HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Stevenson Men's Beach Volleyball faced Erskine, Webber, and Liberty in today's pool play round of the 2024 AVCA Beach National Championship. The Mustangs would finish the day 2-1, earning them the second seed heading into tomorrow's playoffs.
In the 4-1 win over Erskine this morning, Stevenson's first pair of John Ferraro and Tim Flanagan won 21-15 and 21-16. Second flight Anthony Pezzino and Ryan Thenell won 21-10 and 21-19, allowing the fewest points against for all Mustang pairings.
Jay Hyman and Tanner Laukhuff won 21-15 and 22-20 at the fours while Adam DeRubertis and JD Sarmuksnis battled back from a first set loss to win 21-14 and 15-6.
In the midday match against Webber, the Mustangs battled hard in several flights but were ultimately swept. At the threes, Kevin Kouchoukos and Jacob Sledz recorded a 34-32 second-set victory.
Stevenson bounced back, however, with a sweep of their own in the days final match against Liberty. Ferraro/Flanagan won 21-14 and 21-12, Pezzino/Thenell went 21-11 and 21-17, Hyman/Laukhuff earned 21-11 and 21-16 victories, and DeRubertis/Sarmuksnis won in sets of 21-12 and 21-17. Second pair Jackson Bones and Jacob Sledz came back from a 25-23 first set loss to win 21-6 and 15-8.
The two wins land the Mustangs in the second seed heading into tomorrow's playoff round. They will face third-seeded Erskine at 10 a.m. and a win sends them to the national title game at 1 p.m. against the winner of Webber/Liberty.
