Teams to watch, storylines to follow in Jurmala

Wednesday’s qualifier is a prime opportunity for the Americans to begin finding their way, with Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb seeded second, Troy Field and Chase Budinger No. 11, and Crabb and Sander No. 13. It is just the second Beach Pro Tour event for Crabb and Sander, one of the most intriguing, must-watch teams in the American federation. Their previous event came at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, in Tlaxcala, Mexico, where they fell in the final round of the qualifier to Saymon Barbosa and Bruno Schmidt. They’re trending upwards, with a recent second-place finish in the New Orleans AVP stop, as are Field and Budinger, who qualified for their first Volleyball World main draw in Kusadasi, finished ninth, then claimed third in New Orleans.