Smith-Stoklos Favored to Win Volleyball Open

Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos will be the top-rated team in this weekend’s $60,000 Manhattan Beach Open volleyball tournament. However, in the latest individual rankings, Olympic star Karch Kiraly has overtaken them as the No. 1 player.

Based on a point system for tournament finishes in the two-man competition, Kiraly vaulted into the top spot when he and Brent Frohoff, his most recent partner, won last week’s Cape Cod Open. Smith and Stoklos have won seven tournaments this year and remain the top team.

In this weekend’s competition--the 16th stop on the pro tour--Kiraly and Frohoff are seeded second, with Tim Hovland and Mike Dodd seeded third. Hovland and Dodd, who have won two tournaments this year, dropped in the standings because Dodd was ill last week. Hovland teamed with Scott Ayakatubby and finished second to Kiraly and Frohoff.

Competition in the oldest continuous beach tournament begins today with qualifying at 9 a.m. The top four teams have byes, and about 100 teams will be whittled down to a field of 64.

Matches begin Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m., with the championship match scheduled for late Sunday afternoon. In the double elimination format, if both teams have one loss after the championship game, a sudden-death match to seven points will determine the title.

All matches will be played on the beach courts just south of Manhattan Beach Pier, at the foot of Manhattan Beach Boulevard.