San Diegans Taking Beach Volleyball to Spain

Three San Diego-based women will represent the United States when pro beach volleyball debuts as an Olympic demonstration sport this summer in Spain.

La Mesa’s Karolyn Kirby and Carlsbad’s Angela Rock and Nancy Reno, members of the Women’s Professional Volleyball Assn., will compete in the $50,000 FIVB-Beach Volleyball Olympic Year ’92 Championship Aug. 14-16 in Almeria, near Barcelona, the association announced Friday.

Others who will send two two-woman teams to the tournament are representatives of the Asian Confederation of Volleyball, the South America and Norecega Confederation, the European Confederation of Volleyball and the Spanish Federation of Volleyball. Redondo Beach’s Jackie Silva, the WPVA’s all-time winningest player, will represent Brazil in the competition.

Kirby and Rock, with 17 victories together, broke a team career victory record (15) this season but split up after a ninth-place finish--their worst ever--two weeks ago in Cape Cod, Mass.

As the tour’s leading points winners, Kirby and Rock secured their spot and could choose a partner for the Olympic demonstration. Kirby, currently the No. 1 player on the tour, played with Reno in Atlantic City last week for a victory. They will play together in Spain. Rock will play with Van Nuys’ Linda Carrillo, 1984 Olympic silver medalist.

The opportunity to participate in the Olympics was especially meaningful for Kirby, who quit the national team in January, and for Carrillo, who played little in 1984.

Organizers of the tournament, held in conjunction with a men’s tournament, hope the event will interest Olympic representatives enough to include the sport as an exhibition sport in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.