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* Last FIVB
Tournament of
2011
*
FIVB Open in
Phuket, Thailand
November 1 -
November, 6 2011 |
Final Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Main Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Qualification Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Tournament
Seedings
(on
FIVB.org)
Entries
by Country
(on
FIVB.org)
Photo Gallery
(on
FIVB.org)
General Information
(on
FIVB.org)
FINAL 2011 WORLD
RANKINGS
PIX FROM THE 2011
SEASON
Misty and Kerri
and Juliana and Larissa are not competing in
this last tournament of the year. Of the
limited number of top teams that are
competing, Jennifer Kessy and April Ross of
the U.S. ill be there, as well as the
Chinese tandem of Chen Xue and Xi Zhang.
Lauren Fendrick
and Brooke Hanson of the U.S. are also
participating.
Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of China defeat
Jennifer Kessy and April Ross of the United
States for the Gold.
"Jen Kessy,
April Ross saddled with silver to end FIVB
season"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Kessy and
Ross Finish 2011 Season with Silver"
(USAVolleyball.orgt)
"China's
Xue/Zhang capture gold medal at Phuket
Thailand Open"
(FIVB.org)
"China’s
Xue, Zhang win gold at Phuket FIVB beach
volleyball final"
(PhuketGazette.net)
"Jen Kessy,
April Ross to face Xue Chen, Zhang Xi in
FIVB Phuket Open final"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Kessy, Ross
to Play China for Gold in Phuket"
(USAVolleyball.orgt)
"China vs.
USA for gold at Phuket Thailand Open"
(FIVB.org)
"China, USA
to face off in Phuket FIVB beach volleyball
final"
(PhuketGazette.net)
"Top two
seeds roll into semis at FIVB Phuket Open"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Kessy, Ross
Advance to Phuket Semifinals"
(USAVolleyball.orgt)
"China, USA
first to reach semis at Phuket Thailand
Open"
(FIVB.org)
"China, USA
march on at Phuket FIVB volleyball open"
(PhuketGazette.net)
"Americans
Jen Kessy, April Ross start strong at FIVB
Phuket Open"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Phuket FIVB
beach volleyball: Lower teams dig deep for
upset wins"
(PhuketGazette.net)
"Kessy, Ross
Advance to Phuket 3rd Round"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Olympic
volleyball star holds youth clinic at MHS"
(The Malibu Times)
"Organizers
undaunted as floods cost Phuket FIVB beach
volleyball 15 teams"
(Phuket Gazette)
"Hall of Fame
Profile: Kerri Walsh"
(GoStanford.com, website for Stanford
sport)
"Misty May: on
the track of the third gold medal"
(Rio 2016)
"Brazil's
Larissa, Juliana defend Pan Am Games title"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Misty May: on
the track of the third gold medal"
(Rio 2016)
"KEISSER: Making
Her Misty"
(Long Beach Press-Telegram, Misty's hometown
newspaper)
"USA
Volleyball flip-flops on Olympics beach
volleyball trials decision"
(Examiner.com)
"Misty
May, Kerri Walsh may be underdogs now, but
have room to improve"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Dust Plus:
When the Sand Turns to Gold and Other Notes
on my Napkin"
(LongBeachPost.com)
|
FIVB Open in The
Hague, Netherlands
August 23 -
August 28, 2011 |
Final Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Main Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Qualification Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Tournament
Seedings
(on
FIVB.org)
Entries
by Country
(on
FIVB.org)
Photo Gallery
(on
FIVB.org)
General Information
(on
FIVB.org)
* More Silver for
Misty and Kerri *
* More Gold for Juliana
and Larissa *
FINALS:
Misty and Kerri
once again cannot get the job done against
Juliana and Larissa, as the Brazilian greats
take the Gold at The Hague Open in the
Netherlands, in the process beating our
Golden Girls for the fifth time in six tries
this season (three out of four times of
those times in finals). And this time it
wasn't even close, as Juliana and Larissa
closed them out in a dominant sweep, 21-17,
21-15 in 33 minutes. It was Juliana and
Larissa's sixth Gold of the season. Misty
and Kerri have three.
3rd PLACE MATCH:
In a
remarkable display of complete dominance,
4th-seeded Maria Antonelli and Talita
Antunes of Brazil completely overwhelm
2nd-seeded Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of China by
the very lop-sided scores of 21-11 and 21-10
in 28 very quick minutes. The nasty wind
played to the advantage of the shorter
Brazilians.
ROUND 4 thru
SEMIFINALS:
Misty and Kerri and their nemeses, Juliana
and Larissa, will meet in the Finals after
both follow an unusual, one-loss path to get
there. In Round 4, Misty and Kerri were
defeated by the Beijing Olympics bronze
medalists for the second time in a row,
19-21, 20-22. Forced into the Contenders
Bracket, M & K then had yet another classic
nail-biter against their compatriots, Jen
and April, just barely ending up on top,
29-27, 21-19.
In an unusual twist,
Juliana and Larissa also took a tumble in
Round 4, falling to their compatriots, Maria
Antonelli and Talita Antunes in a very close
two-setter, 24-26 and 19-21. Their
Contenders match went far more easily than
did Misty and Kerri's, as they easily took
down 17th-seeded Vassiliki Arvaniti and
Maria Tsiartsiani of Greece for the second
time in the tournament, 21-17, 21-16. The
5th-place finish was a great result for the
Arvaniti-Tsiartsiani team.
In the
Semifinals, Misty and Kerri and Juliana and
Larissa swapped the opponents they had in
Round 4, and it worked out just fine for
both of them. M & K required three sets, but
prevailed against 4th-seeded Maria Antonelli
and Talita Antunes 21-14, 19-21, and 15-10.
Juliana and Larissa managed to punch their
Finals ticket in two sets, as they took care
of Chen Xue and Xi Zhang in a very efficient
32 minutes, 21-19, 21-14.
Jen and
April's loss to Misty and Kerri -- which
followed in the wake of their three-set
victory over Lenka Hajeckova and Hana
Klapalova of the Czech Republic -- left them
with their second 5th-place finish this
season. In 13 events, they have also won one
gold, two silver, and three bronze medals.
