AVP Vail, Colorado - August 8-10, 1997

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RESULTS

KIRALY AND JOHNSON MAKE IT THREE IN A ROW

DUO VICTORIOUS AT THE AVP OPEN AT VAIL

VAIL, CO (August 10, 1997) -- Serving notice to the rest of the Miller Lite/AVP Tour that they are indeed back in top form, Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson claimed their third title in a row as they defeated Dain Blanton and Eric Foniomoana 13-8 to win the AVP Open at Vail.

The tournament was played in spectacular surroundings as Vail served as host to the world's best volleyball players. The championship match was a hard fought battle between the two teams. Despite jumping out to a 5-0 lead, Kiraly and Johnson had their hands full as Blanton and Fonoimoana would not go down without a fight. The game ended as time expired, leaving Kiraly and Johnson victorious. The victory marked an AVP record sixth time that Kiraly has won in the state of Colorado.

"We got off to a slow start this year, but I think everyone has taken notice that we are peaking at the right time," said Johnson. "Finishing the year strong is what we have focused on and I think our patience early on (this season) is paying off."

Kiraly and Johnson seemed to be in a groove all day as they reached the final by defeating the team of Canyon Ceman and Mike Whitmarsh 15-7. Blanton and Fonoimonana also reached the final by defeating Whitmarsh and Ceman, exacting revenge on the team that defeated them Saturday.

This tournament marked the debut of some new teams on the Miller Lite/AVP Tour and two met with tremendous success. Blanton/Fonoimoana and Whitmarsh/Ceman just paired up this past week. These two teams have made an immediate impact as the 1997 Miller Lite/AVP Tour heads into the last three weeks of the season.

Kiraly and Johnson look to make it four in a row as the Miller Lite/AVP Tour heads to Minnesota for the Miller Lite Open at Minneapolis, August 16-17. Tickets are available by calling Tele-Charge at (800) 432-7470.

AVP Open At Vail
(August 8-10, 1997)
$135,000 total prize money

1st - Adam Johnson/Karch Kiraly (3)          $27,000

2nd - Dain Blanton/Eric Fonoimoana (5)*      $15,390

3rd - Canyon Ceman/Mike Whitmarsh (4)*       $12,190

4th - Mark Kerins/Henry Russell (9)          $ 9,625.50

5th - Bill Boullianne/Brian Lewis (6)*       $ 7,695
5th - Matt Lyles/Wayne Seligson (25)         $ 7,695

7th - Rob Heidger/David Swatik (8)*          $ 5,778
7th - Todd Ahmadi/Leland Quinn (28)          $ 5,778

9th - Jose Loiola/Kent Steffes (1)           $ 4,171.50
9th - Troy Tanner/Randy Stoklos (3)          $ 4,171.50
9th - Nick Hannemann/Jason Ryan Pursley (19) $ 4,171.50
9th - Lee LeGrand/Stein Metzger (23)*        $ 4,171.50

13th- Ian Clark/Matt Unger (12)              $ 2,875
13th- Brent Doble/Jim Nichols (16)*          $ 2,875
13th- S Friederichsen/Justin Perlstrom (17)  $ 2,875
13th- John Brajevic/Jeff Rodgers (20)        $ 2,875

17th- Albert Hannemann/Bryan Ivie (10)*      $ 1,282.50
17th- Eduardo Bacil/Brian Gatzke (11)        $ 1,282.50
17th- Andrew Smith/Eric Wurts (13)           $ 1,282.50 
17th- Aaron Boss/Dan Castillo (15)           $ 1,282.50
17th- Bruk Vandeweghe/Chris Young (18)       $ 1,282.50
17th- Leif Hanson/Greg Shankle (21)          $ 1,282.50
17th- Eduardo Garrido/Kevin Martin (26)      $ 1,282.50
17th- Dane Hanson/Curtis Griffin (30)*       $ 1,282.50

25th- Daxton Holdren/Todd Rogers (7)         $   675.00
25th- Raul Papaleo/Kevin Wong (14)           $   675.00
25th- Daniel Cardenas/Mark Paaluhi (22)      $   675.00
25th- James Fellows/Lance Lyons (24)         $   675.00
25th- Aaron Smith/David Smith (28)           $   675.00
25th- Jason Stimpfig/Matt Winterburn (29)    $   675.00
25th- Jesse Mahoney/David Mardosz (31)*      $   675.00
25th- Jacob Elliott/Pete Divenere (32)*      $   675.00

DATE

August 8-10, 1997

  Friday, 9:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. 
  Sunday, 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
                      3:00 p.m. MST - Championship Match

LOCATION

West Day Lot in Lionshead, located just west of 
Vail's Marriott Mountain Resort
Vail, Colorado

PLAYERS

Seedings announced August 5th:

Jose Loiola/Kent Steffes (1)
Adam Johnson/Karch Kiraly (2)^3
Troy Tanner/Randy Stoklos (3)v2
Canyon Ceman/Mike Whitmarsh (4)*
Dain Blanton/Eric Fonoimoana (5)*
Bill Boullianne/Brian Lewis (6)*
Daxton Holdren/Todd Rogers (7)v6
Rob Heidger/David Swatik (8)*
Mark Kerins/Henry Russell (9)v8
Albert Hannemann/Bryan Ivie (10)*
Eduardo Bacil/Brian Gatzke (11)v9
Ian Clark/Matt Unger (12)v10
Andrew Smith/Eric Wurts (13)v11
Raul Papaleo/Kevin Wong (14)v12
Aaron Boss/Dan Castillo (15)v14
Brent Doble/Jim Nichols (16)*
Scott Friederichsen/Justin Perlstrom (17)v16
Bruk Vandeweghe/Chris Young (18)v15
Nick Hannemann/Jason Ryan Pursley (19)v17
John Brajevic/Jeff Rodgers (20)v19
Leif Hanson/Greg Shankle (21)v18
Daniel Cardenas/Mark Paaluhi (22)
Lee LeGrand/Stein Metzger (23)*
James Fellows/Lance Lyons (24)v21
Matt Lyles/Wayne Seligson (25)v20
Eduardo Garrido/Kevin Martin (26)v23
Andre Gomes/Carlos Loss (27)v24
Todd Ahmadi/Leland Quinn (28)v25
Aaron Smith/David Smith (29)v26
Jason Stimpfig/Matt Winterburn (30)*
Qualifier (31)
Qualifier (32)

NOTES: Number in brackets "(#)" reflects the teams seeding
       * = New Team (from previous week)
       ^ - movement up from last week    ## seed last week
       v - movement down from last week  ## seed last week

PRIZE MONEY

$135,000

TELEVISION

Fox Sports Net

TICKETS

   Telecharge  800-432-7470

NUMBER OF TEAMS, FORMAT

32 Teams
Double Elimination

PAST CHAMPIONS


YEAR EVENT BEGAN: 1997