Naperville native Molly Shaw never tires of playing AVP Tour matches at Oak Street Beach.

What used to seem like a far-off dream is a reality now for Shaw. Even after her season ended Saturday in the quarterfinals of the AVP League Championships, she looked back on the young girl who was cut from her Neuqua Valley High School team and marveled.

“I would watch the pros play at Oak Street, so coming here and actually playing on this sand, in my brain I’m like, whoa,” Shaw said. “Every time you look up you’re like, what is going on? What a venue.”

Shaw and her partner, Kelly Cheng, formed the Miami Mayhem this season as the AVP went to a team tournament format. They were knocked out by Lexy Denaburg and Julia Donlin of the Brooklyn Blaze in the quarterfinals 18-16, 15-12.

Half of Sunday’s tournament championship teams were determined Saturday. The women’s final is at 1 p.m. with the men to follow at 2 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast on CBS-2.

The final two semifinal matches will precede them in the morning to determine the final pairings.

The fact Shaw was even in this position after nearly giving the sport up after getting cut in high school is remarkable. The former Molly Turner played beach volleyball at Grand Canyon University for four years. She said that by her junior year she realized there may be a future in the sport she grew to love.

“When I got to beach volleyball I was like, I like touching the ball every single time,” Shaw said. “I like being creative. That’s just who I am.

“When I started to settle in I thought, maybe I can do this. Because I’m a very hard worker I thought that if I got some opportunities I could excel. I’m definitely tapping into that.”

Many young girls in the stands on what turned out to be a sun-splashed, gorgeous Saturday afternoon may have been thinking the same. Though she’s just getting started in the sport, fifth grader Siena Siegel from Winnetka could be one of those girls.

Devon Newberry, left, is blocked by Brandie Wilkerson during the AVP League Championships semifinal match at Oak Street Beach on Aug. 30, 2025. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

She attended the tournament with her father, Jonathan, a former volleyball player who played plenty of times at Oak Street Beach himself.

“Now, she’s the next generation,” Jonathan Siegel said. “She’s just getting her feet wet, but she’s training real hard. She had a bunch of kids try out on her team and only three girls can serve overhand, and she’s one of them.”

She’s quickly taking to dad’s favorite sport.

“I like getting low and competing,” Siena Siegel said.

Shaw became engrossed in beach volleyball a little later than Siena, but her message is still the same.

“I don’t look at it like I knew I would be here, but there is a sense of, I knew this was possible,” Shaw said.

Shaw played this summer with a new partner in Cheng, and the pairing couldn’t have gone much better. They will go on to play a slate of international matches as well.

“It’s amazing playing next to Kelly,” Shaw said. “Kelly’s partner got injured and when I got the call it was a no-brainer. It has been a fun summer for sure.”

Now, beach volleyball is her life. Not just for her matches, but for her husband, James, also a star who competed Saturday at Oak Street Beach.

“It’s so rare,” Molly Shaw said. “It’s a little bit more nerve-racking now because I have to get nervous for his matches. My family is stressed out of their minds, but it gives them more matches to watch.”

James Shaw and his teammate, Chaim Schalk, the Miami Mayhem, won their quarterfinal match Saturday but lost to the legendary team of Trevor Crabbe and Phil Dalhausser, the Palm Beach Passion, in the semifinals.

Crabbe and Dalhausser advanced to Sunday’s final. Advancing to the women’s final Saturday was the Palm Beach Passion, the star Canadian duo of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, who took silver in the Paris Olympics.

Such star power bring fans in from all over the country. Ryan and Tara Posadni of Rochester, N.Y., planned a trip around the tournament.

“I’ve watched the AVP my whole life,” Tara Posadni said. “I feel like the AVP brings a sense of community. The fan base is amazing. It’s a fun game to watch. It’s a great atmosphere to be a part of.”

The Posadnis will be back for more Sunday along with a few thousand other fans on what figures to be another picture-perfect day on the lakefront, a fitting backdrop of the AVP season finale.

“Volleyball brings people together,” Tara Posadni said. “I know that’s so cheesy, but it’s so true.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune

Sunday’s matches

10:30 a.m.: Women’s semifinal 2
11:30 a.m.: Men’s semifinal 2
1 p.m.: Women’s final, CBS-2
2 p.m.: Men’s final, CBS-2

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/30/avp-tour-volleyball-oak-street-beach-chicago/