ROUND 3 and
CONTENDERS BRACKET:
All of the top
four seeds win their Round 3 matches, and
move on to Round 4. Misty and Kerri's Round
3 victory over Vivian Cunha and Taiana Lima
of Brazil required three sets. Final scores
were 22-20, 11-21, and 15-7. Their Round 4
matchup will be a repeat of last week's Gold
medal match in Aland, as 3rd-seeded Misty
and Kerri will take on 2nd-seeded Chen Xue
and Xi Zhang of China. The other Round 4
matchup will pit 4th-seeded Maria Antonelli
and Talita Antunes of Brazil against the
number one seeded world champs, Juliana and
Larissa.
Despite putting up a good
battle in the first game, 8th-seeded Jen and
April were swept by Juliana and Larissa in
Round 3, 21-23 and 15-21. They remain alive
via the Contenders Bracket, however, as they
handled Natalie Cook and Tamsin Hinchley of
Australia with ease, 21-16, 21-16. Their
next match is with Lenka Hajeckova and Hana
Klapalova of he Czech Republic.
In a
real barn-burner, Nicole Branagh and
Brittany Hochevar fought to the bitter end
with Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson, just
barely eeking out a 22-24, 21-19, 15-13
well-deserved victory in 53 minutes. That
left Lauren and Brooke with a 17th-place
finish. 14th-seeded Nicole and Brittany then
went on to take another Contenders match,
this one in dominating fashion over the
Mexican tandem of Bibiana Candelas and Mayra
Garcia, 21-19, 21-12 in a very efficient 32
minutes. But they then fell to the
7th-seeded Spanish team of Elsa Baquerizo
and Liliana Fernandez Steiner of Spain in
straight sets, thus settling for a 9th place
finish in the tournament. Pretty good for a
tandem that had never played together
before!
ROUND 1 and ROUND
2: Misty
and Kerri sailed through the first two
rounds without issue, defeating the
lower-seeded teams they were supposed to. In
Round 3, they will be matched against the
11th-seeded Brazilian tandem of Vivian Cunha
and Taiana Lima.
Jen and April
followed suit, easily defeating their
lower-seeded opponents in the first two
rounds. Unfortunately, in Round 3 they will
be doing battle with the world champs,
Juliana and Larissa.
Nicole Branagh,
playing this week with former Long Beach
State setter, Brittany Hochevar, took a
tumble against Olympian Natalie Cook and her
partner Tamsin Hinchley from Australia in a
three-setter, but then rebounded in the
Contenders Bracket and easily defeated a
30th seed from China. They will play their
compatriots, Lauren Fendrick and Brooke
Hanson, in the next round of the Contenders.
"Brazil
sweeps gold medals in The Hague"
(UniversalSports.com)
"May-Treanor,
Walsh Secure Hague Silver"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Second
Dutch gold for Juliana and Larissa"
(FIVB.org)
"2011 FIVB
Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Season
Update"
(FIVB.org)
"May-Treanor,
Walsh land in FIVB Hague final"
(UniversalSports.com)
"May-Treanor,
Walsh to Play for Gold in The Hague"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Juliana/Larissa
meet May-Treanor/Walsh in The Hague final"
(FIVB.org)
"May/Walsh
unbeaten, Kessy/Ross still alive on women's
side in The Hague"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Women’s top
four remains unbeaten in The Hague"
(FIVB.org)
"U.S. women
cruise on opening day in The Hague"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Seven U.S.
Beach Teams Still Playing in The Hague"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Talita and
Antonelli happy to be back in The Hague"
(FIVB.org)
"New U.S.
Beach Teams Hitting The Hague"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Todd Rogers
done for 2011, to have surgery"
(By Hans Stolfus, Special to Universal
Sports)
"Manhattan
Beach Open beach volleyball tournament
sports another new look"
(Easy Reader)
"Beach
Volleyball's Olympic Mess"
(Manhattan Beach Patch -- excellent article
that discusses the troubling issue of how
the 2012 U.S. Olympic teams will be chosen)
"NBA, former
UCLA star Kevin Love tries a day at the
beach"
(Los Angeles Times)
"Scott,
Hyden win at Hermosa to sweep Wide Open"
(Associated Press)
|
FIVB Open in
Aland, Finland
August 15 -
August 20, 2011 |
Final Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Main Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Qualification Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Tournament
Seedings
(on
FIVB.org)
Entries
by Country
(on
FIVB.org)
Photo Gallery
(on
FIVB.org)
General Information
(on
FIVB.org)
* Chen Xue and
Xi Zhang win the Gold *
* Misty and
Kerri are Silver medalists *
FINALS:
Misty and Kerri
have to settle for the Silver, as they are
upset by Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of China in
the Finals, 16-21, 21-17, 9-15. It was only
the third victory in twelve tries for the
Chinese against the two-time Olympic Gold
medalists. In 10 tournaments this year,
Misty and Kerri have now won three Golds,
three Silvers, one 4th place, and three 5th
place finishes.
3rd PLACE MATCH:
Juliana
Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca of
Brazil defeated their compatriots Maria
Antonelli and Talita Antunes Brazil 21-19,
18-21, and 21-19. The Brazilian world champs
now boast a commanding 13-3 match record
against Maria and Talita.
SEMIFINALS:
Misty and Kerri
defeated 3rd-seeded Maria Antonelli and
Talita Antunes of Brazil, 22-20, 21-14 in 34
minutes. That puts them into the Finals vs.
2nd-seeded Chen Xue and Xi Zhang China.
Earlier in the day, they had delivered a
massive beat-down to the 26th-seeded German
tandem of Jana Kohler and Julia Sude, 21-8
and 21-9 in 24 minutes.
In the other
Semifinal, Beijing Olympics bronze medalists
Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of China delivered a
big upset over the #1 team in the world, the
vaunted Brazilians Juliana Felisberta Silva
and Larissa Franca. The final scores in the
three-setter were 21-19, 17-21, 15-12 in 47
minutes.
5th-seeded Jen and April did
not make it past their first Contenders
match of the day, going down against the
8th-seeded Brazilian sisters, Carolina and
Maria Salgado in a one-hour and five-minute
marathon three-setter, 28-26, 16-21, and
10-15. Jen and April ended up 7th in the
tournament.
