Manhattan Beach, California, USA - August 17, 2015 – Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena enjoyed the perfect preparation for the Long Beach Grand Slam by winning the Manhattan Beach Open on the Association of Volleyball Professionals US Tour.
April Ross and Jennifer Fopma won women’s gold when they defeated Nicole Branagh and Jenny-Ann Kropp 2-0 (21-15, 26-24).
Dalhausser and Lucena only teamed up over the last month after splitting with previous partners Sean Rosenthal and Theo Brunner following the Yokohama Grand Slam. They will make their FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour debut as a team at Long Beach following their 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) win over Tri Bourne and John Hyden.
The US$800,000 ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball runs from August 18-23 at the TrueCar court at Alamitos Beach in Long Beach.
“It's one of the best tournaments you can win,” Lucena said. “Any tournament you win is great, but to be up there with a lot of the best players in the world, I'm thankful. It's awesome.”
“If there's one thing that will never, ever get old, that's winning," Dalhausser added. “I can't think of anything else that feels better than winning.”