Laguna Open volleyball tournament draws a crowd — live and online

Laguna Open tournament director Kirk Morgan said he hadn’t seen a crowd the size of the one gathered to watch the semifinal and final of the professional men’s beach volleyball event Sunday at Main Beach since the early 1990s.

And this time video cameras captured all the action.

The 60th Laguna Open tournament “went really well,” and culminated in an exciting three-game final, Morgan said. Play in the two-person team event began Saturday, and the Volleyball Network live-streamed matches on the Internet for the first time.

Morgan said it was difficult to tally Sunday’s attendance since the beach is open to the public, but he noted that rows of spectators stood on the boardwalk to watch the matches.

“That’s the biggest crowd I’ve seen since 1991 and the [Assn. of Volleyball Professionals]-era of big-money tournaments,” Morgan said.

Laguna Beach resident Gay Sutherland said she has watched the tournament for decades and remembers the antics of one particular player.

“He would get on all fours and act like a bulldog after he won,” Sutherland said. “These guys play for the love of the game. It’s not the money.”

Sutherland’s brother-in-law, International Volleyball Hall of Fame member Mike O’Hara, finished second four times from 1955 to 1961.

The tournament has attracted some of the sport’s best, including Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos, who won three straight Laguna Opens from 1984 through 1986 and claimed five world championships.

Results will be published in the Sports section of Friday’s print edition and at coastlinepilot.com/sports. Match replays can be seen at enetlive.com/volleyball-network.