Here’s a quick update from the AVP Crocs Tour from Ryan Mariano:

Another week and another tour stop for the AVP Crocs Tour and its’ players, this week we found ourselves in Houston, Texas, competing in the Westside Tennis Center. They say everything is bigger and better in Texas – this week proved to be no exception: Saturday brought the biggest rain drops I have ever seen.  Ed and I had the privilege of staying with a host family, which is far better than the usual hotel stay. On the courts, we saw many great matches which led to a handful of upsets this weekend.

Of course, I not only got a chance to take part in some great volleyball action this weekend, but I was also able to participate in something truly feel good. The Boy’s and Girl’s Club of America in Houston played host to an amazing donation and education function led by the SolesUnited^sm program. Jenn Snyder, Claire DeAmore, Ed Ratledge and myself helped give out crocs to all of the boys and girls in the club. It was great to see their excitement and interest not only in the shoes but the cause. We fielded question after question – covering everything from how old we were to how we plan on giving out a half-million pairs of Crocs™ shoes to the world this year. Ed and I decided to hang around and play games with the kids after the event was over and I took a beating from a 12-year-old Guitar Hero phenom named Franko! Wow, that was a smashing!

Back to Volleyball, on Friday – the men’s side confirmed the rankings as only 4 of 24 matches saw a lower-seeded team prevail. The Loomis/Patterson (11)-DePierro/Roberts (22) match was the most intense battle of the day as DePierro/Roberts took Loomis/Patterson to three games to eventually beat them 26-24 in the third. Things were a bit more topsy-turvy on the women’s side, as 8 of 24 matches saw lower-seeded teams prevail.

Saturday was more of the same as top-ranked teams continued to play to their rankings. Things got quite a bit more intense as the rain and lightning took the skies in the afternoon though. A light mist turned into half-dollar size rain drops and sent people scattering for cover. The lightning bolts seemed to attack the neighborhoods around while the ground seemed to rumble with thunder. Later that night, someone asked me about the earthquake – I laughed because I thought it was the thunder! That was Awesome! Needless to say, rain and lightning suspended play at 6pm on Saturday allowing many players to reach their goal of playing on Sunday. Oh and to answer any questions – Yeah, it was bigger than the Panama City storm, just not as long!

Thank you to the Houston Texans and the Westside Tennis Center for setting up an awesome event! Thank you Cindy and Ian Davis for the hospitality and the laughs. Last, but not least, thank you Crocs™ for allowing a 12 year old to kill me on film! Next stop Huntington Beach!

You can catch Ryan and friends starting today in Huntington Beach at the current stop on the AVP Crocs Tour.  You can also watch more video blogs on our YouTube Channel and the AVP Crocs Tour Video Blog Playlist.