VB Superstore

A Cost-Effective, “Made In The U.S.” Alternative To Larger Brands Like Mizuno and Asics.

TORRANCE, CALIF. (Nov. 10, 2011) – VB Gold, a new brand of cost effective, high quality team apparel, launched their initial 2012 uniform line today.  These garments are made of moisture wicking fabrics and manufactured right here in the United States.

Issues often arise when buying volleyball uniforms … either the cost is too high, product is backordered and not available, or it is made in Asia and not supporting the U.S. economy.

VB Gold was developed by coaches and club directors who specialize in designing top-notch sportswear.  With knowledge from both sides (end user and manufacturer), their plan is to provide three unique solutions – quality uniforms, fast delivery and cost savings.  Their simple, stylish uniforms incorporate high performance, wicking fabrics that are fit for a females body. They manufacturer and warehouse all of their products in California, which allows for fast and prompt delivery.  If any product is sold out, it can re-produced quickly in their Los Angeles factory. VB Gold products are built very similar to those of Asics and Mizuno, however, VB Gold cuts out the middle man, which allows the customer to buy at manufacturer direct prices.

As evidence to this claim, VB Gold is offering an amazing deal for buyers thru 12/31/11, whereby they can order 2 jerseys, a spandex short, and poly/spandex warmup suit for $99.95 (which is $50-100 less than competitors like Under Armor, Asics and Mizuno offer).

VB Gold Sales Manager Chris Gaskill had this to say about the new launch, “I’m very excited about the great feedback so far and the popularity of VB Gold. I’ve run a club and understand the hassles that come with ordering uniforms.  I’m honored to be supplying club directors, coaches and their players with such outstanding quality uniforms that are Made in the U.S.”.

To purchase or find out more information about VB Gold, visit www.VBSuperstore.com.

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For more info, contact                                                                                                                          

Chris Gaskill, Sales Manager

310-787-1222 x3

Prosser, Olson surprise winners at AVP Championships

A ton of uncertainty surrounded the AVP this summer — right up until the last game of its only event of the year.

After the tour abruptly canceled the rest of its season last August, many wondered what would become of the strongest beach volleyball circuit the U.S. has ever known. In short, the AVP scaled back dramatically and opted for only one season-ending event in 2011, held Saturday in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Following Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson‘s win over Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik in the women’s final (21-18, 18-21, 15-12), first-time partners Matt Prosser and Matt Olson shocked the tournament favorites, John Hyden and Sean Scott, in the men’s final (23-25, 27-25, 15-13).

Not only was this Prosser and Olson’s first tournament together, it came after less than a month of practice time. Prosser’s regular partner, John Mayer, injured himself a few weeks ago, leading to Olson getting the call. Turns out it was the right one.

For Olson, it’s just the second title of his career, the first coming in 2008 at the AVP Belmar Open with Kevin Wong. As for Prosser, this marks the first title of his career.

The guys on the other side of the net are used to taking home the jumbo-sized checks — especially this summer. Hyden and Scott won eight of the 11 U.S. tournaments they entered. But their summer ends on a sour note.

In the semifinals — or first round, considering only four men’s and women’s teams were invited — Prosser and Olson topped Jake Gibb and Ty Loomis (21-19, 13-21, 16-14), while Hyden and Scott defeated Nick Lucena and Stein Metzger (18-21, 21-16, 15-11).

Yes, that Stein Metzger — the 2004 Olympian and winner of 18 tournaments worldwide. Lucena’s regular partner, Matt Fuerbringer, was unable to play this weekend, so Metzger filled in. Which was nice because according to the AVP, he’s making a comeback. Metzger’s last tournament was in 2009, but he and longtime friend Mike Lambert will be back on the sand together in 2012.

And if you’re keeping track of unusual partnerships, Gibb and Loomis aren’t regular teammates either. Gibb usually plays with Sean Rosenthal, his fellow 2008 Olympian who injured his knee at the last FIVB World Tour men’s event of the year in Morocco three weeks ago.