ROUND 3, ROUND 4,
and CONTENDERS BRACKET:
In Round 3 as
expected, Misty and Kerri had another battle
royal with Jen and April, losing the first
game 17-21, but then came back to win the
last two, 21-18 and 15-11. However, they
then faced their biggest nemeses, Juliana
and Larissa, in Round 4, and were soundly
beaten, 19-21, 15-21 in only 33 minutes.
They are now 1-4 against Juliana and Larissa
this season (they remain 13-8 against them
lifetime). In order to earn a Semifinal spot
against 3rd-seeded Maria Antonelli and
Talita Antunes of Brazil, M & K will first
have to defeat the victor in the Contenders
match between 26th-seeded Köhler-Sude of
Germany and 11th-seeded Goller-Ludwig of
Germany.
Jen and April also remain
very much alive. After their tough loss to
Misty and Kerri, they then went to the
Contenders Bracket where they defeated the
Belgian stars, 23rd-seeded Katrien Gielen
and Liesbeth Mouha, 25-23, 21-16. To earn a
Semifinal berth against Juliana and Larissa,
however, Jen and April now have the
unenviable task of having to take down both
Carolina Salgado and Maria Clara Salgado of
Brazil and then 2nd-seeded Chen Xue and Xi
Zhang of China.
Both Angie Akers /
Nicole Branagh and Lauren Fendrick / Brooke
Hanson won their first Contenders Bracket
match of the day, but then lost their
second. They both finished 13th in the
tournament.
ROUND 1 and ROUND
2:
Misty and
Kerri do as they're supposed to, winning
their first two matches against lower-seeded
players -- both in straight sets. Jen and
April do the same, including an easy win
over compatriots Angie Akers and Nicole
Branagh in Round 2, 21-15, 21-14 in 35
minutes. Unfortuantely, they now must face
each other in Round 3. The last time they
met, Jen and April got their first
international win against M & K. Misty and
Kerri obviously want to get back on track
this time around.
See PREVIEW.
Angie and Nicole had
an easy time of it in Round 1 before getting
whipped in Round 2 by Jen and April. Next
they will take on 12-seeded Russian
qualifiers Anastasia Vasina and Anna
Vozakova in the Contender's Bracket.
After successfully navigating both the
Country Quota (barely defeating Brittany
Hochevar and Lisa Rutledge in a three-set
nail-biter) and Qualification Brackets,
Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson then
stumbled in Round 1, losing to 16th-seeded
Vivian Cunha and Taiana Lima of Brazil in
three sets. They then had a fairly easy
victory in their first Contender's Bracket
match, but will now face a tough matchup
against Natalie Cook and Tamsin Hinchley of
Australia in Round 2
of the Contenders.
"China's
Xue, Zhang surprise May, Walsh in Aland"
(UniversalSports.com)
"May-Treanor,
Walsh Secure Silver in Finland"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Chen Xue
and Xi Zhang retain Paf Open in Aland to win
first gold of 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"May-Treanor,
Walsh find way into Aland final"
(UniversalSports.com)
"May-Treanor,
Walsh to Play in Finland Final"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Chen Xue
and Xi Zhang stay in contention for first
gold of 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"May/Walsh
can't get past Larissa/Juliana in Aland"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Larissa and
Juliana continue impressive start with win
over May-Treanor and Walsh"
(FIVB.org)
"U.S.
Women's Beach Teams to Square Off in Finland"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Kerri Walsh
aiming to grab fourth win of the season on
debut in Aland"
(FIVB.org)
"European
champs Cicolari, Menegatti out on 1st day in
Aland"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Hot Corner:
Chance encounter with beach-volleyball star
Misty May-Treanor"
(Chicago Sun-Times)
"Playing
Misty and Brian for the Forty-Niner Faithful"
(LongBeachPost.com -- fun story about Misty
and her college volleyball coach, Brian
Gimmillaro)
"Hard
hitters return"
(Easy Reader -- includes an excellent
summary of the present jumble of U.S.
national tours)
|
 FINAL:
Misty and
Kerri sweep
Chen Xue /
Xi Zhang
of China 21-14 and 26-24 in 37 minutes to
claim their third Gold of the 2011 season,
but it doesn't come easily. In the first
game, Chen and Xi battled back from big
early deficits to close within 12-13, but
then the Golden Girls turned on the
afterburners and won 9 of the last 10 points
for an eased up 21-14 victory. The second
game went quite differently, however, as it
was very close throughout with 19 different
ties. With a 20-18 lead, Misty and Kerri
couldn't quite finish it off as the Chinese
came back to tie, 20-20. Altogether M&K were
unable to convert on five match points, and
even had to overcome a set point against
them at 23-24. But overcome it, they did,
scoring the last three points of the game
for a 26-24 victory and the 38th Gold Medal
of their international career.
BRONZE
MEDAL MATCH:
Sanne Keizer /
Marleen Van Iersel
of the Netherlands defeated
Maria Antonelli /
Talita Antunes
of Brazil 21-18 and 24-22 in 42 minutes to
win the Bronze medal. It was their third
medal this season (they also collected two
Golds earlier in the season).
 SEMIFINALS:
Misty and
Kerri had to go to three sets against
8th-seeded Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van
Iersel of the Netherlands, but did so
successfully, coming back from a first-set
18-21 loss to claim victory. The scores of
the last two games were 21-14 and 15-12.
This was only the second time M&K had met
Sanne and Marleen, and they are now 1-1
against each other.
In the
other Semifinal, the Beijing Olympics bronze
medalists and 2nd-seeds in this tournament,
Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of China, defeated
3rd-seeded Maria Antonelli and Talita
Antunes of Brazil 21-16 and 28-26.
ROUND 2 and ROUND
3: Misty
and Kerri are in the Semis! They are very
efficient as they first sweep 7th-seeded
Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig of Germany in
Round 2, 21-13 and 21-18 in 34 minutes, and
then follow that up with an equally
efficient sweep of 11th-seeded Elsa
Baquerizo and Liliana Fernandez Steiner of
Spain in Round 3, 21-17 and 21-16 in 33
minutes. Their semifinal opponent is
8th-seeded Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van
Iersel of the Netherlands. They've only
played once before, and that was this year
at the Stavanger Grand Slam in Round 3,
where M & K were handed a stinging three set
loss. I'm sure they'll be looking for some
revenge!
