Pro Beach Volleyball returns this weekend to Muskegon, Mich., for the first time in eight years. While a select few athletes on the AVP Tour have succeeded there before, the Aug. 20-23 AVP Crocs Tour Muskegon Open presented by Gatorade marks the Muskegon debuts of several superstars.

Two-time reigning MVP and Crocs Cup Champion, four-time defending Best Offensive Player, and 2008 Best Defensive Player (Blocker) and Olympic gold medalist Phil Dalhausser headlines the list of athletes competing in Muskegon for the first time. Most other men will likewise find themselves in a new environment this weekend, with a few exceptions.

Todd Rogers, Dalhausser’s partner and fellow Olympic gold medalist, has fared well in Muskegon in the past. Before becoming the Tour’s five-time defending Best Defensive Player, Rogers won in Muskegon in 2000 and placed second in 1999 while playing with Dax Holdren.

Current players Albert Hannemann and Sean Scott took third place together in Muskegon in 2001. No active men’s team has won there.

First-place Dalhausser and Rogers head to Michigan seeking their third straight AVP victory after wins in Hermosa Beach and San Francisco. Second-place John Hyden and Scott have fallen to Dalhausser and Rogers in each of the past two finals and look to get back in the win column. Third-seeded Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, sixth-seeded John Mayer and Jeff Nygaard, and seventh-seeded Ty Loomis and Casey Patterson could also make a run at the crown as they have all won on the Tour this season.

In the women’s bracket, three-time defending Crocs Cup Champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh looks to return to the podium in her Muskegon debut. New moms Walsh and Rachel Wacholder have placed fifth and third since returning to the Tour as new teammates at Hermosa Beach. With world champions and San Francisco winners Jen Kessy and April Ross and eighth-place AVP team Angie Akers and Tyra Turner competing in the FIVB’s Finland event this weekend, Walsh and Wacholder are seeded second and have their best chance yet to win in 2009.

Standing in Wacholder and Walsh’s path are two top teams with ties to Muskegon. Third-seeded Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan won there in 1999. In 2001, Elaine Youngs took third place with Barbara Fontana. Youngs now partners with Nicole Branagh to form the top-seeded and first-place women’s team on the Tour.

A win this weekend would mark a milestone for Youngs. Her next victory will be the 50th in her illustrious career, tying her with Kathy Gregory for sixth-most in beach volleyball history.

Championship matches are scheduled for Sunday, with the women slated to go at 2 p.m. and the men at 3:30 p.m. EDT. Both finals matches will be televised on Versus Aug. 27 at 11 p.m. and Aug. 31 at 4 p.m. EDT.

avpTV will stream approximately 12 hours of free live action from Muskegon. Saturday, avpTV will stream from approximately noon-6 p.m. EDT. Sunday, avpTV will stream from approximately 10:45 a.m. EDT through the end of the competition, including women’s and men’s semifinals from Feature Court 1 and both title matches. Click here to get avpTV!

Fans can catch all the Muskegon action in-person for free on Aug. 21 courtesy of Free Friday presented by Johnsonville! Throughout the weekend, youth tickets will be on sale for $5 and general admission tickets for $10. Click here to get Muskegon Open tickets! 

In addition to the competition, Muskegon fans are invited to celebrate Happy Hour with the AVP featuring concerts by 23 Degrees North on Friday and Saturday from 4-8 p.m.! Drink specials will be available from 4-6 p.m., while 23 Degrees North will perform until 8 p.m. both nights.

For the younger crowd, the AVP takes its new tradition of youth volleyball Sundays to Muskegon! Aug. 23 at 10 a.m. on an outer court, the AVP will set up youth nets for kids 12 and under to enjoy playing on a smaller court and lower net that is just their size. For more on the AVP’s junior net systems, click here!