TEAM PROFILE 

Dain Blanton & Jeff Nygaard

Teammates since 2003, Blanton and Nygaard have gelled well together and have managed to become one of the most consistent presences on the Swatch – FIVB World Tour along with the AVP Beach Volleyball Pro Tour. The pair stormed to victory in the Hellas Open in Greece at the beginning of last season’s FIVB Tour and there were immediate predictions of more successes to come.

Nygaard has made a fantastic transition to the beach game having played volleyball at national level between 1993 and 2000. A veteran of two Olympics, this American player stands at an impressive 204cm and is said by many to be one of the finest blockers in the world game.

When asked in an interview by staff at AVP Pro Beach Volleyball why he preferred the beach game, Nygaard responded: “I like the freedom of playing beach volleyball. If I want to put in time and get better I have to make the time and set things up. I don’t have an overseer telling me where to be and what to do.”

Describing his Beach game as “A work in progress”, Nygaard’s evolution has been smooth and the fact that this University of California graduate has teamed up with a former Olympic champion has aided his progress all the more.

The duo have had little time away from each other since joining forces and their off court as well as on court connection has been crucial in the team’s development. “It can be a challenge if you don’t get along well, but me and Jeff’s personalities work well together, we enjoy hanging out and we’re good friends.” Blanton mentioned. “That helps your partnership, especially when you’re traveling all around the world. But you do end up spending a lot of time with one another, and if you’re on the road for four or five weeks at a time it’s nice to separate and be apart from each other a little, so you don’t wear on one another. But we get along real well,” the Olympic gold medalist continued.