After their spectacular 3-0
start, including the huge upset of Juliana
and Larissa, Angie and Nicole were barely
nudged aside in Round 2 by the up-and-comers
from the Czech Republic, 14th-seeded
Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova,
21-17, 15-21, and then 16-18 in a
heart-breaker third set. After the start
they had, their 9th-place tournament finish
is a bit of a come-down.
Lauren
Fendrick and Brooke Hanson turned lemons
into lemonade by making their mediocre 1-2
record in Pool stand up very nicely in both
Round 1 (a sweep over some Austrian crowd
favorites) and in Round 2, where they were
again victorious over home crowd favorites,
this time the Austrian Schwaiger sisters,
Doris and Stefanie, 21-18 and 21-19. In
Round 3, however, they were gunned down by
3rd-seeded Maria Antonelli and Talita
Antunes of Brazil, 16-21 and 15-21. After
their dismal start, however, their 5th-place
finish in the tournament had to feel pretty
good!
SURPISE!! -- There will be no
Gold medal for Juliana and Larissa in this
tournament! After getting upset in Pool by
Angie and Nicole, Juliana and Larissa
suffered their second defeat of this
tournament, falling in Round 2 to the
Brazilian Salgado sisters, Carolina and
Maria Clara in straight sets, 25-27 and
18-21. That leaves Juliana and Larissa with
an uncharacteristic 9th-place finish in the
tournament.
POOL PLAY - Day
#2 and ROUND 1:
Misty and Kerri
completed another sweep of their Pool
matches, and so once again receive a bye
into Round 2 of knockout play. Their
three-set win over Katrin Holtwick and Ilka
Semmler of Germany, as expected, was
anything but easy. Final scores were 21-16,
17-21, and 15-11 in 44 minutes. In Round 2
they will face off against another German
tandem, 7th-seeded Sara Goller and Laura
Ludwig. Misty and Kerri are 5-0 lifetime
against Sara and Laura, but three of those
matches have gone to three games. Stay
tough, M&K!
See PREVIEW.
Big surprise #1 --
In a huge upset, 16th-seeded qualifiers
Angie Akers and Nicole Branagh take down
none other than Juliana and Larissa! Yes!
Scores: 21-14, 20-22, and 15-13. That leaves
them 3-0 in Pool and gives them a bye into
Round 2, where they will face 14th-seeded
Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova of the
Czech Republic.
See PREVIEW.
Big surprise #2 --
In their third match after their 2-0 start
in Pool, Jen and April suffered a marathon
(1:07) defeat at the hands of the Brazilian
Salgado sisters, 29-27, 13-21, 13-15. Their
resulting 2-1 match record was only good
enough for third place in their Pool (after
tie-breakers), and therefore they had to
play a Round 1 match. The luck of the draw
left them in a match with one of the
Cinderella teams of this season, 6th-seeded
Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti of Italy.
The result was a very disappointing 24-26,
15-21 defeat, and a 17th-place finish in the
tournament -- their worst finish of the
year.
19th-seeded Lauren Fendrick and
Brooke Hanson made maximum use of their
escape from Pool play despite their 1-2
record by defeating 9th-seeded Barbara
Hansel and Sara Montagnolli of Austria
21-19, 22-20. They now have a Round 2 match
against 10th-seeded Doris and Stefanie
Schwaiger, the sister tandem from Austria.
See PREVIEW.
POOL PLAY - Day
#1: After
a routine sweep of their first opponent,
Madelein Meppelink and Sophie van Gestel of
the Netherlands, Misty and Kerri struggle in
their next match but finally prevail over
20th-seeded Katrien Gielen and Liesbeth
Mouha of Belgium, 19-21, 21-13, 15-12. Their
last Pool opponent will no doubt be a big
challenge as they are one of the Cinderella
teams of this season, 13th-seeded Katrin
Holtwick and Ilka Semmler of Germany.
They've played each other in only one other
previous match, and that was in the Gold
medal match at the Beijing Grand Slam
earlier this season. Misty and Kerri
prevailed in three in that one, 21-14,
24-26, 15-9.
See PREVIEW.
Jennifer Kessy and
April Ross are also 2-0 in Pool, but it
hasn't been easy. Both of their matches have
gone to three sets, and each of the third
sets were decided by two points. Their last
pool match is against the always-tough
Salgado sisters from Brazil.
See PREVIEW.
After their
season-best 5th place finish last week,
Angie Akers and Nicole Branagh have started
out like a house afire in their Pool, easily
sweeping both of their lower-seeded
opponents for a 2-0 mark so far. We will see
if they're truly ready for prime time in
their third match tommorrow, as they will
take on none other than the world champs,
Juliana and Larissa of Brazil.
See PREVIEW.
Lauren Fendrick and
Brooke Hanson continued their recent
struggles, and are again winless after Day
#1 of Pool. They lost their first match in
straight sets to the up-and-coming tandem
from the Czech Republic, 14th-seeded
Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova. They
were much better in their second match, but
still lost in three games to the 3rd-seeded
team of Maria Antonelli and Talita Antunes
of Brazil, 26-28, 21-15, and 11-15. They
must beat the 30th seeds from Georgia to
continue on in the tournament.
QUALIFIERS:
After a
rather easy sweep over their compatriots,
Brittany Hochevar and Lisa Rutledge, in the
Country Quotas, Angie Akers and Nicole
Branagh had to hustle in the Qualifiers to
overcome an unknown tandem from Latvia,
Inese Jursone and Inguna Minusa. Scores:
21-19, 21-23, and 15-11. They now move on to
Pool play, where in Round 3 they will have
the "privilege" of facing Juliana and
Larissa.
VIDEO: Highlights
of Gold Medal Match
(UniversalSports.com)
VIDEO: More
Highlights of Gold Medal Match
(UniversalSports.com)
VIDEO: Highlights
of Bronze Medal Match
(UniversalSports.com)
"May/Walsh
grab third gold of season"
(UniversalSports.com)
"May-Treanor,
Walsh Golden in Austria"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"USA’s
May-Treanor/Walsh grab 38th career gold in
Klagenfurt"
(FIVB.org)
"...May/Walsh
in medal matches..."
