Huntington Beach’s Pazanti, Tchaikovsky claim AVP Junior Nationals title

The high school teammates go from indoor to the sand and finish with only one loss in two days in winning the 18 and under Gold Division at Hermosa Beach.

HERMOSA BEACH — After eight matches in two days, Jake Pazanti and Bennet Tchaikovsky came away the champions in the 18 and under Gold Division bracket at the AVP Junior National Championships on Friday.

In three sets, Pazanti and Tchaikovsky, who played indoor volleyball at Huntington Beach High, defeated Ellison and Elijah Morgan 19-21, 21-17, 15-12.

Pazanti and Tchaikovsky are primarily indoor volleyball players and will play collegiately next year at Long Beach State and New York University, respectively. Pazanti is a setter and Tchaikovsky plays libero.

“I think we represented Huntington Beach well being able to take home gold,” Tchaikovsky said.

In their final pool-play game Friday morning, Pazanti and Tchaikovsky dropped their first match of the week, preventing them from getting a first-round bye. They went on to win three consecutive bracket games to win the Gold championship.

Pazanti and Tchaikovsky rallied after losing the first set to Ellison and Elijah Morgan and falling behind early in the second set.

In a key play, Paznati dug a big hit from Elijah Morgan, who had no blocker in front of him. His dig led to a return hit after Tchaikovsky set him the ball to send it to game point.

Going into the third set, both teams fought fatigue from a long day at Hermosa Beach, but it was Pazanti and Tchaikovsky’s power that pushed them over the top.

While many participants used a float serve, Pazanti utilized an effective jump serve. Ellison and Elijah Morgan watched as two serves dropped between them.

Tchaikovsky mixed more powerful hits, which opened up spots on the court for him to drive the ball. But for the match winner, Pazanti and Tchaikovsky floated a ball over the reach of their opponents before dropping in the sand in relief.

The duo’s indoor skills carried over to the sand. In beach volleyball, there is more emphasis on finding gaps in the defense to score points, while indoor players tend to hit the ball with more power.

Pazanti and Tchaikovsky had multiple spikes that tapped into their indoor tendencies. A lot of the times their attacks sent the ball flying away from the court after it bounced off the sand.

“We put a lot of indoor into the game,” Pazanti said. “We like to go up and swing a lot. We run fast sets.”

The pair have played in the AVP Junior National Championship for the past three years and finished third place in the last two years. In fact, this beach season the pairing has only played three tournaments.

“Being able to come out here in a national tournament and just win it is amazing,” Tchaikovsky said.

Pazanti and Tchaikovsky have played together for all four years of high school. Because beach volleyball season is during the indoor offseason, the two saw it as a way to improve their indoor game not too far from home.

“You’re always improving your vertical and your court vision on the ball,” Tchaikovsky said.