Morrisville is where hundreds of high school-aged girls go to play and train with the Triangle Volleyball Club. But the area hardly a place to train if the conditions you're preparing for include sand at your feet and wind in your hair.

Yet for three Triangle Volleyball Club members and a fourth non-member, they recently found themselves competing at the top of the youth beach volleyball circuit.

At the USA Junior Beach Volleyball Tour Championships on July 23, Green Hope senior Christina Vucich and Apex senior Megan Gravley finished third in the under-18 girls division. Apex resident Moriah Tavana paired with Mia Fradenburg to take second in the under-12 girls division.

In the age bracket Gravley and Vucich, many participants had already committed to play in college on scholarship. So have Gravley (Elon) and Vucich (Duke), but players from other parts of the country had far more experience playing in hotspots like North Avenue Beach in Chicago.

"It was really great to see what kind of national competition there was because beach volleyball isn't that well known here in North Carolina," Vucich said. In beach volleyball, four fewer players have to cover a slightly smaller court than the game played indoors.

Size doesn't matter as much because players can't get the same lift off the ground, and blocks are often too risky to attempt.

"It's a lot harder to jump, because with the sand, you sink," Gravley said. "You have to be more strategic in beach volleyball."

Gravley and Vucich had only played in three previous beach volleyball tournaments, including the regional qualifier that the duo won. Once competition started in Chicago, the two were trying to do research on each opponent.

"We tried to finagle a lot of the information out of parents," Gravley said. "You could tell the team from California would play different than a team from Texas."

The duo's high finish surprised them. They had gone in with a carefree, happy-go-lucky approach.

"We had the goal of winning," Vucich said. "But we didn't realistically think we were going to do it that well since we were going in with more of a fun mindset and some teams were really competitive."

The two did say they may have to consider a future in beach volleyball. Not only is it an Olympic sport, but it can be played professionally with players receiving corportate sponsorships.

"Before this tournament I probably wouldn't have thought about it, but during the tournament I realized how much fun it was," Vucich said. "I would definitely play after college."