Tournament brings top beach volleyball talent to Atlanta

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Top volleyball talent competing in Atlanta

We don't have a beach here in Atlanta -- but this weekend, 900 pounds of sand will set the stage for an exciting tournament happening at Atlantic Station.

Atlanta doesn’t have a beach, but our city does have a very strong connection to the sport of beach volleyball. After all, beach volleyball was introduced as an official Olympic sport back in 1996, right here in Atlanta — so, a big event happening this weekend is as much a homecoming as it is a tournament.

The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) serves up its Gold Series 2023 with the Atlanta Open this weekend, bringing pro players to the sand at Atlantic Station for three days of aces, blocks, and digs. Event times are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday — general admission tickets are $25 per day are available on the AVP website here.

This morning on Good Day Atlanta, we spent a little time practicing at Georgia State University with two of the sport’s top stars, Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss. Kloth was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and began playing beach volleyball at LSU, where she competed alongside New Orleans native Nuss. The team is currently one of the top-ranked in the world and is expected to represent the U.S. in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

To learn more about AVP and upcoming tournaments, click here. And click the video player in this article to check out our morning getting in a little practice with two of the world’s best!