Miles Partain: From UCLA Setter to Olympic Beach Volleyball Hopeful

Miles Partain's journey in volleyball is a compelling narrative of talent, dedication, and a relentless pursuit of improvement. From his early days playing on the beaches of Pacific Palisades to his achievements as a UCLA Bruin and his aspirations for the Paris Olympics, Partain has consistently demonstrated a passion for the sport and a willingness to push the boundaries of his abilities. This article explores Partain's career, highlighting his accomplishments, his unique approach to training, and his impact on both indoor and beach volleyball.

Early Life and Introduction to Volleyball

Growing up in Pacific Palisades, California, Miles Partain was immersed in the world of beach volleyball. Will Rogers State Beach, often considered the birthplace of modern beach volleyball, was practically his backyard. At the age of 10, he partnered with his older brother, Marcus, in his first organized beach volleyball tournament at Will Rogers State Beach. Even at a young age, the Partain brothers displayed a natural aptitude for the game. They honed their skills playing 1 vs 1 on a skinny court at their house. Throughout his youth, Miles competed in both indoor volleyball and beach volleyball year-round.

High School Career

Partain attended Palisades High School, where he played indoor volleyball as a setter and opposite hitter. Continuing the legacy of Palisades High, which produced several volleyball gold medal Olympians, during his three years there, Pali High won three CIF City Section Championships (2017, 2018, 2019). He also played for Pac6 volleyball club, a top club team in the nation, winning the 2017 Holiday Classic, placing 3rd in the 2018 Junior Nationals, and 5th in the 2019 Junior Nationals.

Collegiate Career at UCLA

During his sophomore year of high school, Miles committed to play indoor volleyball at UCLA under Head Coach John Speraw. He chose UCLA for its academic reputation, its proximity to the beach, and the indoor coaching staff.

Partain played three seasons (2020-2023) as a setter at UCLA, two of which alongside his older brother, Marcus (who played from 2019-2022). As a setter at UCLA for the 2022 season, he earned First Team All-American Honors as well as the All-Conference Player of the Year and helped the Bruins attain the nation’s highest hitting percentage in 2022 and leading them to the semifinals of the national championship. This marked the first MPSF Player of the Year from UCLA since 1996 (Stein Metzger).

Read also: Applying to Miles College

A Pivotal Decision

In January of his 2023 UCLA season, he faced a difficult decision when the FIVB announced its 2023 dates for the World Tour which are the tournaments required to qualify for the Olympics. He had to choose whether to stay with his indoor UCLA team through the end of the season, jeopardizing his chances for an Olympic bid, or leave a few months early to pursue his dream and give him and Andy their best chance to qualify. By early February, it became clear to him that he could not do both. Believing his team had all the pieces to win a national championship without him (which they did), he made the difficult decision to step away from the UCLA indoor team, and pursue his Olympic dream. Having graduated as valedictorian and a semester early from high school, Miles had accumulated enough college credits to complete his UCLA coursework in March 2023 of his third year for a B.S. degree in Applied Math.

Professional Beach Volleyball Career

Partain's transition to professional beach volleyball has been marked by rapid success. In 2017, alongside his older brother Marcus, Partain became part of the youngest team to ever advance from an AVP qualifier into the main draw in AVP Hermosa. Partain, at 15 years, seven months old, bettered the previous men's record of 18 years, nine months and women's record of 16 years, five months to also become the youngest player ever to advance from an AVP qualifier. In July 2020 in the second event at Long Beach, Partain and Ty Loomis advanced from the qualifier, breaking the AVP record for having the biggest age discrepancy between partners in a main draw (22 years, 7 months and 17 days difference in age). Partain was just six months old when Loomis played in his first AVP tournament. That record was broken in May 2022. Partain is the youngest US player to win a NORCECA gold medal (Jamaica 2019). In Atlanta 2022 Partain won at the age of 20 years, 7 months and 20 days, joining Scott Ayakatubby as the only male AVP players to win before turning 21. Partain is the youngest US player to win a gold medal in a major FIVB event (Dubai 2022).

Partnership with Andy Benesh

Thereafter, he began training full time with his beach partner, Andy Benesh. Benesh is a 28-year-old, 6’8” blocker from Palos Verdes, California, who played four years for the USC Trojans’ indoor team as their starting middle blocker. He also played professional indoor volleyball after college in Switzerland before converting to beach volleyball full time, where he earned Volleyball Magazine’s 2023 AVP honors as its MVP and Best Blocker.

Miles and his partner Andy enter the field just as some of the most prominent men’s players in USA Olympic history have retired. Miles and Andy began their Olympic Gold run in April 2023, starting in the qualifiers for two FIVB Challenger tournaments in Brazil. They placed 5th in Itapema and 4th in Saquarema, and then went on to earn podium finishes in each of their next three FIVB Elite 16 events. They captured the gold medal in the storied FIVB Elite 16 Gstaad tournament in July 2023, beating out the reigning Olympic champions from Norway (Anders Mol and Christian Sorum - known as the “Beachvolley Vikings”). They also earned silver in Montreal and bronze in Ostrava.

AVP and FIVB Successes

Partain has achieved significant milestones on both the AVP and FIVB circuits.

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2025: Partain and Benesh 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. Partain ended the year with a gold medal in a Futures event alongside Travis Mewhirter.
2024: Partain and Benesh 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. Partain and Benesh played seven World Tour events with a best of a bronze medal in an Elite event. They placed fifth in the Paris Olympics.
2023: Played in three AVP events, all with Andy Benesh, capturing two gold medals (AVP Huntington, AVP Atlanta), and a second (AVP Chicago).
2019: Partain won a Norceca gold medal, playing alongside Paul Lotman in Norceca Jamaica.
2018: Competed in six AVPs, and qualified for the main draw in three of the six. Placed fifth in Chicago alongside Paul Lotman. Played in four AVPs (two with Paul Lotman) but did not make it out of the qualifier. Made his international pro FIVB debut in Sydney, Australia, finishing 25th.
2017: Made his AVP debut, playing in four AVPs.

The Paris Olympics

Miles will make his Olympic debut at the Paris Olympic Games and become the youngest USA Olympian to date in the sport of beach volleyball.

Return to UCLA Indoor Volleyball

Partain, who was a setter/opposite hitter for the Bruins from 2021-2023, is waiting on NCAA clearance in order to officially return to action on the court. The 2022 MPSF Player of the Year is currently pursuing a master’s degree at UCLA.

Junior setter Andrew Rowan is expected to remain in his current starting post despite the standout setter’s return. Partain will instead serve in the libero position - possibly in lieu of redshirt junior libero Matthew Aziz and sophomore outside hitter Luca Curci - who were rotating at the defensive specialist role. Instability at libero has been a consistent issue for UCLA, which falls outside the nation’s top 50 in digs per set.

Partain's Unique Training Philosophy

Partain's approach to training is characterized by self-discovery, experimentation, and a relentless pursuit of improvement. He emphasizes the importance of curiosity and a willingness to try new things.

The Ball and the Wall

Partain credits much of his development to his unique training methods, which often involve nothing more than a ball and a wall. He has a wall outside his house where he hits balls against. He developed a lot of his passing that way, same with setting and hitting.

Read also: History of Miles College Football

Learning from Failure

Partain embraces failure as a learning opportunity. He believes that it is better to fail often and fail fast in order to find the answer. He gets more excited when he and his partner do something awful in practice than when they win. He loves failing as many times as possible, as quickly as possible, to find the answer.

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