Naperville native hopes to set herself up for volleyball glory

Some people need a good caffeine jolt or a cold shower to get their motors running.

Cayley Thurlby only needs to feel the sand between her toes.

When the 23-year-old Naperville native steps onto Chicago's Oak Street Beach sand volleyball courts this morning, she'll be looking to make a name for herself and generations of girls she hopes follow her into the exciting world of beach volleyball.

Thurlby and 28-year-old Renee Bizzieri of Chicago will attempt to qualify for a main draw spot in the Chicago stop of the American Volleyball Professionals Crocs Tour this Friday through Sunday.

The annual tour features the top men and women players in the world, all competing for a spot in the finals held in mid-September in Manhattan Beach, Calif.

"Obviously we want to get a consistent seed in the main draw so we don't have to keep qualifying," Thurlby said Wednesday before her last practice. "But ultimately I want to help put Chicago on the map in the world of competitive outdoor sand volleyball."

A 2002 Naperville Central graduate and standout volleyball player, Thurlby helped lead the University of Hawaii at Manoa to two NCAA Final Fours as both a team leader and co-captain during her five years there as a setter.

Looking a for a new challenge, she began training last August to transition from the traditional indoor game to the less structured outdoor version.

"I was always a well-rounded player but I had big hands so I was branded as a setter," she said. "But I love to be versatile and do everything in the course of a game and beach volleyball lets me do that."

During her first year of training, Thurlby said she has spent a lot of time in Los Angeles "taking on the best of the best" to prepare for the AVP tour. She likes her chances to earn a spot this weekend.

"We're feeling really good about our chances with home-court advantage," she said. "But we're going to work hard because all it takes is someone else to have an off day for the ratings to get pushed aside."

Thurlby and Bizzieri need to win four games today in a single-elimination bracket to advance to Friday's double-elimination main draw seedings.

Thurlby and her sister, Chelsea Thurlby, 17, failed to qualify as a team in last year's event. But ultimately they dream of ruling the beach volleyball circuit together.

"Chelsea is my dream partner. She's got unbelievable skills," the elder Thurlby said. "We wear the same clothes, finish each other's sentences and communicate well on the court."

Until that day comes, though, she's going to team with Bizzieri, her partner since last November. And they're starting in Chicago.

"The beach scene here is awesome and contagious, whether you're a pro or just some friends running out to Oak Street to grab a court before anyone else gets there," she said. "I see that and it gives me chills it's so awesome. I want to be a part of growing that excitement to another level."

You can keep up with Thurlby and Bizzieri's progress this weekend at www.avp.com.