The women offered up much less drama, both on and off the court. Judging by the world rankings, Fendrick and Hanson were the favorites to win in Huntington Beach, and they followed through for their third title in five domestic tournaments this season.

The only women’s upset was Kropp and Pavlik taking out veterans Angie Akers and Nicole Branagh in the semifinals (21-18, 17-21, 15-11). Fendrick and Hanson defeated Kristen Batt and Brooke Sweat in the other semifinal (21-15, 21-10).

article courtesy of UniversalSports.com

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 9, 2011)– The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena finished fourth at the Morocco Open, the final men’s event on the FIVB Swatch World Tour 2011.

In the gold medal match, Fuerbringer and Lucena fell to Brazil’s 17th-seeded Pedro Salgado and Rhooney Ferramenta, 21-14, 21-16 in 36 minutes.

Prior to the loss, Fuerbringer and Lucena lost a semifinal battle to Germany’s top-seeded Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann, 21-18, 21-23, 15-12, in 1 hour, 6 minutes.

It is the first time ever that the FIVB Swatch World Tour stops in Morocco. The north-African country did host three challengers earlier, in Casablanca in 2004, 2005 and 2006. South Africa is the only other African nation who hosted World Tour events – in 1995, 2004 and 2005 in Cape Town and in Durban in 1996.

The $190,000 single-gender Morocco Open is the 14th and final men’s event of the 2011 FIVB Swatch World Tour. The women finish next month with their 16th event in Phuket, Thailand.

article courtesy of USAVolleyball.org

VBSuperstore.com will be relaunching the new website on October 15, 2011. Your one-stop shop for ALL volleyball gear and apparel will have a brand new store layout and many new features. Also, Like us on Facebook and check out the photos of Smack Sportswear’s Jen Kessy and April Ross from the Hermosa Beach Open.

Fairfax, VA — September 20, 2011 — In its ongoing efforts to support volleyball education, The Side-Out Foundation has teamed up with the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) to provide free memberships for NAIA, NJCAA and NCCAA assistant volleyball coaches. Any NAIA, NJCAA or NCCAAvolleyball team that donates $2,000 to support breast cancer research and patient services through Side-Out’s Dig Pink® events will receive one assistant coach annual AVCA membership.

If the assistant coach already has an annual membership, he/she can choose to either give the membership to an administrator of the school or have it added to his/her current membership, to take effect when the current membership expires. Both the AVCA and Side-Out are excited about this new incentive and look forward to working with college teams interested in making an impact in their communities and in the lives of breast cancer patients everywhere.

For more information about organizing a Dig Pink educational and fundraising event at your school, click here to request information or call 1-877-DIG-PINK (1-877-344-7465).

article courtesy of side-out.org

The U.S. beach volleyball teams of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh along with Jen Kessy and April Ross each won two matches on Wednesday, setting up a third-round showdown at the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Paf Open in Aland, Finland.

Fourth-ranked May-Treanor (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Walsh (San Jose, Calif.) defeated Georgia’s 29th-seeded Cristine Santanna and Andrezza Martins das Chagas in the first round, 21-19, 21-12 in 37 minutes. The U.S. team beat Switzerland’s 13th-ranked Simone Kuhn and Nadine Zumkehr in the second round, 21-16, 21-19 in 31 minutes.

Fifth-seeded Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) defeated Netherlands’ 28th-ranked Madelein Meppelink and Sophie van Gestel in the first round, 22-20, 21-16 in 35 minutes. In the second round, Kessy and Ross defeated their compatriots Angie Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.), seeded 12th, 21-15, 21-14 in 35 minutes.

The two U.S. teams are scheduled to play each other at 1:30 p.m. local time (3:30 a.m. PT) on Thursday. Kessy and Ross are 1-2 against May-Treanor and Walsh in 2011, with Kessy and Ross’ victory coming in the third round of the Mazuri Orlen Grand Slam at the end of July in Poland.

