Boss/Smith earn first tour victory with win at AVP Virginia Beach

Fifth-seeded Aaron Boss and Collin Smith avenged an early morning loss on Sunday (July 29) to earn their first tour victory with a 21-19, 21-19 win over eighth-seeded Ian Clark and Adam Jewell in the final of The AVP Paul Mitchell Open at Virginia Beach.

The 38-minute title match was played in a driving rainstorm on the Sixth Avenue Beach. Boss and Smith recovered from a 21-12, 21-18 loss to Clark and Jewell in Sunday's opening match play, to win their next three matches and earn a share of the $14,000 first-place prize in the AVP Tour event.

"This is great," said Smith of his first pro beach title in four seasons of play. "The rainy conditions were the same for both teams. I thought we played very steady in the championship match after being really tight this morning. We got down early in both matches, but were able to come back with some big plays."

Smith's best previous finish was a fourth earlier this season in Huntington Beach with Mike Lambert, while Boss had posted a fourth in 1998 with Albert Hannemann in Atlanta. Hannemann teamed with Sean Scott to capture third place Sunday with a 21-14, 21-12 win over fourth-seeded Scott Ayakatubby and Eduardo Bacil.

Clark and Jewell, who were playing in only their second pro beach event together after placing 13th last weekend in Muskegon, shared $9,250 for second-place. The third-seeded Hannemann and Scott split $6,600 for third while Ayakatubby and Bacil shared $4,850.

The top two-seeded teams in the Paul Mitchell Open at Virginia Beach were eliminated earlier Sunday. Top-seeded Canyon Ceman and Mike Whitmarsh placed seventh after losing 17-21, 21-19, 15-13 to Ayakatubby and Bacil. Second-seeded Brent Doble and Lee LeGrande, who had won the previous two AVP Tour stops, placed fifth after being eliminated by Boss and Smith, 21-18, 19-21, 16-14 in 72-minutes.

"This was not an easy day of play for any of the teams," said Boss, who is in the midst eighth-season on the beach. "I thought we were the steadier team in the finals. 'Smooth' (Smith's nickname) made some great digs and we were able to overcome some early game difficulties to win."

Sunday's competition ended a three-week eastern swing for the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball tour after stops in Muskegon, Mich. (July 13-15) and Belmar, N. J. (July 20-22).

(Brighton Entertainment of New York, N. Y. taped The AVP Paul Mitchell Open at Virginia Beach action for replay on August 6 on FOX Sports Net.)

Doble and LeGrande had won the last two Sundays (July 15 in Muskegon and July 22 in Belmar) on the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour. Doble and LeGrande were seeking to become the first AVP team since August 1998 to win three straight titles when Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson won events in Milwaukee, Atlanta and Hermosa Beach, Calif.

The AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour takes the next two weekends off before resuming play with California stops in Santa Barbara (August 17-19) and Manhattan Beach (August 24-26). The 2001 AVP season concludes September 7-9 in Las Vegas, Nev., for The Paul Mitchell King and Queen of the Beach competitions at the Hard Rock Hotel.