Three-time Olympian, Elaine Youngs is the reigning 2007 Goddess of the Beach and is looking to defend her title here at the Best of the Beach Tournament in Glendale, Arizona.

In her quest to be the best, Youngs will have to come out swinging-not only against the other top female players, but also in order to keep the large flying insects from hitting her in the face.

Despite the bugs, Youngs, along with the rest of the players are competing in a great location. Steeped in recent sports history, the Westgate City Center is the site of last year's Super Bowl, BCS National Championship and Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

If Youngs were to win this year's Best of the Beach again, she could add her name to the list of greats who've played here because she would be the first female in AVP history to win back to back Best titles.

"I feel good about my chances at winning this year," Youngs said. "But I know from last year how hard it is because there are so many great players."

Best of the Beach is the last tournament of this year's season and its format is unique because players don't get join forces with their normal partners. It's the aspect that makes the weekend so interesting to watch-and challenging for the athletes to be successful in.

"In this tournament, you have to play with people you've never played, or even practiced with, before!" Youngs exclaimed. "You and your partner just have to kind of figure things out as you play because the only thing you have time to do before the match is figure out what kind of sets each other likes and maybe what your strategy should be against the team you're playing."

The only time a player is allowed to choose their partner is if he or she makes it to the finals. Last year, Youngs chose Jenny Johnson Jordan as hers after performing well together in pool play. Youngs attributes her title win to how well she and Johnson Jordan meshed in their temporary union.

"Jenny played great. In this type of tournament, whoever can figure out the other team best, and then how to beat them, will win," she explained.

So, since she's won in this format before, what sort of strategy is she bringing to the court this year?

"It's really important to have fun and to not put a whole lot of pressure on your partner," she said. "I just have to stick to doing what I do well. I have to use my jump serve and be feisty on defense -- just keep the energy level high."

In the first round of pool play, Youngs was somewhat lucky because she was in a bracket with current partner Nicole Branagh and former partner Holly McPeak. However, in the second round, she's in a bracket with April Ross, Jenn Boss, and Tyra Turner, none of which she's played with in the past. Playing with these new partners will give Youngs a chance to test out her strategy-and to become a part of AVP history.