(UniversalSports.com)
"Brazil,
China, Netherlands, USA in women’s final
four at A1 Grand Slam"
(FIVB.org)
"4 Beach
Teams Move On in Grand Slam"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Beach
volleyball: the beautiful game"
(The Telegraph -- this
Conservative-supporting broadsheet has the
highest circulation of any newspaper in the
U.K. Regardless of political persuasion, the
"Torygraph" too has a problem seeing beach
volleyball as a real sport. The conversion
of the Brits begins this coming week during
the London Test Event.)
"Akers,
Branagh Down Top Seeds at FIVB Grand Slam"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Akers/Branagh
lead up and down day for U.S."
(UniversalSports.com)
"16 women's
duos remain at A1 Grand Slam presented by
Volksbank"
(FIVB.org)
"U.S. Beach
Eight Strong in FIVB Grand Slam"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Zara
Dampney and Shauna Mullin put on Olympic
show"
(The Sun, an English rag owned by everyone's
favorite media mogul, Rupert Murdoch. The
Brits -- hosts of the 2012 Olympics -- are
obviously well behind the curve on
understanding the legitimacy of beach
volleyball as a sport. Well behind on
understanding the scoring as well! -- see
the "Idiots Guide" sidebar.)
"Akers/Branagh
see best start in Klagenfurt"
(UniversalSports.com)
"12 women's
teams undefeated at A1 Grand Slam presented
by Volksbank"
(FIVB.org)
 "Test
Event in stunning surroundings"
(FIVB.org)
"Akers,
Branagh Advance at A1 Grand Slam"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Questions
to ponder"
(By Hans Stolfus, Special to Universal
Sports)
"Rogers,
Dalhausser win first Grand Slam of season"
(UniversalSports.com)
VIDEO: Dancing
Girls at Stare Jablonki, Poland
(So I like dancing girls? Is that so
wrong?!)
"Scott and
Hyden Pick Up Third Corona Light Wide Open
Title"
(Corona Light
Wide Open)
|
FIVB Grand Slam
in Stare
Jablonki, Poland
July 25 - July
30, 2011 |
Final Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Main Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Pool Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Qualification Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Tournament
Seedings
(on
FIVB.org)
Entries
by Country
(on
FIVB.org)
Photo Gallery
(on
FIVB.org)
General Information
(on
FIVB.org)
Misty and Kerri are back, as are all the
other top women players who did not
participate last week in Quebec.
Juliana and
Larissa win their 5th Gold of season
FINALS: In
a true heart-breaker, Jen and April
completely dominated the world champs,
Juliana and Larissa, in the first game,
21-14. However, they couldn't quite find a
way to finish the job, as Juliana and
Larissa came back to barely eke out
victories in the last two sets, 21-19 in
Game #2, and then an 18-16 overtime squeaker
in the last set to snatch away the Gold.
That leaves Jen and April with a very
frustrating 4-17 lifetime match record
against the Brazilian greats.
BRONZE MEDAL
MATCH: Maria Antonelli and Talita
Antunes of Brazil defeated Chen Xue and Xi
Zhang of China, 12-21, 21-17, and 15-12 in
48 minutes.
SEMIFINALS:
Jen and April had a very tough battle
with the 4th-seeded Brazilians, Maria
Antonelli and Talita Antunes, but after
losing the first set they came back and
eventually prevailed by scores of 18-21,
21-19, and 15-13. The match took 57 minutes.
Juliana and Larissa also had a tough time of
it, losing the first set 19-21, breezing in
the second 21-10, and then found a way to
gut out a 15-13 match-clinching victory in
the deciding set.
ROUND 2 and ROUND
3: Ouch!!
Yet another 5th place finish for Misty and
Kerri, this time at the hands of
their compatriots, Jen Kessey and April
Ross, who beat them -- in Round 3 -- for the
first time in eight tries on the
international tour. (Misty and Kerri have a
39-3 record against them lifetime on the
domestic AVP tour.) The scores were 16-21
and 19-21. It was just the 10th time 67 FIVB
tournaments that Misty and Kerri have failed
to reach the Semifinals. In Round 2 Misty
and Kerri had won by forfeit over Greta
Cicolari and Marta Menegatti of Italy
(Greta's knee, which was operated on last
year, was acting up.)
Jen and April,
who struggled to defeat 30th-seeded Liliane
Maestrini and Angela Vieira of Brazil by
scores of 21-19, 26-24 in Round 2 before
scoring their big upset over Misty and Kerri
in Round 3, will now take on 4th-seeded
Maria Antonelli and Talita Antunes of Brazil
in one of the Semis.
See PREVIEW. The other Semi will feature
yet another match between Juliana and
Larissa and the Bronze medalists from
Beijing, 3rd-seeded Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of
China.
See PREVIEW.
Angie Akers and
Nicole Branagh concluded their tournament
with a season-best-tying 5th place finish.
In Round 2, the 19th seeds had a very
satisfying sweep over the 7th-seeded German
tandem of Sara G0ller and Laura Ludwig,
21-19, 21-15. But in Round 3, Chen Xue and
Xi Zhang were just too much for them, and
they succumbed 12-21, 15-21.
POOL PLAY - Day
#2 and ROUND 1: Misty and Kerri are
one of only three teams that go through Pool
with not only 3-0 match records, but also
6-0 game records. Their final Pool match
against 15th-seeded Simone Kuhn and Nadine
Zumkehr of Switzerland was just as
dominating as their first two. Final scores:
21-14 and 21-13 in 33 minutes. They are
given a bye into Friday's Round 2, where
they will be matched up against the very
tough, 6th-seeded Italian tandem of Greta
Cicolari and Marta Menegatti Italy. They
have met each other twice before, with Misty
and Kerri winning the last time they played
-- in Moscow, on their way to the Gold. The
previous week -- in Gstaad -- Greta and
Marta won, leaving Misty and Kerri with a
rare 5th place finish. Should be
interesting!
See PREVIEW.
Jen and April also
finish first in their Pool but with a match
record of 2-1, with their last match being a
very impressive 21-12, 21-16 victory over a
team that has made a serious splash this
year, Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler of
Germany. Jen and April therefore also get a
bye into Round 2, where they should have an
easy time of it against the 30th-seeded team
of Liliane Maestrini and Angela Vieira of
Brazil. Assuming victories by both
Misty/Kerri and Jen/April, they will
unfortunately have to meet each other in the
following Round 3, where the loser will be
saddled with a 5th place finish.
