, Rodriguez-Bertran and Kevin McColloch finished ninth and Marciniak took a 13th after coming through the qualifier with Raffe Paulis.

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