May 10, 2022: Andy Benesh wins his 1st-ever AVP, Phil Dalhausser wins his 60th. photo: @andybenesh on Instagram
Andy Benesh is a PVHS Volleyball alumni who went on to play for USC.
Andy has played professional beach volleyball since 2018. He was a First Team All-American at Palos Verdes High School as well as being a member of Volleyball Magazine’s Fab 50 list.
Andy played indoor volleyball at USC 2014-17, and played professionally in Switzerland.
He was a member of 2014 and 2015 U.S. Men’s U21 National Teams.
From volleyballmag.com | By Travis Mewhirter,
The beginning of many great stories begins with quitting.
Andy Benesh had just begun his.
Benesh’s rise has not exactly been a blink-and-you-missed-it type ascent. It’s taken a few years, and it has been hard. In 2019, he fell in qualifiers in Huntington Beach (second round), Austin (final round), and in the first round in New York and Seattle, back-to-back. Throughout, the once-aspiring financial advisor had almost exactly zero dollars to his name.
At an AVP Next Gold tournament in Chicago, in 2019, he lost in the semifinals with Adam Roberts. Roberts is somewhat famous for his competitiveness, and within minutes, he was gone from North Ave. Benesh was there, though, smile as wide as a cantaloupe, because, as he proclaimed loudly, “I just tripled my net worth!”
His check might have been for 200 bucks.
Such is the price of climbing the ladder in beach volleyball, a sport famous for its lifestyle and notorious for its lack of money to fund it.
Brad Maricle played prep volleyball at Palos Verdes High School under head coach Patrick Lynch … Played outside for the Sea Kings … As a senior, was named Second Team High School All-American … Also earned First Team All-Bay League, Second Team All-CIF, and Team MVP honors … Was also named Team MVP as a junior, Bay League Most Outstanding Player, and First Team All-League … As a sophomore, named Second Team All-Bay League … Had 387 kills one season, a single-season Palos Verdes record … Was a key figure in Palos Verdes beating Mira Costa for the first time in school history … Played club for Southern California Volleyball Club (SCVC) … During his club career, earned a gold medal, silver medal, and bronze medal at the Junior Olympics.
Walter Hunter played four seasons of volleyball at SMS NR2 in Gdansk, Poland … was a starter at opposite all four years from 2013-16 … graduated in 2016.
USC outside hitter Lucas Yoder and middle blocker Andy Benesh were named to the Off The Block Freshmen All-American team.
Yoder was the squad’s only unanimous choice among the nine freshmen chosen by a 22-member voting committee comprised of men’s volleyball head coaches and volleyball reporters from around the nation.
USC and Ohio State were the only Division I-II schools with two freshmen or redshirt freshmen honorees. Yoder and Benesh are both true freshmen who have started all season for the Trojans.
Yoder currently is seventh nationally in kills (4.04, fourth in MPSF) and 12th in points (4.36, fifth in MPSF). He has had double figures in kills 23 times in 2014, including 15 times with at least 15 kills (5 times with 20-plus). He was named the Off The Block National Freshman of the Week a national-best 6 times in 2014
Benesh currently is sixth nationally in hitting percentage (.440, second in MPSF). Read the article on www.usctrojans.com.
