Big Spikes and Digs with Volleyball Tour in Seaside

Getting a side out and an ace were just added to the list of things to do in Seaside Heights for the summer.

The 2011 Corona Light Wide Open Volleyball Tournament was held Saturday and Sunday in Seaside Heights. Among the many things to do at the boardwalk the crowd was treated to watching some of the sport's best shine on the sand.

The event was held on the beach at 500 boardwalk with the main net located in front of Spicy Cantina and JR’s. The main net marked No. 30 was in front of the stage and pro tent area. Inside the pro team area were smaller tents set up for resting, massage tables for the athletes and refreshments.

The deadline for registration was Friday at 4 p.m., but walk-on teams were able to sign up at the event if space was available. Teams checked in at 8 a.m. on Saturday, a player meeting took place at 8:15 a.m. and players were serving to other teams by 8:30 a.m.

Sunday’s events for the winners of Saturday started at 9 a.m.

Both Men and Women’s Open teams had three groups to play in  AA, A and B according to rank. All teams except the Co-Ed Division played on Saturday with the winners of Saturday playing in the Open semis final on Sunday.

The grand total for the event prizes equaled $50,000. The Men’s and Women’s categories each receive a total of $25,000 per gender.

Prize money for the event went as follows: first place , $7,500; second place,   $5,000;  third place, $3,500 ; fourth place, $2,500; fifth place, $2,000 x 2 teams; seventh place, $1,250 x 2 teams.

Wayne Gant, the tournament director of Great American Volleyball, spoke about the event on the first day of the tournament.

“It’s one of the biggest events of the year,” said Gant. “We have $50,000  up for grabs in the pro division and teams from all over like California and Florida. In the amateur division we have people playing in the beginner all the way up through the pro division."

Gant, who was busy organizing the check-in tent, said the event would go until about 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday’s play would end around 5 p.m. with the crowning of the winners.

“We assign four to five teams per net in each division each team will play each other two games and the top two teams record wide will advance to the playoffs," Gant said.  "Once they get to the playoffs it will be single elimination versus all the other nets.”

The event had 240 teams register with Co-Ed teams playing only on Sunday.

 The Pro Division has a best-of-3 format with the first two games playing to 21 while the third and tie-breaking round would end at 15.

The end of Day 1 saw familiar faces headed into the semifinals. Sean Scott and John Hyden, who won the last Corona Light Open  in Siesta Key, Fla., ran through the field undefeated. Kevin McColloch and Mat Olson also advanced to Sunday with no losses.

For the women’s teams, Kristen Batt and Brooke Sweat survived Saturday’s competition to challenge the field on Sunday.

Game play was intense on Sunday with the team of Scott and Hyden winning their second Men’s Corona Light Wide Open Tournament of the season. They defeated the team of John Mayer and Matt Prosser,  21-17, 16-21 and 15-11.

In the women's bracket, the team of Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik defeated  Kristen Batt and Brooke Sweat.

For a list of the full results, log on to www.coronalightwideopen.com or visit Facebook at Corona Light Wide Open.