Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena dominate again at AVP tournament in Long Beach

For all the changes surrounding the AVP’s three-week Champions Cup Series — the absence of fans, the man-made courts in a Long Beach parking lot, the strict social distancing measures for the athletes — the dominance of Phil Dalhausser has been a familiar constant.

“It was like, ‘Nothing to lose,’ last weekend. ‘We’re out here. It’s great we’re competing,’ � Dalhausser said. “[This weekend], it was like, ‘Let’s do this again.’ … It was a little bit different.�

The 2008 Olympic gold medalist won his 100th beach volleyball event Sunday, claiming the Wilson Cup with teammate Nick Lucena to earn back-to-back tournament victories in the AVP’s return-to-play series.

“Before the [final] match, someone came up to me and said, ‘Go get that 100th win,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s right, we’re playing for 100 here,’ � said Dalhausser, who has the fifth-most titles among men in the history of beach volleyball.

“Never would I have expected to win 100 tournaments. I’m just grateful really to play a sport for a living. On top of that, winning 100 tournaments is pretty darn cool.�

Behind dominant serving, Dalhausser and fellow 40-year-old Lucena knocked off Taylor Crabb and Jake Gibb in the men’s final in straight sets, 21-9, 21-15.

The championship was Dalhausser’s 59th on the AVP tour. Sunday’s victory was Dalhausser and Lucena’s 14th AVP title together.

“Every defender wants to play with Phil,� said Lucena, who originally was Dalhausser’s teammate in 2005 before joining with him again in 2015. “I saw him when he was 19 with a full head of hair just bouncing balls. I was like, ‘I got to play with that guy.’ �

Alix Klineman and April Ross won for the second consecutive week in the women’s division, defeating Canadians Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes 21-15, 21-19. That means the defending champions on the men’s and women’s sides will be going for a sweep of the three-tournament Champions Cup series — which is replacing AVP’s 2020 schedule because of the COVID-19 pandemic — in next weekend’s Porsche Cup finale.