By Brian Hilderbrand

Fri, Feb 22, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Ignore the weekend forecast — the weather is going to be perfect for the AVP Hot Winter Nights finale Saturday at the Orleans.

Thanks to more than 200 tons of sand and a crew of about a dozen, the AVP is turning the Orleans Arena into an indoor beach party for the final event of the Crocs Hot Winter Nights Indoor Beach Volleyball Tour.

The Hot Winter Nights tour bills itself as the first indoor volleyball tour of its kind and already has traveled to 18 cities, including such decidedly nonbeach locales as Oklahoma City, Omaha, Neb., and Columbus, Ohio.

The event will showcase the nation’s top beach volleyball players, some of whom have their sights set on the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

The party starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets, priced from $20 to $65, can be purchased online at www.orleansarena.com.

1. Who’s coming

Top AVP players Elaine Youngs, Nicole Branagh, Jenny Johnson Jordan and April Ross will compete in the women’s division. Casey Jennings, Todd Rogers, Mike Lambert and Sean Rosenthal will vie for the men’s title.

2. Old home week

Jennings will try to make use of the home-court advantage — if such a thing exists — as the only Las Vegas native competing. Jennings is a Clark High product and a BYU graduate who played on the Cougars’ 1999 NCAA championship volleyball team. He also happens to be married to U.S. Olympic gold medalist volleyball player Kerri Walsh.

3. The format

The event will feature a round-robin format to determine an individual women’s and men’s champion.

There will be four men and four women with three matches in a pool.

Each player will play at least one game with each competitor, with those with the best records advancing to the finals.

4. Ross on a roll

The Hot Winter Nights tour comes to Las Vegas after a swing through the Pacific Northwest. At the most recent event, at the Rose Quarter arena in Portland, Ore., Ross won her third consecutive title and Brad Keenan won his first HWN crown.

Love on tour

5. Ross and Keenan had a memorable trip last week through the Pacific Northwest that included spending their first Valentine’s Day together as a couple. What happened on the court, however, probably was more memorable for Ross.

Because wintry road conditions delayed their arrival in Everett, Wash., Ross and Keenan barely had time to stop for lunch before that night’s event.

“We went to Denny’s for lunch, so that’s pretty romantic,” Keenan said.