The AVP League made a stop in San Diego County on Oct. 19-20, bringing professional beach volleyball to the brand new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside. The event was a bit of a homecoming victory for Torrey Pines High School alum Megan Kraft, who plays for the Brooklyn Blaze with teammate Terese Cannon. The Del Mar resident played to a crowd that included family, friends and about 20 players and coaches representing her youth club of Wave Volleyball in Del Mar, where she strengthened her indoor and beach volleyball skills.
“I was excited to see it on the schedule when it came out. It was exciting to know that we would be in Oceanside in the new arena,” said Kraft in a news release. “My mom was in the crowd, and my grandma and then our coaches at Wave Volleyball (Club). Coaches that I have grown up with and been coached by came out so it’s just cool to play in front of people you know.”
“They really ed Brooklyn. It’s cool to have a crowd rooting you on,” continued Kraft, who with Cannon rallied for a 12-15, 15-12, 15-11 win for the Blaze over the duo from the Dallas Dream. “The crowd helped us stay focused, but also we wanted perform well for them, so it was exciting to play in front of them.”
After graduating from Torrey Pines in 2020, Kraft played beach volleyball at USC, where she won three NCAA national championships and was a two-time All-American and 2021 PAC-12 Freshman of the Year. The 6’0 22-year-old is a member of the USA Volleyball Beach National Team and has competed internationally in 17 events on six continents, including winning the 2021 U19 World Championship with Delaynie Maple.
Kraft plays for the Brooklyn Blaze, one of eight teams in the AVP League which is now more than halfway through its inaugural season. Each AVP League team is made up of one women’s pair and one men’s pair and each event features four teams in action. The Oceanside event was the sixth of the season, featuring match-ups between the L.A. Launch, Miami Mayhem, Dallas Dream and Brooklyn Blaze. The event included appearances by 2021 Olympic Gold Medalists Alix Klineman/April Ross and 2024 U.S. Olympic team of Andy Benesh/Miles Partain. The local AVP League team is the San Diego Smash, which includes Olympian Chase Budinger, a La Costa Canyon High School alum.
The AVP League will travel next to Anaheim (Honda Center, Oct. 26-27) and Dallas before finishing out the season in Carson with the AVP League Championships Nov. 9-10. Find more details at https://avp.com/league/.
