AVP, the biggest and longest-running professional volleyball league, will play matches in an NBA arena for the first time this weekend in Inglewood.

A crew picked up 16 dump truck loads from a quarry in Palm Springs, delivering 300 tons of sand into the Intuit Dome for AVP League matches on Friday and Saturday.

The crew constructed a wooden sandbox barrier to protect the arena floor. The sand, pre-washed and compacted upon arrival, was dumped into an 18-inch wooden frame, with elements such as hospitality added to help remove debris from the air.

“If all goes well, it’s about a six- to eight-hour build from start to finish with the court,” said Logan Dan, head of operations for AVP Professional Beach Volleyball Tours. “It takes about six hours to build the court specifically.”

Once the event concludes, the crew dismantles the frame and removes the sand using equipment that looks like a modified small tractor.

“We break the box open and use a skid steer with a box broom attachment — it sweeps up a lot of the sand,” Dan said.

Although indoor beach volleyball is unusual, the AVP’s new league model — introduced last year — has made it possible to bring tournaments to unconventional venues. The league is investing in creative ways to grow accessibility and exposure.

“What that has allowed us to do is to bring volleyball into different areas that it might not be,” Dan said. “For instance, we’re going to New York next week, and we’ll be putting a court in Central Park, right in Wollman Rink, where they normally have ice skating in the winter and pickleball in the summer.”

Conditions for beach volleyball differ significantly between outdoor and indoor play. Sun, wind and heat heavily influence outdodor players’ performance and court dynamics. Indoors, the environment remains cooler and still, free from elements such as whipping winds or scorching sun.

“It’s so close and loud and intimate that it creates that very cool environment,” Logan said.

AVP declined to disclose what it costs to build courts in unconventional locations such as the Intuit Dome.

Logan said AVP staff hope fans will enjoy a fun, family-oriented community environment that features more seats close to the action than a typical beach volleyball court.

The schedule

AVP League matches start Friday at 5 p.m. with the L.A. Launch playing the San Diego Smash in the first match.

Doors open Saturday at 4 p.m., with the Palm Beach Passion playing the L.A. Launch during the first match.

Tickets started at $43.50 apiece.

What’s at stake

The AVP League format differs from traditional tournaments. A men’s duo and women’s duo represent a city and their combined records determine position in league standings. At the end of league play, one of eight cities will be crowned the AVP League champion. The playoffs feature a postseason tournament seeded based on each duo’s record during the season. The tournament splits into male and female competition groups, with the winning duo in each group earning the top prize.

The top two teams in the league standings are the L.A. Launch and the Palm Beach Passion. L.A. Launch is undefeated, while Palm Beach Passion is 6–2.

Who is playing in Inglewood?

Four of the league’s eight city teams will be represented. The lineup includes numerous Olympians, USC alums and a former NBA player.

No. 1 L.A. Launch
Men: Hagen Smith and Logan Webber | Women: Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft

No. 2 Palm Beach
Men: Trevor Crabb and Phil Dalhausser | Women: Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson

No. 6 San Diego Smash
Men: Chase Budinger and Miles Evans | Women: Abby Van Winkle and Geena Urango

No. 8 Miami Mayhem
Men: Chaim Schalk and James Shaw | Women: Kelly Cheng and Molly Shaw

All the favourites – Montenegro, Croatia, Hungary and Türkiye – won their crossovers on Thursday to advance to the quarter-finals of the men’s Elite U16 European Water Polo Championships in Istanbul. Meanwhile, in Ljubljana at the Division One tournament, Bulgaria and Bosnia & Herzegovina made it four wins from four to stay top of their respective groups.

Men’s U16 European Water Polo Championships
Crossovers Elite Division
Istanbul, Türkiye
Thursday 10 July 2025

Croatia 17-11 Germany
Montenegro 13-7 Romania
Hungary 14-4 Georgia
Türkiye 15-12 Netherlands

Day 4 Division One
Group Stage – Ljubljana, Slovenia
Thursday 10 July 2025

Group A

Cyprus 15-10 Slovakia
Bulgaria 14-10 Portugal
Slovenia 11-14 France

Standings: 1. Bulgaria 12pts, 2. France 9pts, 3. Slovenia 6pts, 3. Cyprus 6pts, 5. Slovakia 3pts, 6. Portugal 0pts

Group B

Lithuania 6-14 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Czechia 12-6 Latvia
Switzerland 11-11 (8-9P) Ukraine

Standings: 1. Bosnia & Herzegovina 12pts, 2. Ukraine 11pts, 3. Switzerland 7pts, 4. Lithuania 3pts, 4. Czechia 3pts, 6. Latvia 0pts

Croatia were the first team to land in the best eight in Istanbul after a convincing win over Germany in the crossovers. The highest-ranked teams from the lower divisions challenged the third and fourth-placed sides from Group A and B on Thursday, and Croatia had the chance to find a way out of the misery they went through in the group stage.

