CARSON — The cherry on top of all the innovations the AVP League introduced with its inaugural season was the Golden Set, in which the women’s and men’s duo of a team compete in the same set, the genders switching off when one side reaches eight points. It would only be necessary in a scenario where the women’s and men’s matches in a playoff round were split.

In a league where sets are played to 15, rather than 21, quick starts are important. In the Golden Set any lapse is flat-out lethal.

“It’s just one point at a time, and that’s how you kind of have to approach it,” the San Diego Smash’s Chase Budinger said.

The Golden Set wasn’t needed during either semifinal Saturday, but it determined both the AVP final and the third-place match, which took place on Sunday at Dignity Health Sports Park.

In the final, the San Diego Smash beat the Dallas Dream as the men’s duo carried on the women’s momentum in the Golden Set. In the third-place game, the Miami Mayhem women built on the lead their male counterparts had constructed to beat the New York Nitro.

San Diego Smash vs. Dallas Dream

Women: Geena Urango and Toni Rodriguez chose precision over power, placing ball after ball in the Dream’s left corner, just out of Hailey Harward’s reach. They won the women’s leg of the finals in straight sets, taking each frame 15-9.

“I think going to that spot was just all part of the strategy that we saw on video, and it paid off,” Rodriguez said.

Men: The match featured the two teams that represented Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The Dream duo of Miles Partain and Andy Benesh needed to win to force a Golden Set.

They won the first set 15-12 and the second set 15-11, each frame ending with Budinger hitting the ball out of bounds. The Dream’s straight-set victory kept their team’s hopes alive.

Golden Set: Rodriguez was ecstatic when the Dream elected the women to start the Golden Set as she felt she and Geena Urango had played the Dream’s women “aggressively.” The pair backed that excitement by jumping out to an 8-5 lead as Rodriguez won at the net against Kylie Deberg just before the break.

That 3-point cushion was crucial as the Dream’s men had the Smash’s men’s number. They cut that deficit to one before Budinger bumped the ball over Benesh and then blocked his attempt at the net. The Smash extended their lead to 13-9 after Evans scooped a pass from Budinger over the reach of Banesh.

It took three match points to finish off the Dream as Partain’s left-handed spikes brought them back. But Budinger beat Benesh at the net again to win the championship, afterward, dishing all the praise to his female counterparts who provided a cushion.

“It wasn’t our day, but it was their day,” he said about Urango and Rodriguez. “They played really well today, and they really helped us win this.”

New York Nitro vs. Miami Mayhem

Men: It was all fun and games in the battle of the Crabb brothers (the Nitro’s, Taylor, and the Mayhem’s, Trevor).

Sunday’s family feud did in fact go three sets and, as the match prolonged, the trash talk subsided with each team locking in. They had to remain especially focused in that third set, which was the highest scoring and thus longest set of the AVP season. The Mayhem pulled it out 29-27.

Women: The Nitro beat the Mayhem in straight sets. They took a 14-10 lead in the second set, but the Mayhem fended off three match points. Then Sara Hughes bumped the ball over April Ross’s block attempt to win the match, leading to a Golden Set.

Golden Set: The men went first, and at the break, the Mayhem led 8-7.

It made way for Ross and Alix Klineman, who were both honored on Saturday, to go out on a high note. Klineman blocked Hughes at the net to make it 12-9. She tapped the ball over Hughes two points later. Then a long-winded rally ended with Cheng’s shot dying at the net, giving the Mayhem the win.

After losing to the Nitro’s women in straight sets just minutes before the Golden Set, Ross and Klineman regrouped, relying on their traits as “learners,” as Ross put it, to adjust and come through when it mattered most.

“It felt so good, better than I think I was expecting,” Ross said. “To win against such a great team and have it not be super lopsided. When we took over the Golden Set, we had to still earn it. It feels significant that we were able to win, though, so I’m really happy.”