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.