Opening Week

AVP beach volleyball is an annual outdoor event. For the 2010 season, the professional volleyball players started their tour in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the first time since 2006. The match is technically known as the AVP Nivea Tour Gatorade Fort Lauderdale Open. The matches are an all day affair with male and female tournaments. Misty May-Treanor, who resides in Florida, and Nicole Branagh won this open for the women. Misty and Nicole went the entire weekend without losing a game. This is Misty's return to professional beach volleyball as a full-time participant. As for the men's title goes, the final match was rained out. m Canceling an AVP match has only happened five times in the course of AVP beach volleyball history, and hasn't happened since 1996 in Dallas. Earnings from these matches range anywhere from a couple thousand dollars to $20,000, the amount Misty and Nicole walked away with. Even though the men's final match was rained out, the winnings were determined based on how well the teams did up until that point. The next stop for the tour is Santa Barbara, California, April 29 till May 2.