Beach Bits:

• Benesh has played with 10 partners in his career and five of them have been Olympians. Entering the 2026 season 48 of his 70 events have come alongside an Olympian.

• Entering the 2026 season, Benesh has played in the championship match in each of his last six AVP tournaments, and has compiled a 28-3 match record (23 of the wins were sweeps) and a 57-11 set record in that span.

2025: Benesh and Partain won their only AVP tournament together, the season opener in Huntington Beach, sweeping all four matches. The duo again played for the Dallas Dream in the AVP League, and were one of four teams with a 6-2 regular season record. In the League Championships they lost in the semifinal match. Internationally the duo played seven times with a best of a fifth.

2024: Benesh and Partain placed second in Manhattan Beach then won in Chicago, finishing with a 10-1 match record and 20-3 set record on the AVP. The duo represented the Dallas Dream in the inaugural AVP League season, ending with a perfect 8-0 match record while dropping just one set. In the League Championships they won both of their matches but along with the women's pair lost in the Golden Set to finish in second place. Benesh and Partain played seven World Tour events with a best of a bronze medal in an Elite event. They placed fifth in the Paris Olympics.

2023: Benesh played in four AVP events, placing 13th with Billy Allen in the season opener in Miami. He then played three times with Miles Partain, capturing two gold medals (AVP Huntington, AVP Atlanta), and a second (AVP Chicago). Also partnered with Partain to win gold at FIVB Elite 16 Gstaad, silver at FIVB Elite 16 Montreal, bronze at FIVB Elite 16 Ostrava, a fourth at FIVB Challenger Saquarema, and a three fifths including in the World Championships in Mexico.

2022: Benesh played 10 AVP tournaments with five different partners. In the season opener in Austin he teamed with Phil Dalhausser and won the title. After a ninth with Nick Lucena, Benesh had Tour Series finishes of third with Avery Drost then won with Miles Evans in Denver after losing their first match and having to win seven straight matches. He played the next three events with Lucena with a best of fifth, then had two events alongside Evans, including a third in Manhattan Beach. Benesh ended the AVP year with a sixth place with Casey Patterson. Internationally Benesh lost in a qualifier with Lucena, then played in four qualifiers with Evans and twice advanced with a ninth-place finish. He then played three tournaments with Miles Partain. They became the first US men’s team to win Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour gold at any level, and the first men’s team to start from the qualifier and capture gold at the Elite 16 or Challenge levels. They also were the first US men’s team to win gold in a major FIVB event since 2019.

2021: Benesh began playing with Billy Allen, and the duo placed 5th in their AVP debut and advanced to the semifinals in the other two tournaments. Benesh and Allen had eight wins over top 10 teams, while all five match losses came against teams seeded 6th or better. Benesh ended the year ranked 6th in aces (.59 per set), blocks (1.44 per set) and kills (6.87 per set). Benesh played in two international tournaments with Allen, losing in the country quota in one and placing 17th in the other.

2020: Benesh and Eric Beranek played in all three AVP events in the Long Beach "bubble" but did not advance from the qualifier in any of them.

2019: Benesh played one AVP qualifier with Fiers, then formed a partnership with Adam Roberts for seven AVP events. The duo played in two main draws, finishing 7th in Hermosa Beach after registering a pair of wins against teams seeded 7th or better. They followed that up with a 13th-place finish in Manhattan Beach.

2018: Began his pro career with four events on the AVP Tour alongside Cole Fiers. Benesh and Fiers advanced from the qualifier twice.

College: Benesh was a four-year starter as a middle blocker at Southern Cal. As a freshman he was fifth nationally in hitting percentage (.443), just shy of the school record. As a senior he led the team in hitting percentage, blocks, and aces, finishing sixth in the country in hitting percentage (.429). Benesh ended his career with a .415 hitting percentage throughout his four seasons.

Personal: Benesh was a First Team All-American in high school as well as being a member of Volleyball Magazine's Fab 50 list. Following college he played professionally in Switzerland.