The
luck of the draw has already hurt one
American team. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke
Hanson were pitted against Angie Akers and
Nicole Branagh in Round 1, and Angie and
Nicole came out on top, 21-19, 21-16. That
left Lauren and Brooke with a very
disappointing 17th place finish, their
second worst result of the season. Angie and
Nicole will face 7th-seeded Sara Geller and
Laura Ludwig of Germany in Round 2.
POOL PLAY - Day
#1: Misty and Kerri do their job
efficiently in the first two rounds of Pool
Play, sweeping both of their opponents,
including a 25-minute shellacking of
31st-seeded Isabelle Forrer and Joana
Heidrich of Switzerland, 21-11, 21-10.
After taking care of business in their
first match, Jen and April unaccountably
take a tumble in their second vs. a couple
of kids from Germany who first had to go
through Qualifiers, 21st-seeded Karla Borger
and Britta Buthe of Germany. And in their
last Pool match they will have to face one
of the serious Cinderellas of this season,
Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler of Germany.
April and Jen are 4-0 against them lifetime,
but their last three encounters have all
been of the three-set, cliff-hanger variety.
See PREVIEW.
Angie Akers and
Nicole Branagh are also at 1-1 in their
Pool, beating one of the Czech Republic
teams in their opener, then falling rather
badly to 3rd-seeded Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of
China. Angie and Nicole should move on to
the knock-out rounds, however, as they will
be playing the 30th-seeds in their
concluding Pool match.
Lauren
Fendrick and Brooke Hanson are in deep
trouble at 0-2 in their Pool, having lost
both to the Czech youngsters, Kristyna
Kolocova and Marketa Slukova, in a tough
three-setter, and then rather badly to the
#1 seeds, Juliana and Larissa, 18-21 and
11-21. A victory over their last Pool foes,
32nd-seeded Aneta Gancarczyk and Sylwia
Pilarek of Poland, would nevertheless allow
them to move along.
COUNTRY QUOTAS
and QUALIFIERS: This week it was
Angie Akers and Nicole Branagh's turn to win
the Country Quotas over Brittany Hochevar
and Lisa Rutledge. As the #1 seed in the
Qualifiers, they received a bye into Round
2, where they took down Lucy Boulton and
Denise Johns Great of Britain, 21-14, 24-22.
They move on to Pool play.
"Larissa/Juliana
comeback stops Kessy/Ross in Stare Jablonki"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Kessy, Ross
Take Silver Medal in Poland"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Brazil’s
Juliana/Larissa golden again at Mazury Orlen
Grand Slam"
(FIVB.org)
"Kessy/Ross
upset May/Walsh en route to Stare Jablonki
semis"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Kessy, Ross
Pull Upset to Advance to Poland Semis"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Women’s
final four on Saturday at Mazury Orlen Grand
Slam"
(FIVB.org)
"Three
Women's Beach Teams in 2nd Round in Poland"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"May/Walsh,
Kessy/Ross win groups"
(UniversalSports.com)
"16 women’s
duos still alive at Mazury Orlen Grand Slam"
(FIVB.org)
"Warts and
all, Olympics are back in a free society"
(USA Today)
"May/Walsh
keep things rolling in Stare Jablonki"
(UniversalSports.com)
"11 women's
teams undefeated at Mazury Orlen Grand Slam"
(FIVB.org)
"Beach
outlook for the 2012 Olympics"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Beach
volleyball begins one year countdown to
London 2012"
(FIVB.org)
"Kevin Love
to play pro beach volleyball this summer,
might be really good at it"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Akers,
Branagh Advance to Qualifying"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Busy
weekend on the beach in North America"
(By
Hans Stolfus, Special to Universal Sports)
"Top Women’s
Beach Teams Headed to Chicago for Corona
Light Wide Open"
(Corona Light
Wide Open)
"Kropp/Pavlik,
Roberts/Halverson win in Malibu"
(By National
Volleyball League, via UniversalSports.com)
"National
Volleyball League crowns first Malibu Open
Champions in tour history"
(TheNVL.com)
|
FIVB Open in
Québec, Canada
July 19 - July
24, 2011 |
Final Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Main Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Qualification Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Tournament
Seedings
(on
FIVB.org)
Entries
by Country
(on
FIVB.org)
Photo Gallery
(on
FIVB.org)
General Information
(on
FIVB.org)
Misty and Kerri
are one of six top-ranked women players who
are not participating in the Quebec Open.
FINALS:
Maria Antonelli
and Talita Antunes of Brazil took care of
their compatriots, the Salgado sisters, in a
three-set affair for the Gold, 21-17, 19-21,
and 15-11. The Brazilians ended up sweeping
the podium entirely when Vivian Cunha and
Taiana Lima -- also of Brazil -- defeated
Elsa Baquerizo and Liliana Fernandez Steiner
of Spain in the Bronze medal match, 21-13
and 21-19.
SEMIFINALS:
Elsa Baquerizo and
Liliana Fernandez Steiner of Spain were
swept by Carolina Salgado and Maria Clara
Salgado of Brazil, 21-19, 21-19. Vivian
Cunha and Taiana Lima of Brazil fell in
straight sets to 2nd-seeded Maria Antonelli
and Talita Antunes of Brazil, 21-13 and
21-18.
MORE
CONTENDER's BRACKET:
Bibiana Candelas
and Mayra Garcia of Mexico, who had already
taken down Lauren Fendrick and Brooke
Hanson, continued their destruction of
American teams by defeating Jen and April in
straight sets 22-20 and 21-17 in Round 5 of
the Contender's bracket. It left Jen and
April with a 7th place finish, an especially
disappointing result considering that six
out of the top ten teams in the world did
not participate in this tournament. For
Bibiana (the 6' 6" former MB for USC) and
Mayra,
their eventual 5th place finish was their
best ever in the FIVB.
