Volleyball served at the Rock

Steve Carp

Thursday, March 7, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Elvis was the King of Rock 'n' roll. Wayne Gretzky was King of LA before becoming a St. Louis Blue. Even Ralph Kramden was King of the Castle until Alice set him straight.

But when you're King of the Beach, well, even David Hasselhoff would be impressed.

Adam Johnson is the current volleyball king and he's in town to remain atop his throne. If he can survive a couple of grueling days in the sand at the Hard Rock Hotel beginning Friday, the 31-year-old from Laguna Beach, Calif., will keep his crown.

"I always love going to Vegas," he said. "It sounds like a great event to me. We've never played there, so I'm ready to rock and roll."

Johnson will team with Jose Loiola in this weekend's $175,000 event and will try to make it two straight wins. The duo teamed to win the recent Evian Indoor at Madison Square Garden in New York, the victory pushing Johnson's career earnings over $1 million. He is only the seventh player in the history of the Association of Volleyball Players Tour to eclipse that mark.

This weekend's event kicks off the AVP Tour's outdoor circuit. With it also being an Olympic year, there's an added emphasis on performance. Johnson is vying for one of the two team spots on the United States beach volleyball squad which will compete in Atlanta this summer.

"I'm in a unique situation because I have a Brazilian partner (Loiola) and that's not going to work at the trials," he said. "It's something I'd like to see happen, but my first priority is where I make my living, and that's the tour."

This weekend's tournament should serve as a good tuneup for the Olympic trials, set for June 5-9 in Baltimore. As one of the top six seeded players, Johnson drew a first-round bye Friday. But things don't figure to get any easier once he steps onto the sand Saturday.

All the heavyweights in beach volleyball will be there, starting with veteran Karch Kiraly, the three-time King of the Beach. Scott Ayakatubby, Mike Dodd and Mike Whitmarsh also will be on hand, as will Randy Stoklos. Fourteen of the world's best will be vying for the $35,000 first prize.

The Hard Rock has constructed a 4,500-seat stadium in the back of the hotel and has trucked in over 250 tons of sand.

Johnson is excited about defending his title in the town where the King of Rock 'n' roll helped develop his legacy.

"It's such a unique setup because you're not always paired with the same partner," he said. "But that may work to my advantage because I'm comfortable playing either side and it doesn't matter if I'm on the left or the right.

"The thing is, you can be paired with someone who doesn't have your incentive. All I can do is play my hardest and hope my partner does the same. If it's good enough to win, great. If not, it's been fun being King of the Beach and I'll move on to the next stop."