Mailbag: Who are the top five blockers and defenders in the world? More fan questions

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Kristen Nuss, a standout on court one at LSU who has helped the Tigers become a perennial power in college beach volleyball. In four years with the team, she has won 111 matches (and quickly counting) and, in 2020, helped LSU rise to the No. 1 team in the country for the first time in program history.  She is an absolute delight, both on and off the court.  On this episode, we discuss: - LSU's rise from a landlocked, underdog program to one of the best in the United States - How Nuss wasn't recruited by a single school until her brother, Pete, told coach Russell Brock to take a look at her - How Nuss and Taryn Kloth turned 2020 from a disappointing COVID-shortened year into one criss-crossing the country, winning tournaments all over - How this year, the NCAA Championships are a "Super Championship" with all the talent Much, much more.  This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! This episode is also brought to you by CROSSNET, a fun new beach volleyball game, where beach volleyball meets four-square. It's an absolute blast, and is actually a great training tool as well. Use our discount code, SANDCAST, for 20 percent off! SHOOTS!

10 Maalis 202150min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features the host, Mewhirter, discussing what life is like on the World Tour, and all the hoops players and promoters must jump through to put on a successful tournament.  In this episode, we discuss: - A crazy two weeks prior to leaving for Doha, which included an injury, delayed visas, COVID-testing issues -- the whole gamut - What it's like to play a tournament in a "bubble" - How it was for Mewhirter to compete in his first tournament since the Cook Islands in January of 2020 - The next steps for both Bourne and Mewhirter, in an uncertain 2021 season ahead This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! This episode is also brought to you by CROSSNET, a fun new beach volleyball game, where beach volleyball meets four-square. It's an absolute blast, and is actually a great training tool as well. Use our discount code, SANDCAST, for 20 percent off! SHOOTS!

3 Maalis 20211h 8min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Savvy Simo and Tri. Travis is on the road playing in the 1 star FIVB in Doha, Qatar, so Savvy interviews Bourne to bring the fans up-to-date on his teams status and his personal goals. Bourne recently played in a USA Country quota, but lost to Chaim Schalk and Theo Brunner. In this video he is reflecting on that loss and how he plans to move forward after this rough set back in 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualification.

24 Helmi 202130min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter features Mike Campbell.  Campbell is the head coach of the Long Beach State beach volleyball team, and has been the coach for the AVP teams of Jeremy Casebeer and Chaim Schalk, Chaim Schalk and Chase Budinger, and, now, Casey Patterson and Chase Budinger. He has a brilliant mind for the game, having grown up playing it by the Santa Monica Pier, and this was such a fun podcast.  We talk about: - How Campbell accidentally began coaching Jeremy Casebeer and Chaim Schalk, and their win, two months later, in Seattle, a first for all three of them - The difference between coaching professionals and college players, and the tweaks a coach must make to his system to manage it - Why he began coaching professional beach volleyball players in the first place, given his extensive coaching duties already - The boom of young talent in the United States, and the promise it's showing for years to come This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! This episode is also brought to you by CROSSNET, a fun new beach volleyball game, where beach volleyball meets four-square. It's an absolute blast, and is actually a great training tool as well. Use our discount code, SANDCAST, for 20 percent off! SHOOTS!

17 Helmi 20211h 3min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Tina Graudina, a junior at USC and the best Latvian woman to ever play beach volleyball.  In 2019, Graudina and her partner, Anastasija Kravcenoka, in winning the Olympic qualification tournament in Haiyang, China, became the first Latvian women's team to qualify for an Olympic Games. All the while, she's compiled a 64-4 record at USC, twice been named an All-American and once the Player of the Year. She's a brilliant talent on the court and absolutely delightful off of it.  On the episode, we discuss: - The Olympic Qualification Tournament, its funky format, and how it served well for Graudina and Kravcenoka -- all they needed was a chance - Beach volleyball in Latvia, and how Aleksandrs Samoilovs, Janis Smedins, and Martins Plavins are considered "the holy trio." - Graudina's decision to initially play for USC, and how it wasn't as easy as many may think - Her new role of being one of the biggest role models in Latvian beach volleyball This episode, as always, is brought to you by Wilson Volleyball, makers of the absolute best balls in the game, hands down. You can get a 20-percent discount using our code, SANDCAST-20! This episode is also brought to you by CROSSNET, a fun new beach volleyball game, where beach volleyball meets four-square. It's an absolute blast, and is actually a great training tool as well. Use our discount code, SANDCAST, for 20 percent off! SHOOTS!

10 Helmi 202150min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Ed Keller, one of the most passionate human beings in the world when it comes to the sport of beach volleyball. He's a walking BVBinfo, the guy who can tell Phil Dalhausser more about Phil Dalhausser's career than Phil Dalhausser. He's a staple at 16th street, the new central training center for the top AVP professionals, and a longtime friend of Sean Rosenthal, among many of the other big-time AVP leaders -- Casey Patterson, Chase Budinger, Jake Gibb. He arguably knows more about the game, and its history, than anyone we've had on the show, and this podcast was absolute gold. We chat about everything from the 1996 Olympic Games to stories of Sean Rosenthal's youth, to the current Olympic race and Ed Keller's statistical breakdown of what every team needs to do to get in. If you're a fan of beach volleyball, you will LOVE this podcast. We certainly did. SHOOTS!

3 Helmi 20211h 15min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, is an exciting one, as beach volleyball is officially back on the schedule again, both on the World Tour -- hello, Doha! -- and in the college ranks.  Bourne and Mewhirter, alongside our favorite UCLA Bruin, Savvy Simo, answered fan questions heading into the 2021 season, which we hope will feature a full schedule, with plenty of volleyball to play, discuss, and write about.  Below are a few of the fan questions we answered: - Is Chase Budinger is back with Casey Patterson. Where's Chaim Schalk? - What is the most anticipated match of the college season? - If no Olympics happen, will this be the greatest AVP season since its newest revival?  - Who do you predict will team up after the 2021 Olympic cycle?  Those, and much, much more.  This episode, as always, is brought to you by our good friends at Wilson Volleyball, who make the absolute best beach volleyballs in the game, hands down.  Use our discount code, Sandcast-20, to get 20 PERCENT OFF the best balls in the game.  Thanks as always for listening to SANDCAST! SHOOTS!

27 Tammi 20211h 6min

This episode of SANDCAST: Beach volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter, features Andy Benesh, new partner of Billy Allen. On this episode, we discuss: - Andy getting the call from Billy, and the difficult decision he had to make in leaving Eric Beranek (who has since partnered with Troy Field) - What his vision for his future in beach volleyball looks like, and what he wants it to look like - An overseas career in Switzerland that was cut short - Quitting his job as a Certified Financial Planner to become..a beach volleyball player That, and so much more. This episode, as always, is brought to you by our good friends at Wilson Volleyball, who make the best balls in the game, hands down. To get 20 PERCENT OFF your next Wilson purchase, use our discount code, SANDCAST-20!  SHOOTS!

20 Tammi 202149min