ROUND 3, ROUND 4,
and CONTENDER's BRACKET:
Jen and April are
now the only American team still alive, and
because of
their huge upset
at the hands of their compatriots, Brittany
Hochevar and Lisa Rutledge, in Round 2, they
are having to play a lot of volleyball to
remain afloat. Nevertheless, all three of
their Contender bracket wins on Friday were
straight-set wins, including the last,
21-18, 21-15, over another American tandem,
Angie Akers and Nicole Branagh. Jen and
April must still win two more Contender's
bracket matches in order to claim one of the
Semifinal berths. With their loss, Angie and
Nicole finished a respectable 9th in the
tournament.
Also finishing 9th (their
best ever FIVB performance together) was
Brittany and Lisa, who lost badly to the
Brazilians Vivian Cunha and Taiana Lima in
the very next match after their brilliant
defeat of Jen and April, and then were also
defeated by the Salgado sisters of Brazil,
17-21, 19-21. Good tournament nevertheless.
I'm sure Laura Fendrick and Brooke Hanson
did not feel the same about their
tournament. Seeded a season-high 4th, they
went 1-1 in the first two Rounds, won their
first Contender's match handily over a
French team, and then fell to the
21st-seeded tandem of Bibiana Candelas and
Mayra Garcia of Mexico, 19-21, 15-21. They
finished 13th in the tournament.
ROUND 1 and ROUND
2:
All four American teams came through Round 1
unscathed. Then, big surprise! Top-seeded
Jennifer Kessy and April Ross were
upended in Round 2 by their 17th-seeded
compatriots who have to go through the
Qualifiers every week, Brittany Hochevar and
Lisa Rutledge. And in straight sets too --
21-18, 21-19 in 39 minutes. The latter move
on to Round 3. Wonder if the ankle Jen
sprained in Gstaad is still bothering her?
Jen and April were not the only
high-seeded Americans to take a surprise
tumble in Round 2. 4th-seeded Lauren
Fendrick and Brooke Hanson found themselves
on the short end of a tight three-setter
against the Dutch team of Roos Van der
Hoeven and Jantine van der Vlist, going down
20-22, 21-11, 13-15. (Speaking of Dutch
teams, it turns out that double-gold winners
Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel are not
participating in this tournament after all.)
The fourth American team, 6th-seeded
Angie Akers and Nicole Branagh, took care of
the Austrian sister team of 11th-seeded
Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger, athough it
wasn't easy. Final
scores: 16-21,
21-17, and 15-13. They also move onto Round
3.
COMMENTS:
Misty and Kerri are sitting out this
tournament, as are their "favorite"
opponents -- Juliana and Larissa.
Several
other top teams will also not be
participating. However, Jen Kessy and April
Ross return after a one-week hiatus due to
injury. In addition, the Salgado sisters and
Talita Antunes and Maria Antonelli -- both
of Brazil -- will be there, not to mention
double-gold winners Sanne Keizer and Marleen
Van Iersel of the Netherlands. Some names
not usually heard from might very well make
it to the podium this week.
VIDEO: KICK
volleyball
(YouTube -- I saw
school kids playing KICK volleyball when I
was in Thailand many years ago. Really
quite incredible!)
"Brazil
sweeps women's podium at Quebec Open Jeep
2011"
(FIVB.org)
"U.S.
men land first FIVB World Tour sweep"
(UniversalSports.com)
"U.S.
Beach Men Sweep Podium in Quebec"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Four Beach
Teams Hungry for Hardware in Quebec"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Kessy/Ross
only U.S. women remaining"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Brazil’s
Antonelli/Antunes, Spain’s
Baquerizo/Fernandez capture Women’s
semifinal spots at FIVB Swatch Quebec Open
Jeep 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"USA’s
Hochevar/Rutledge lead eight undefeated duos
after first day Day of women’s main draw at
FIVB Swatch Quebec Open Jeep 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"All U.S.
Beach Teams Advance in Quebec"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Rogers/Dalhausser
lead U.S. in Quebec"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Eight
U.S. Beach Teams in Quebec Main Draw"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Cook
rejoins former partner Hinchley"
(FIVB.org)
"Midseason
report: Few certainties as Olympics approach"
(By Hans Stolfus,
Special to Universal Sports)
"Deepest
women's field ever?"
(UniversalSports.com)
"World Tour
stop in Quebec entices more Americans"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Beach
time: Sand delivered for Olympic test event"
(By Associated
Press, via UniversalSports.com)
"102
beach volleyball teams from 29 countries in
Canada this week For FIVB Swatch Quebec Open
Jeep 2011 presented by Videotron"
(FIVB.org)
"2011 FIVB
Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Leaders
through July 17"
(FIVB.org)
"Winners
Abound at Cuervo Beach Shootout"
(USAVolleyball.org)
Corona Light Wide
Open
(Website of one of the multiple national
tours now out there. What's special about
this tour is its association with
Karch Kiraly and USA Volleyball. What's also
special are the many great photos and videos
on the site -- they know how to promote the
special ambiance of the beach volleyball
lifestyle!)
VIDEO: Some great
archival footage from the beach volleyball
days of yore!
(On
YouTube.com, via the Corona Light Wide Open
website)
"Pro
Beach Shootout to Open 2011 Series"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"National
Volleyball League to hit Zuma Beach July
23-24"
(Malibu Times)
"45
Days in the Making"
(By Hans Stolfus
on HanStolfus.com. Insider take on the state
of pro beach volleyball in the U.S. at
present)
|
FIVB Grand
Slam in Moscow, Russia
July 11 - July
16, 2011 |
Final Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Main Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Pool Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Qualification Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Tournament
Seedings
(on
FIVB.org)
Entries
by Country
(on
FIVB.org)
Photo Gallery
(on
FIVB.org)
General Information
(on
FIVB.org)
**
Misty and Kerri back where they belong --
at
the TOP of the podium!! **
 FINALS:
Our Golden Girls show their mettle
against their favorite nemeses, Juliana and
Larissa, as they storm back from a 16-19
deficit to snatch the first game away,
23-21. That induced the squabbling between
Juliana and Larissa that is always so
entertaining, and helped Misty and Kerri to
thoroughly dominate the second set 21-15. It
was Misty and Kerri's second Gold of the
season (Juliana and Larissa have four), and
upped their lifetime international record
against the Brazilian greats to 13-6. It was
their 37th FIVB Gold medal, three less than
Juliana and Larissa. I'm confident they will
reverse that record sometime before the
London Olympics.
