Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss go undefeated to capture the women’s title, while Andy Benesh and Miles Partain win the men’s title and their first Championship of the 2023.
A little weather delay on Sunday couldn’t stop all the great AVP action in Midtown Atlanta.
Top-seeded Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss took down their competition in Atlanta, downing third-seeded Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson 21-16, 21-16 in the women’s final Sunday at the AVP Gold Series event.
With the victory,they earned back the title in the same city where they made history just two years ago, battling through the qualifier to win their first AVP tournament in their professional beach volleyball debut in August, 2021.
Kloth finished the tournament third in hitting percentage (.495), while Nuss led the field in digs (83) despite playing three less sets than No. 2 Humana-Paredes (74) and No. 3 Sponcil (70).
The duo joined Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh Jennings as the only women’s tandems to have won multiple times in Atlanta. Additionally, they have surpassed
Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes in career team AVP wins and now lead the Atlanta women’s pool with five.
Sunday afternoon on Stadium Court, Kloth and Nuss proved why they are in the top four of women’s Olympic rankings for Paris 2024.
“After this win, Atlanta has become even more of a special place,” Kloth said. “Two years ago, it became a very special place for us, and now I just think it keeps
getting better and better. We had an amazing week here greeted by the Falcons and the Braves, and finishing off strong was the cherry on top. It’s a good vibe when we come to this city.”
The men’s bracket was just as exciting as top-seeded Andy Benesh and Miles Partain secured the men’s title with a 21-13, 21-13 victory over fifth-seeded Chase Budinger and Miles Evans.
The teams and fans has to wait through multiple weather delays. Play was halted due to lightning twice, during the first and second sets, and the total time elapsed from the beginning of the match to its end was five hours and 25 minutes.
Partain defended his Atlanta Open title, having won his first AVP title last year in Atlanta alongside former partner Paul Lotman.
Benesh and Partain made their AVP debut as a team earlier this season in Huntington Beach, where they rebounded from a third-round loss to win the title. With their victory in Atlanta, the duo keeps a perfect 1.000 winning percentage on the AVP Tour, with two wins in two appearances.
“It was definitely a challenge, but Miles is super cool, calm and collected, and that made it easier than you would think. We’re thankful to everyone that stuck
around to watch us,” said Benesh.
Benesh and Partain showed fans why they are the top-ranked U.S. men’s team in the Olympic rankings, wiping out the entire men’s pool without losing a single set all weekend.
The AVP Gold Series Atlanta Open featured 16-team women’s and men’s fields competing in a double-elimination bracket across three courts from Friday through Sunday.
Sunday’s Results
Semifinals
(2) Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss def. (4) Terese Cannon/Sarah Sponcil, 21-17, 21-18
(3) Melissa Humana-Paredes/Brandie Wilkerson def. (1) Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes, 21-18, 22-20
Final
(2) Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss def. (3) Melissa Humana-Paredes/Brandie Wilkerson, 21-16, 21-12
Men:
Semifinals
(1) Andy Benesh/Miles Partain def. (2) Theo Brunner/Trevor Crabb, 21-14, 22-20
(5) Chase Budinger/Miles Evans def. (3) Tri Bourne/Chaim Schalk, 22-20, 13-21, 23-21
Final·
(1) Andy Benesh/Miles Partain def. (5) Chase Budinger/Miles Evans, 21-13, 21-13
