L.A. SPEAK

Beach volleyball lingo from former volleymeister and Prime Ticket commentator Chris Marlowe.

candy cane-- n. tough serve with a hook.

credit-card defense-- n. defensive players all charging.

digging lips-- n. successive spectacular defensive plays by a player that cause spikers’ lips to melt away.

facial-- n. What you get when a spike hits you in the face. (She went for a knuckler and got a facial instead.)

facial disgracial-- n. an extreme facial that sends a player out of the match.

husband and wife-- n. the inevitable moment when the ball drops between two players, with no communication exchanged.

joust-- v. when two opposing players hit the ball simultaneously just above the net. SYN. Survival of the Fittest.

knuckler-- n. overhead fist save, invented by the Japanese.

kong block-- n. one-armed block invented by beach superstar Randy Stoklos.

lollipop-- n. a very easy serve. (Serve too many lollipops and your team gets licked.)

pancake-- n. a defense maneuver in which hand (spatula), floor (skillet) and ball (flapjack) meet simultaneously. (It was a pancake save.)

roof-- n. a big block at the net that terminates play.

sizzle the pits-- v . to spike, low and hard, sending the ball under the blockers’ arms.

unguided missile-- n. a wild spike that goes into the cheap seats (made famous by former Olympian Pat Powers).