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Photos by Jose Romero III.

Last week, Long Beach hosted the World Series of Beach Volleyball (WSOBV), with fierce competition, Olympic athletes and die hard fans occupying Alamitos Beach for a four-day tournament-style event.

From Thursday, July 13th to Sunday, July 16th, athletes went head to head on the court while youth amatuer competitions and musical celebrations took place throughout the week.

In the FIVB (International Federation of Volleyball) Long Beach President’s Volleyball Cup, international players faced off in Olympic-grade matches After three days of competition, Brazil’s Larissa Franca and Talita Antunes clinched first place in the women’s competition followed by American duo April Ross and Laura Fendrick in second.

Three-time gold medalist, California native and former partner of Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh-Jennings, however, left many fans upset as her team failed to even make it pass pool play into the Quarterfinal. In the men’s competition, America’s Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena came out on top, defeating Canada’s Sam Pedlow and Sam Schachter on the final day of competition.

While the international tournament barreled on, athletes competing in the Ametuer Athletic Union’s Junior National Beach Volleyball Championships and a National Volleyball League tournament competed to win titles in their respected competitions.

The event also featured activities for aspiring athletes and fans, hosting a Kid’s Day for youth to learn about the sport on Thursday and an entire day of live music presented by Otter Pop on Saturday. To add to the excitement, WSOVB partnered with six-time Grammy nominee Kaskade to throw an outdoor music event on Saturday to coincide with the tournaments.

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Stephanie Rivera is the community engagement editor. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @StephRivera88.