May-Treanor and Walsh lead the overall series (including U.S. domestic events) between the two teams with a record of 23-4.

After their second-round loss, Akers and Branagh fell to the consolation bracket where they will face Russia’s 22nd-ranked Anastasia Vasina and Anna Vozakova on Thursday.

The 17th-seeded U.S. team of Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Brooke Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.), who had to win two qualification matches on Tuesday, lost its first-round match on Wednesday, falling to Brazil’s 16th-ranked Taiana Lima and Vivian Cunha, 21-10, 20-22, 15-10 in 51 minutes.

Fendrick and Hanson came back in consolation to defeat Sweden’s 32nd-seeded Camilla Nilsson and Tora Hansson, 21-18, 21-15 in 29 minutes. The U.S. pair will play Australia’s 18th-seeded Natalie Cook and Tamsin Hinchley on Thursday.

On the men’s side, four U.S. teams will play in Thursday’s main draw.

Top-seeded Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) are scheduled to play Sweden’s 32nd-ranked Daniel Andersson and Bjorn Berg.

The 11th-ranked U.S. team of Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Nick Lucena (Santa Barbara, Calif.) is set to face New Zealand’s 22nd-seeded Jason Lochhead and Kirk Pitman.

The 15th-seeded team of Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.) look to play Germany’s 18th-ranked Sebastian Dollinger and Stefan Windscheif.

Casey Patterson (Van Nuys, Calif.) and Bradley Keenan (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked 23rd, will go up against Finland’s 10th-seeded Timo Haavisto and Toni Vahela.

A total of 165 teams, 95 men and 70 women, are competing in the 2011 Paf Open that will take place on the Isle of Aland at Mariehamn under the supervision of both the Finnish and Swedish Volleyball Foundation, marking just the third time that national federations have joined forces to stage an FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour event.

article courtesy of: usavolleyball.org

Three U.S. Women’s Beach Volleyball teams competed in the first day of the FIVB “Road to London” Visa International Test Event on Tuesday  at the Horse Guards Parade in London to test functionality and technical-aspects of the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The 2012 Olympic Games beach volleyball test event spans from Aug. 9-14 in the first-ever international beach volleyball tournament staged in the British capital. The event welcomed 24-female teams from 15 countries to compete at the exact location that will house the beach volleyball portion of the zenith event of the sport’s world, the Olympics.

Four beach volleyball teams occupied each of the six pools in round-robin play on Tuesday in the first of three pool-play days.

Lisa Rutledge and Brittany Hochevar defeated China’s 18th-seeds Changning Zhang and Jingjing Dint, 21-18, 21-15in 33 minutes in Pool F. The Americans will face Brazil’s 19th-seeded team of Liliane Maestrini and Angela Vieira in Wednesday’s showdown. Rutledge and Hochevar will play Mexico’s sixth-seeded team of Candelas Bibiana and Mayra Garcia in their last pool-play match on Thursday.

Tealle Hunkus and Heather Lowe had a tough first-match in the exhibition beach volleyball tournament falling to Brazil’s fourth-seeded team of Vivian Danielle da Conceicao Cunha and Taiana Lima, 21-13, 21-17 in 31 minutes in Pool D. The 21st-seeded Americans look to chalk some wins against Great Britan’s Lucy Boulton and Denise Johns on Wednesday and Canada’s 16^th-seeded team of Jamie Lynn Broder and Ashley Voth on Thursday.

Jen Kessy and April Ross charted a victory two hours earlier than scheduled due to safety concerns surrounding the London riots. The third-seeds knocked out a dominating 21-6, 21-8 win over Uganda’s 22nd-seeded team of Josephine Nammanda and Alice Gitta Okecho in Pool C.

