Young Manhattan Beach Volleyball Athletes Dominate AAU Tournament

Beach volleyball’s next generation of rising young stars took to the sands of Manhattan Beach Sunday for the opportunity to win a gold medal in the AAU Athletics Beach Volleyball Regional Championships. 

The South Bay’s junior dominance of all things beach volleyball is becoming a common theme at AAU tournaments. In total Sunday, South Bay athletes captured 11 out of 18 gold medals in the tournament. Manhattan Beach locals captured six gold medals, Hermosa Beach athletes grabbed three gold, and Redondo Beach athletes nabbed two gold medals. In addition to the gold medals, multiple South Bay teams wrapped up their strong showings with silver and bronze medals. 

In the Girls 10U division, Manhattan Beach’s Lindsey Kelly teamed with Garden Grove’s Brielle Mullally to capture gold. The duo defeated locals Kristen Cordero of Manhattan Beach and Riley Hazelrigg of Hermosa Beach who settled for the silver medal. 

In the boys 10U division, the Manhattan Beach team of Kyle Johnson and Jake Wall grabbed the silver medal as they fell to Buey Grossman of Sun Valley, Idaho, and James Nugent of Los Angeles in the division’s final match. 

The South Bay’s beach volleyball prowess was in full display in the girls 12U division. Manhattan Beach local Presley Forbes and Hermosa Beach local Sunny Villapando captured gold with their win. Chloe Newton of Hermosa Beach and Lily Snyder of Manhattan Beach finished with silver medals. Hermosa Beach’s Kyana Morgan and Lea Unger of Manhattan Beach brought home bronze. 

The boys 12U division was another highlight in the locals’ impressive tournament, as another Manhattan Beach/Hermosa Beach partnership resulted in a gold medal. Bobby Barkley of Manhattan Beach and Sebastian Rodriguez took gold as they defeated Luke Grafton and Jack Walmer both of Manhattan Beach, in the division’s final match. Barkley and Rodriguez have stayed hot after winning the AAU Beach Volleyball Southern Pacific Championships two weeks earlier. Manhattan Beach’s Dane Johnson and partner Jevan Coronado of West Covina finished with bronze medals. 

The girls 14U division told more of the same tale of South Bay superiority. Abril Bustamanate of Redondo Beach teamed with Skylar Caputo of Manhattan Beach to capture gold. Grace Campbell and Oliva Rodberg both of Manhattan Beach grabbed silver in the division. Manhattan Beach’s Payton Chang teamed with Natalie Anselmo of Malibu to win a bronze medal.

The boys 14U division was a near mirror image of the girls. The unstoppable force that is the partnership of Manhattan Beach’s Blake Markland and Hermosa Beach’s Tanner Smith steamrolled to another gold medal. The duo won gold in the Southern Pacific Regional Championships in Hermosa Beach two week earlier. The Manhattan Beach tandem of Kyle Jasuta and Trevor Liu finished with silver medals in the tournament. 

The girls 16U bracket was the only division without a South Bay local on the top spot of the podium. Mary Hernandez of Long Beach and Kylee Wolfe of La Habra Heights deftead Juju Cannon of Tustin and Olivia Zumwalt of Huntington Beach to win gold.

In the boys 16U division, Redondo Beach’s Vincent Pizzuti teamed with Louis Richard of Los Angeles to take down Hayden Boehle of Los Angeles and Brendan Sander of Huntington Beach to win gold. The Manhattan Beach duo of Kieran Coughlin and Jack Payne brought home bronze in the division.

Mira Costa volleyball standout Jace Pardon took her indoor skills to the beach and captured a gold medal in the process in the girls 18U division. Pardon teamed with Casey Levitt of Thousand Oaks to win first place. San Pedro local Courtney Eppiler and Lindsay Colbert of Rancho Palos Verdes won silver in the division. 

South Bay athletes will look to continue their dominance at the AAU’s granddaddy of them all, the 18th annual Junior National Championships July 9-10 in Hermosa Beach.