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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 2017)
10A FRIDAY Aug. 18, 2017 Spring Sports SeasideSignal.com SEASIDE BEACH VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT Brothers compete on the sand in Seaside COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP A competitor in the 2017 Seaside beach volleyball tournament spikes the ball during a match in the 18 and under category. More than a thousand teams in action By Kaelia Neal EO Media Group T he Basarab brothers started playing volley- ball only a year ago, but they found themselves entering the boys dou- bles 18 and under gold bracket at the 36th annual Seaside beach volleyball tournament. This is 18-year-old Max Basarab and 16-year-old Erik Basarab’s first contest, but the Vancouver, Washing- ton, duo have been competitive in the world’s largest amateur beach volley- ball tournament, which has roughly 1,400 teams competing. “Mad Max still owning the net!” the game announcer called as the brothers, with matching camouflage shorts, played their last match of the day Thursday, Aug. 10. The Basarab brothers easily de- feated a California team 21-12. How- ever, the second set was intense as each team constantly took turns lead- ing. A participant in the Seaside beach volleyball tournament gets a face full of sand as he dives for a ball. With Erik’s deep kills and Max’s monster blocks, the Basarab brothers pulled out the victory, 23-21. After Day One, the brothers won two matches and lost one, advancing into the gold bracket, the highest for their age group. Being brothers provides them with a different experience on the court. “I feel like we have more chem- istry because we know each other,” said Erik, who started playing volley- ball in his high school physical edu- cation class. “It’s pretty fun because we see each other every day,” Max said. But sometimes it is harder for family members to control their emo- tions when mistakes are made. “As brothers we get more on each other,” Max said. However, the two learned to work well together and move on after er- rors to get ready for the next play, Erik said. They said they have learned a lot during the beach volleyball tourna- ment and will be back next year. A competitor goes diving for a dig during an 18 and under match at the Seaside beach volleyball tournamenT. Seaside beach volleyball delivers sun, fun, sand Spike from Page 1A JEFF TER HAR/FOR THE DAILY ASTORIAN More than a thousand teams entered the beach volleyball tournament. What Wilson appreciates about the Seaside tournament is that “everyone that comes here stays and watches.” He has attended nine times, and said this year was his favorite because of the rallies he had during the matches. The winners receive cash prizes, totaling a combined $76,000, according to Sea- side Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Brian Owen. He said that this is an event that has grown from what used to be about five courts to what are now 154. “There’s nothing like it,” Owen said. “For a small town having one of the world’s largest beach volleyball tour- naments is a blessing.” Owen said he was hap- py with the flow of events, and the change that made it so youth were guaranteed at least two days of play. The event, which began Thursday, was predicted to bring in more than a thousand teams. If not playing volley- ball, people were lounging on their chairs and couches or dancing and cheering the players on. “We are highly impressed that people come here and just love the experience,” Owen said. GOLF Astorian scores hole-in-one at the Highlands EO Media Group Ken Littwin of Astoria scored a hole-in-one Tues- day , Aug. 8, at the Highlands Golf Club in Gearhart. Litt- win aced the 199-yard, par 3 ninth hole using a 5-wood.