A pair of local youth beach volleyball teams placed in the top 10 in their age bracket at the AVP Junior National Championships last week in Hermosa Beach.

The tandem of Blake Downing/Evan McCutchen tied for third place and the team of Charlie DeGroot/Kanan Nguyen finished seventh in the Boys 14U Division.

Downing/McCutchen advanced to the playoffs after going 2-2 in pool play. They swept two opponents before falling in the semifinals against Liam LeGrande/Bennett Schaefer, 21-16, 21-16. Their finish earned them spots in the AVP Juniors All-American Invitational, Aug. 15-16, and the AVP Juniors West Coast Championships, Nov, 7-8. Both events are in Manhattan Beach.

DeGroot/Nguyễn went 3-1 in their pool and won their first playoff match. They lost in the quarterfinals and dropped into the fifth-place bracket, where they fell in their first match in three sets.

Barry Punzal is a Noozhawk contributing writer, and was for many years Noozhawk's sports editor. He can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.