MPVA spiking in GH on Saturday

Thu, Jul 2, 2009    to del.icio.us

Everything seems to be in place for Steve (Stevo) VanderWerp and Pete Goers to complete a two-year winning streak in men's doubles on the Midwest Professional Volleyball Association Tour.

The Grand Haven duo were flawless during the pro event tour a year ago, and have kept their reign going this summer, winning stops at the Muskegon Open on June 6, and at last weekend's North Beach Open in South Haven.

They'll look to keep their undefeated ride going on Saturday, as they'll be playing in their back yard at the Corona Extra Grand Haven Open, held at the State Park Beach. The tournament marks the first of three-straight MPVA stops in Coast Guard City, as Grand Haven also hosts the Corona Wide Open on July 18-19, a tournament sponsored by beach volleyball legend Karch Kiraly.

The MPVA then closes its season in Grand Haven on Aug. 8 with the Spalding Season Championships.

VanderWerp, a 2008 graduate of Western Michigan Christian, is a rising star on the sand, and was recently named to the U.S. Junior U21 Beach National Training Team. He just completed three days of training in Hermosa Beach, Calif., then flew back home to Michigan to compete in South Haven.

"He's had a busy summer," VanderWerp's father, Scott, said on Wednesday. "I think the jet lag eventually caught up with him a day after he got home. But he's a pretty focused kid who knows what he wants."

The eight individuals chosen for the training team will spend several weeks training together in California, until a top four will be chosen to represent the United States in various international competitions by mid-July.

Stevo VanderWerp seems to have found the perfect partner in Goers, 36, a former Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) player with more than 15 years of experience on the beach.

"They've worked really, really well together," said Scott VanderWerp, who acts as the MPVA's marketing manager. "You got this young, energetic kid, and a really good veteran who has excellent knowledge of the game. Pete's been a great role model for Stevo and they've really been fun to watch them bond."

Although the duo has accumulated twice the points on tour than any other opposing team, by no means will Saturday's tournament be a cake walk. Scott VanderWerp said he expects several top-notch teams from Chicago to make the trip to Grand Haven, while the No. 2 seed team of Mark Few and Dustin Miller, a Fruitport graduate, are more than capable of pulling an upset.

"We don't have $4 gas prices anymore, so it's allowed a lot of teams to travel to more tournaments," VanderWerp said. "Right now, I'm looking for about 24 to 32 teams on the men's side and 24 to 32 on the women's side. We should have a really nice field."

The team of Lori Armstrong, a Zeeland native, and Carin Avery is considered one of the top teams in the women's field, although the duo of Nicole Bayle and Tracy Kirk have made an impact. Bayle, the current varsity volleyball coach at Fruitport and former All-American setter at Grand Valley State, was a Lakers' teammate with Kirk, a powerful 6-foot-1 force at the net.

"They're the young, new women's team and they've been impressive," VanderWerp said. "They've taken a couple of fifths, but they're still learning the beach game. It wouldn't surprise me if they were contending for a title in the near future."

Much attention will be focused on the pro bracket in Grand Haven on Saturday, but the event also features three amateur divisions, a high school division and a coed double division on Sunday. Sign-up at www.mpva for the pro division ends today, but amateur teams can jump into the mix with the online registration on Friday or sign-up at the beach before the action begins. The entry fee is $100 for MPVA teams, $50 for amateur teams and $30 for youth squads.

The MPVA divisions begin double-elimination action at 8:30 a.m., with amateur play slated for 9:15.