Junk twin sisters carry USA’s gold medal hopes in Doha

It’s difficult not to notice the Junk twin sisters outside the beach volleyball court. They are always together, their long blonde hair flowing majestically down their backs as they walk side by side or sit next to each other watching a match.

Life and recently beach volleyball, has contrived to ensure that Avery and Addison spend most of their time together. Their camaraderie off the court has morphed into a deadly partnership on the court and made them USA’s first choice pair for the Main Draw and one of the medal prospects at this year’s FIVB Beach Volleyball Under 18 World Championship in Doha, Qatar.

“It’s a big honour for us to represent our country here. We’ve been in the national team development training programme for the past four years, training four times a year. We played well during the trials for this competition and being selected means a lot to us,” revealed Avery.

Born and raised in Redondo beach, California, Avery and Addison, first played soccer but it wasn’t long before they circled back to volleyball at the age of 12. They started out with indoor volleyball before switching to beach volleyball and have never looked back.

“Beach volleyball is more fun because your partner is like your family and we are actually family so it made sense to us. We’ve played together for like five years now,” said Addison, who enjoys cooking during her free time.

“(Being sisters) makes it so much easier because neither of us has ever played with a different partner for a long time. I feel like I know everything she wants to do before she does it and it’s the same for her,” she added half-jokingly.

Now 17, they will be making their World Championship debut in Doha where they are drawn in Pool B alongside Morocco’s Marwa Chalhaoui & Hafsa Bouysfi, Paraguay’s Sofia Martinez & Agustina Velazquez and Brazil’s Kiara Vitoria Ernesto Jeronimo & Leticia Schwalb Machado.

Their compatriots Myriah Massey & Lily Davis won the gold medal in the 2024 FIVB Beach Volleyball Under 19 World Championship in Shangluo, China and all eyes will be on the Junk twins to mount a successful title defence in Doha.

“I’m really excited about it. I think it’s a good thing for us because we like being the team to beat. We are used to that in America and it’s a great challenge for us to experience it at this level,” pointed out Avery matter-of-factly.

“We know everyone here is the best in their country and we have solid teams like Ukraine and Brazil. We are excited to play some high-level volleyball. Our goal is definitely to win this tournament and having a medal of this stature will be a great start to our career because we want to pursue this (beach volleyball) after college,” added the guitarist par excellence.

Gold for the Junks will not only put them on the global spotlight but also take USA joint level with Brazil as the most successful nation in this age group on the girls’ side, with four titles each.