Trevor and Taylor Crabb marked their high-profile return to top-level beach volleyball with a gritty win in their opening match at the 2025 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Newport Beach Elite16. The tournament represents the first time the siblings have teamed up at this level since 2016.
The Crabb brothers, competing as wildcards in Pool C, secured a narrow three-set victory over Latvia’s 2024 European champions, Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots, with scores of 16-21, 21-19, 15-13. This win significantly enhances their chances of advancing from the group as pool play concludes Thursday.
Strong Start for U.S. Men's Teams
The Crabb brothers are among four American men’s duos participating in the Newport Beach main draw. All four teams had a strong opening day:
- Andy Benesh and Miles Partain continued their strong form by defeating Marco and Esteban Grimalt of Chile in straight sets (24-22, 21-18) in Pool D.
- Chase Budinger and Miles Evans had a mixed outing in Pool A, earning a win over Norway's Mol/Berntsen before losing to Qatar’s Cherif/Ahmed.
- Chaim Schalk and James Shaw split their Pool B matches—beating Australia's Carracher/Nicolaidis and falling to Sweden's Nilsson/Andersson.
Tournament Progression
The pool stage will culminate on Thursday with 12 remaining matches. Teams aim for top spots in their pools to secure a direct path into the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, second- and third-place finishers will enter the Round of 12.
The competition intensifies over the weekend, with Saturday hosting both semifinals and medal matches at one of the beach volleyball circuit’s premier events.
For more details, visit the official event page on Volleyball World.