They found it, and did it with ease, as they produced two splendid quarters right away, winning each 5-2 to lead 10-4 at half-time, which was a great response from the players.

The Germans couldn’t withstand the pressure, and even though the second half was more balanced, the Croatians’ first win of the Championships was never in danger. This sets up an epic quarter-final battle on Friday between the Croats and Serbians.

Next came Montenegro and after a tight opening period, they came up with a 4-0 blast in the second to go 7-2 up by half-time. They added four more in the third to sail away with a convincing victory – and now they face Spain in the quarters.

The Hungarians overcame some early headaches as they had to equalise twice against Georgia, and missed a penalty. After an early exchange of man-up goals for 3-3, the Magyars staged a 4-0 run before the middle break, though their penalty conversion was sluggish at best (put away two, missed another one).

Georgia were 7-3 behind at half-time and had already lost two players with three major fouls, which didn’t promise much for the second half.

They did manage to score one solitary goal in the last two periods, but they were well beaten by Hungary, who will look to improve on their poor penalty conversion rate (4/9) when they face Greece on Friday.

In the fourth match, Türkiye secured their first win of the tournament with a hard-fought victory against the Netherlands. Efe Ike (seven goals) and captain Eymen Altay (four goals) were unstoppable as they helped steer their side to the last eight.

After winning each of the first three quarters, the hosts were 11-6 up and two unanswered goals early in the fourth took them out of sight. They’ll now face Italy on Friday.

In the Division One tournament, Ukraine dropped their first points of the Championships, as Switzerland sensationally scored three late goals to force a penalty shootout.

The Ukrainians looked on course for their fourth successive victory as they scored three without reply in the last period to lead 8-11.

With 3:35 remaining, Switzerland’s captain Rohan Negro hammered in a shot from distance to cut the gap to two, but the game still looked lost, especially when they missed a six-on-five chance shortly after.

However, in the last 42 seconds, Negro added a stunning double, one from extra and another from 6m to level the scores.

The penalties were flawless for the first eight rounds, then Ukraine’s Danylo Benyakh saw his effort saved to hand the Swiss the chance to win it. Gian Kluser swam up to take it, but his shot was also blocked. Ukraine had been handed a reprieve and buried their next two to seal the two points after Felix Fluckiger’s penalty was beaten away.

Also in Group B, Czechia stormed past Latvia 12-6, and Bosnia & Herzegovina soared to the top of the table after downing Lithuania 6-14, with Zarije Miladinovic firing in six times, including three penalties.

In Group A, France produced moments of brilliance in the middle two quarters to down the hosts Slovenia. A quick-fire Luka Vujanovic hat-trick in the first quarter helped guide Slovenia to a 5-4 lead, but France defended superbly for the next 15 minutes and completely shut their opponents out.

In the meantime, the French hit five at the other end to put them 5-9 ahead. Slovenia finally ended their drought through Vuk Petrovic, but the momentum was still with the French, who added three more before the last break to lead 7-12.

The Slovenians won the last quarter 4-2, but they were never able to get any closer than three.

Elsewhere in Group A, Cyprus dominated the third quarter 6-2 against Slovakia to put them on the road to victory, and Bulgaria came from behind to beat Portugal and maintain their perfect start to the Championships.

–

Watch all the action live from Istanbul and Ljubljana for free on the European Aquatics TV channel, which can be found by clicking here.

For the full results/tables and schedule from Istanbul, click here.

For the full results/tables and schedule from Ljubljana, click here.

Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics

 

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State Softball Head Coach Kendall Fearn has selected the first member of her coaching staff, hiring Tyler Heil.
 
“I am incredibly excited to welcome Tyler Heil to Long Beach State as our new assistant coach,” said Fearn. “He is someone of high character and is respected nationwide by the coaching community. Over the years, it has been wonderful to get to know him professionally, as he brings a wealth of experience, including head coaching experience and a proven track record of elevating every program he’s been a part of.
 
“His impact has been felt at every stop, helping lead teams to NCAA Tournament and Super Regional appearances through his masterful defensive development and dynamic offensive strategy. Tyler is recognized as a driven and effective recruiter who knows how to build authentic relationships with student-athletes and help them thrive on and off the field. His work ethic, knowledge of the game, and values-based coaching philosophy will make an immediate and lasting impact at Long Beach State.”
 
