When Marcos Macau slammed a spike for a point in the championship match of the Toyota Pro Beach East stop at Baltimore’s Rash Field on Sunday, partner Adrian Carambula was ready.

“That’s the way, partner,” Carambula said as he got into a crouch to give Macau a double high five.

Macau, 26, and Carambula, 20, have formed a unique bond they hope will lead them to the AVP Tour.

But first, the pair used that chemistry to spark it to a tournament title in their first Toyota Pro Beach East appearance. They will split $3,000 for winning the 24-team, double-elimination tournament. The top-seed went undefeated and capped the title with a 22-20, 21-18 win against Canadians Josh Binstock and Christian Redmann in the final.

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“That’s the key,” Carambula said. “I’m the one that gets fired up. [Macau]’s more under control, so it’s definitely a good mix.”

Macau and Carumbala met last year in Miami Beach where they both live. Macau, a Florida Atlantic graduate, was looking to get back into beach volleyball after taking several years off. Carumbala needed a partner.

Macau said the duo struggled in their first two tournaments together — and then something clicked.

“It’s definitely been built step by step,” Macau said. “The chemistry foundation was a little bit there, and we’ve just developed it.”

So far, Macau and Carumbala have stayed close to home, dominating small tours in Florida. But they were successful enough against good competition to earn the top seed in their first Pro Beach East event.

They hope this weekend’s performance will help them impress a sponsor to help them to devote more time to training so they can try the AVP Tour — the country’s most competitive league — next year.

Macau and Carumbala, who are both under 6-feet tall, know it will to be tough to make the jump to the AVP.

“We don’t have the angles to cut off at the net,” Macau said. “If we’re not in tip-top shape and working extra hard, it’s not going to work out.”

But beating some of the top competition on the East Coast gave the team  confidence.

“It’s just good to come up here and do well,” Macau said. “When you travel and play well, it’s different than being home. It feels better.”

eric.detweiler@baltimoreexaminer.com