Hermosa Beach Open beach volleyball tournament returns for second year – Daily Breeze

The Hermosa Beach Open will continue the rich tradition of professional volleyball on the sand when it returns to the beach town for the second year beginning Thursday, Sept. 4.

Featuring 32 women’s and men’s teams, the Hermosa Beach Open and its four days of competition will have $150,000 in total prize money, according to founder Mark Pa’aluhi, a professional volleyball player who grew up in Hermosa Beach and graduated from Redondo Union High School.

Admission is free to the games, which will run through Sunday, Sept. 7.

“There are not many opportunities for the players these days in the grand scheme of things,”Pa’aluhi said, “so having another event, especially something like the Hermosa Beach Open, is pretty important to the beach volleyball community,” .

Last year’s men’s champions, Chase Budinger and Miles Evans, along with defending women’s champion Kelly Cheng, are expected to return. Olympian Phil Daulhausser was expected to compete, but will not because of an injury, Pa’aluhi said.

When the AVP left because of schedule conflicts with the city, it left a huge void, so Pa’aluhi and his company, Day at the Beach Events, organized its the professional volleyball tournament in 2024.

The Association of Volleyball Professional had hosted its Hermosa Beach Open annually since 1984.

The Hermosa Beach Open, which attracted 1,000 to 1,500 daily in its first year, will continue through at least 2027, after the city and Pa’aluhi agreed to a three-year contract in February.

Pa’aluhi said he hopes the Hermosa Beach Open becomes a tradition — but the event takes a team.

“This has actually been a big team effort between the staff, city, sponsors to bring this event to beach,” Pa’aluhi said. “Hopefully everybody gets to have a good time.”

All matches will be streamed live “with professional commentary, in-depth analysis, and exclusive interviews,” according to a press release.

The free global live stream is available at hermosa-open.com, “making this one of the most accessible professional beach volleyball events worldwide,” according to the release.