The Americans will face Estonia’s Mari Graumann and Ennok Anu on Wednesday and 10th-seeds Kacie MacTavish and Julie Rodgrique of Canada on Thursday.

Despite the continuation of the devastating riots in London the safety of the players was the highest priority with every precaution necessary being made. Athletes turned to social media to reassure their wellbeing.

Kessy turned to Twitter to inform her friends, family and fans that she along with her compatriots were safe.

“Our match has been moved from 8 pm to 6 pm because of the riots. We are in a safe area with good security,” Kessy said under the Twitter  account, @JenniferKessy.

Round-robin pool play will continue through Thursday where the top 16 teams will advance into two days of knock-out matches on Friday and Saturday before the top four teams will compete in the semifinals and finals slated for Sunday.

article courtesy of usavolleyball.org

The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Angie Akers and Nicole Branagh won the U.S. country quota by defeating Brittany Hochevar and Lisa Rutledge on Monday at the Mazury (Poland) Orlen Grand Slam, part of the 2011 FIVB Swatch World Tour.

Earlier this summer, Akers and Branagh  lost two FIVB country quota matches to Hochevar and Rutledge in Stavanger, Norway and Gstaad, Switzerland.

But Akers and Branagh came back to defeat Hochevar and Rutledge on Monday in Poland, 22-20, 21-12 in 34 minutes.

Akers and Branagh, who started in the main draw and finished ninth in their last two FIVB World Beach Volleyball Tour tournaments in Moscow and Quebec, are ranked first in Tuesday’s qualifying round and received a bye to the second round. They will play the winner of the qualifying match between Switzerland’s 17th-ranked Muriel Graessli and Tanja Goricanec and the British 16th-ranked team of Denise Johns and Lucy Boulton.

Three other U.S. women’s beach teams will begin main draw play on Wednesday. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, who won the Moscow Grand Slam and did not compete in Quebec, are scheduled to play in the main draw along with Jen Kessy and April Ross along with Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson.

The men’s beach volleyball teams will begin country quota play on Tuesday. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena, who won the silver medal in Quebec, will nevertheless have to play compatriots Brad Keenan and Casey Patterson to determine which team will play in Wednesday’s qualification round.

The U.S. men’s beach volleyball teams that will begin play in Thursday’s main draw are Quebec winners Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers; Quebec bronzed medalists Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal along with the returning team of Casey Jennings and Kevin Wong.

article courtesy of usavolleyball.org

The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers came back from a semifinal upset and won a battle for the bronze medal on Sunday at the 2011 FIVB Swatch Moscow Grand Slam in Russia.

Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.), ranked fourth, defeated China’s seventh-ranked Penggen Wu and Linyin Xu in the longest match of the men’s tournament, 25-27, 24-22, 17-15 in 1 hour, 7 minutes.

In the semifinals, the U.S. volleyball team was upset by Switzerland’s 12th-ranked Patrick Heuscher and Jefferson Bellaguarda, 21-16, 14-21, 15-12 in 53 minutes.

“I should have done a better job in blocking higher,” Dalhausser told the FIVB. “But they are a good team. The problem is that there are so many strong teams on the Tour now. We have not been playing that well after I hurt my ankle in Beijing. Physically it is ok, but mentally it might still play a role.”

It was the third time the two teams had met this season, but the first victory for Heuscher and Bellaguarda, who are a new team this year.

In the gold medal match, Heuscher and Bellaguarda fell to top-seeded Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego of Brazil, 21-16, 18-21, 17-15 in 55 minutes.

Dalhausser and Rogers will share $23,000 for third place.

Next week the FIVB Swatch Beach Volleyball World Tour travels to Canada for the double gender $380,000 Quebec Open. The following week the circuit returns to Europe for the final two of six grand slams on the 2011 calendar: Stare Jablonski, Poland (July 25-31) and Klagenfurt, Austria (Aug. 1-7).

article courtesy of USAvolleyball.org