BRAZIL CAME, SAW, AND SERVED: The Women’s Tea from Huntington Beach
The 2026 AVP season kicked off this weekend at the Huntington Beach Pier, and the women’s draw gave us EVERYTHING — upsets, drama, a defensive masterclass, and a Brazilian duo reminding the world exactly who they are.
YOUR CHAMPIONS: THÂMELA & VICTORIA
Brazil’s Thâmela Coradello and Victoria Lopes came into Huntington Beach ranked third in the world — and they left it as the undisputed queens of the pier. The Brazilians were on a different level all weekend, but Sunday’s final was where Victoria truly put on a show. Observers couldn’t recall ever seeing Kelly Cheng get dug that many times on full swings, and Kelly is one of the best out-of-system attackers in the world. Victoria was just phenomenal. They closed out the final over Devon/Savvy in straight sets, taking the second set 21-17.
The win is a statement moment. In their first full season as a partnership, Thâmela and Victoria climbed to world No. 1 in May 2025, won three Beach Pro Tour Elite16 gold medals, and finished fourth at the 2025 World Championships.
THE SURPRISE DUO: DEVON & SAVVY
Nobody had Devon Allen and Savannah Simo penciled in for the final. Nobody. And yet here we are. The duo had one of the best runs of the weekend, peaking with an absolutely electric semifinal that had the forums going wild.
Kristen Nuss Cruz and Taryn Brasher played with fire all weekend and finally got burnt. Devon and Savvy took them to three sets and closed it out 15-13 in a third set that had multiple momentum swings and three different moments where it looked like TKN might claw it back. They didn’t. Devon and Savvy were clutch when it counted.
It was also a great weekend for the Cory household. Savvy’s partner Evan Cory had a strong men’s run too, making this a family affair at the Pier.
TKN: SO CLOSE
Kristen Nuss Cruz and Taryn Brasher entered the weekend as the AVP League’s highest-ranked women’s duo in the world at No. 4 globally, and they played like it, right up until Devon and Savvy ended their run in the semis. Nuss Cruz is the 2024 Paris Olympian, 2023 AVP MVP, and 2025 AVP Best Defender. Brasher is a two-time AVP Team of the Year selection. This pairing is absolutely not done making noise. But Sunday stung.
CHENG & KRAFT: DEBUT DRAMA
The new partnership of Kelly Cheng and Megan Kraft turned heads early. They dispatched Hughes/Batenhorst with ease. Megan’s defense was very strong, and there seemed to be a big gap between the two teams. But their semifinal against Brazil was another story entirely. Victoria dug Kelly on full swing after full swing, and even though commentators noted Megan’s set location wasn’t always ideal, Kelly is normally elite out of system; Victoria just took that away completely.
Cheng is a 2023 World Champion and two-time Olympian. Kraft was the 2025 AVP MVP Runner-Up and led all women in aces per set in 2025. The talent is there. The chemistry is new. Give it time.
THE INTERNATIONAL MOMENT
Let’s talk about what this weekend actually meant for the sport. The AVP invited three international wildcard teams into the Heritage Major: Brazil’s Thâmela and Victoria, Switzerland’s Anouk and Zoé Vergé-Dépré, and Qatar’s men’s team Cherif and Ahmed, bringing Olympic medals, World Championship appearances, and current top-10 world rankings to the Huntington Beach Pier.
On the women’s side, Brazil also took out Canada, Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, in three sets on their way to the title. Humana-Paredes and Wilkerson are Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalists, currently ranked No. 9 in the world. Brazil beating them was not a fluke.
The Swiss sisters, meanwhile, were taken out by the impressive run of Newberry and Simo, yet another team that outperformed expectations this weekend.
THE ONE THING WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT
The volleyball? Incredible. The access to it? A mess. The AVP didn’t stream Friday’s matches at all, meaning fans at home missed the opening rounds entirely, including some of the most exciting international matchups of the weekend. Fans at the venue noted that the outer courts, which were free to watch, drew bigger crowds than the ticketed center court because that’s where all the best teams were actually playing on Friday.
Bally Sports Live did improve by Saturday. One fan noted the video quality was good and you could actually rewind, which was a first, but if the AVP wants the world to care about these international matchups, the world needs to be able to watch them. Full stop.
THE VERDICT
Brazil is the real deal, and Victoria Lopes might be the most underrated player on the women’s side right now. Devon and Savvy announced themselves as a legitimate threat. TKN and Cheng/Kraft have unfinished business. And the AVP’s big international swing worked on the sand — now they just need to make sure fans can actually see it from their couch.
Next up: Belmar, New Jersey, on May 30 for the AVP League opener. The rankings are set. The feuds are fresh. The season is just getting started. ☀️🏐