Heil comes to the Beach from Santa Barbara City College, where he led the Vaqueros last season as the program’s head coach. Posting an 8-6 conference record, SBCC hit .322 as a team and had 29 doubles and six home runs on the year. That served as a return to SBCC for Heil, who got his start in coaching with the program in 2014, coaching with both the baseball and softball programs during his first stint in Santa Barbara, ending in 2017.
 
He then transitioned into Division I softball coaching for four years at New Mexico as an assistant coach. Responsible for the team’s hitting and infield development, the Lobos had seven All-Mountain West selections, and he worked with the program’s career doubles and career home runs leaders during his time in Albuquerque.
 
Taking a promotion in 2021, Heil then moved to Central Florida, where he was the lead assistant during a very successful run for the Knights. In 2022, his first season with UCF, the Knights went 49-14 and finished the year No. 14 in the nation as part of the NFCA’s Mideast Region Coaching Staff of the year. He helped UCF make back-to-back regional appearances in 2022 and 2023, as well as a Super Regional appearance in 2022. While with UCF, Heil was in charge of their recruiting efforts and secured two Top 25 ranked recruiting classes while in Orlando. Working with the team’s hitters and infielders, Heil mentored two top award winners in the American Athletic Conference in 2022, the Freshman of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year.
 
“I am incredibly grateful and honored to join Beach Softball,” said Heil. “From the moment I spoke to Coach Fearn, it was clear that our values align in all the right ways. I’m excited to contribute to a culture that is both competitive and transformational, where we pursue championships while also developing well-rounded women prepared for life beyond the game. Doing this in Southern California, where I can blend family and high-level softball, makes it even more special. I’m proud to represent Long Beach and can’t wait to get started.”
 

2015 (Senior): Appeared in 16 matches and 43 sets primarily as a serving specialist … Had a career-high two aces in a 3-0 win over Harvard on March 13 … Added a career-best three kills and four digs against the Crimson … Also served up an ace at UCLA (March 6), vs. Pepperdine (March 26), at UC San Diego (April 4) and vs. CSUN (April 18) … Earned his first career start against the Matadors.

2014 (Junior): Played in five matches and 17 sets … Registered two digs at Stanford on Jan. 31 … Had one ace at Pacific (Feb. 1).

2013: Redshirted.

Orange Coast College: Led Orange Coast College to a conference title and an appearance in the state finals as a sophomore … Named to the California Community College Athletic Association All-Tournament Team … Also earned first-team All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference honors … Tied for the team lead with 30 service aces, while ranking second with 188 kills … Helped the Pirates reach the state semifinals as a freshman.

High School: Lettered at Fountain Valley High School … Received second-team All-Sunset League honors as a senior.

Quick Facts: Played for Balboa Bay Volleyball Club.

Major: Psychology

 

The Texas A&M University–Texarkana Athletic Department officially introduced its newest sports programs and head coaches during a press conference held Thursday, July 10, inside the Patterson Student Center on the A&M–Texarkana campus.

University President Dr. Ross Alexander and Director of Athletics Ryan Wall addressed attendees, celebrating the continued growth and success of Eagle Athletics. The event also welcomed several coaches who are new to the department or recently promoted, showcasing the depth of leadership driving the university’s athletic momentum.

Beginning in Fall 2025, the university will expand its competitive offerings with the addition of men’s and women’s bowling, golf, and indoor/outdoor track & field. The following head coaches were introduced:

 Men’s and Women’s Bowling: Michael Flanagan
 Men’s and Women’s Golf: Ryan Huntze
 Men’s and Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field: David Lawrence Jr.
 Men’s and Women’s Tennis: Brian Nelson
 Women’s Basketball: Deacon Jones
 Baseball: Chase Brewster
 Men’s Basketball: Darion Brown
 Cheer/Dance: Michael Flanagan
 Esports: Rick Allen
 Men’s and Women’s Soccer: Don Koontz
 Softball: Tony McKnight
 Volleyball/Beach Volleyball: Madeleine Halford

Other key department members include Assistant Athletic Director Fachaitte Kinslow, Athletic Trainer Erica Erwin, and Assistant Director of Sports Information Camry Dillie. All coaches were available for media interviews following the formal announcements.

With 21 sports now under its umbrella, A&M–Texarkana continues to cement its place within the NAIA’s Red River Athletic Conference as a growing hub for collegiate athletics. The press conference underscored the university’s commitment to expanding opportunities for student-athletes and strengthening the Eagle community.

For more information about Eagle Athletics, contact Camry Dillie at cdillie@tamut.edu or visit www.tamut.edu.