Brooke Sweat (L) and Summer Ross celebrate their victory at the 2017 AVP Seattle Open on June 25, 2017 in Seattle.
U.S. Olympian Brooke Sweat and teammate Summer Ross swept their championship match in straight sets at the AVP Seattle Open on Sunday, adding on to an already successful June that includes runner-up finishes at the AVP New York City Open and FIVB World Tour in Moscow.
The second-seeded women’s duo of Ross and Sweat – both ball-control players – beat Betsi Flint and Kelley Larsen in two sets (21-17, 24-22). Overall in their 10 tournament games in Seattle, Ross recorded 10 aces and Sweat had 83 digs. With the victory, the pair pocketed the $15,000 first-place prize and picked up 750 points on the AVP Tour, giving them more momentum heading into next month’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, where they’ll be seeded fifth.
In the men’s final, the fifth-seeded duo of Washington state resident Billy Allen and Stafford Slick escaped with a thrilling three-set victory (21-13, 13-21, 15-11) over the third-seeded pair of Trevor Crabb and three-time Olympian Sean Rosenthal. The win marked the first-ever AVP Tour victory for Slick – who had finished third five times – and the second victory in Allen’s career.
It was Allen and Slick’s second upset of the day on the Seattle sand, having already beaten the top-seeded tandem of Taylor Crabb and three-time Olympian Jake Gibb (21-17, 21-17) in the semifinals.
Over 15 games in the Seattle, Slick blocked the ball 25 times and Allen amassed 62 digs – both tournament-leading figures.
The AVP Seattle Open was the fourth stop on the AVP beach volleyball tour this summer, with the next stop to be in San Francisco from July 6-9.
Stuart Lieberman covered Paralympic sports for three years at the International Paralympic Committee, including at the London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Games. He is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