3rd PLACE MATCH:
Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of China, the
champions in Moscow last year, had to settle
for the Bronze medal this year as they won a
hard-fought three-setter against Greta
Cicolari and Marta Menegatti of Italy,
21-17, 22-24, and 15-9.
SEMIFINALS:
Misty and Kerri gained a measure of
revenge against one of this year's
up-and-coming teams, Greta Cicolari and
Marta Menegatti of Italy, who beat them last
week in Gstaad and left them with a bitter
taste and a 5th place finish. The result
this time was quite different, as Misty and
Kerri blew past the upstarts, 21-15 and
21-16. Juliana and Larissa were challenged
by Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of China in the
first game of the other Semi before finally
pulling it out, 26-24, then breezed in the
second game, 21-14.
ROUND 2 and ROUND 3:
Misty and Kerri
have taken full advantage of a relatively
easy draw -- playing seeds #31, 18, 15, 10,
and 28 -- and ridden it all the way into the
Semis. In Round 2, their victims were the
very youthful home town favorites, the
Russian tandem of Ekaterina Khomyakova and
Evgenia Ukolova. Result: A 29-minute 21-17,
21-7 spanking. In Round 3, Katrien Gielen
and Liesbeth Mouha, 28th-seeded qualifiers
-- and yet another Cinderella team for
having got this far -- did only a little
better than the Russian youngsters, making
Misty and Kerri work 31 minutes for their
21-15, 21-17 victory.
That puts
Misty and Kerri back where they belong -- in
the Semis. (Until their 5th place finishes
the last two weeks, Misty and Kerri hadn't
missed a Semifinal since 2006!) Time for
some sweet revenge? They will face off
against one of the major Cinderellas this
season, and the team that beat them last
week in Round 3 of the Gstaad Grand Slam,
Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti. Go get
'em, Misty and Kerri!
The other two
surviving American teams went out in Round
2. 17th-seeded Angie Akers and Nicole
Branagh battled mightily against 5th-seeded
Maria Antonelli and Talita Antunes of
Brazil, but eventually fell 16-21, 21-19,
13-15. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson,
seeded #14, did not do nearly so well
against the Moscow Open champs from last
year, 4th-seeded Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of
China, as they went down quickly 14-21,
14-21.
POOL PLAY - Day
#2 and ROUND 1:
Per
usual, Misty and Kerri swept their three
Pool matches, with their latest victory
coming agaist the veteran Schwaiger sisters
of Austria, 22-20, 21-13, in 32 minutes.
This once again provides them with a bye in
Round 1. Their Round 2 opponents will have
home sand advantage, as they are the
10th-seeded, and very youthfulRussian tandem
of
Ekaterina Khomyakova and
Evgenia Ukolova (22 and 23 years old,
respectively). It should be an easy victory
for Misty and Kerri, but this season has
seen one youthful Cinderella team after
another emerge out of nowhere. So be
careful, Misty and Kerri. No complacency
allowed!
See PREVIEW.
Altlhough Lauren
Fendrick and Brooke Hanson suffered a second
Pool defeat in their last Pool match -- to
Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti of Italy,
16-21 and 17-21 -- they still managed to
move into Round 1, where they took the
measure of Lenka Hajeckova and Hana
Klapalova of the Czech Republic, 21-18,
23-21. Round 2 promises to be a lot more
challenging, as they will meet up with
4th-seeded Chen Xue and Xi Zhang, the
Olympic Bronze medalists from China.
See PREVIEW.
Angie Akers and
Nicole Branagh also had a mediocre 1-2
record in Pool, but they sneaked into Round
1 and found a way to eke out a victory over
the 23rd-seeded Aussie tandem of Louise
Bawden and Becchara Palmer, 21-19, 14-21,
15-12. As with Lauren and Brooke, however,
they too will encounter a much larger
problem in Round 2 -- the 5th-seeded
Brazilians, Maria Antonelli and Talita
Antunes.
See PREVIEW.
Brittany Hochevar
and Lisa Rutledge, who fought their way
through the Qualifiers and finally got into
the Main Draw of a tournament, unfortunately
couldn't buy a victory in Pool and finished
with an 0-3 match record. They finished 25th
in the tournament.
SURPRISES:
Two of this season's Cinderellas found
themselves in the same Pool in this
tournament, and when they met the result was
a surprising "beat-down": Katrin Holtwick
and Ilka Semmler of Germany walloped Sanne
Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel of the
Netherlands, 21-15, 21-11 in a mere 28
minutes. Hmmm... Then, in Round 2, Sanne and
Marleen struggled but still managed to beat
the 18th-seeded German team of Karla Borger
and Britta Buthe, but then out of nowhere,
Katrin and Ilka simply crumpled against the
28th-seeded Belgian team of Katrien Gielen
and Liesbeth Mouha. Go figure! Sanne and
Marleen's award is a Round 2 match against
Juliana and Larissa. Oh joy!
See PREVIEW.
UPDATE:
Reason Jen and April are not playing -- Jen
sprained an ankle in Gstaad. Hopefully they
will be back next week for the Québec Open.
POOL PLAY -
Day #1: Another good start for Misty
and Kerri, as they win their first two Pool
matches. Their first match was a 29-minute
blowout over the 31st-seeded Russian tandem
of Elizaveta Ryabova and Maria Ushkova, but
the second was not nearly so easy as they
took 45 minutes to dispatch qualifiers and
18th-seeded Karla Borger and Britta Buthe of
Germany, 20-22, 21-15, and 15-11. Their last
Pool match is against the veterans, Doris
and Stefanie Schwaiger from Austria. It will
be only their third match ever against the
sisters, with Misty and Kerri having won the
first two.
See PREVIEW.
No other American
team survived unscathed after the first two
Pool matches. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke
Hanson, whose seeding has recently drooped
to #14, were upset by 19th-seeded Jana
Kohler and Julia Sude of Germany in their
first Pool match before recovering to easily
defeat 30th-seeded Heather Bansley and
Elizabeth Maloney of Canada. They will be
hard-pressed in their final Pool match,
however, as they will take on one of this
season's Cinderellas, Greta Cicolari and
Marta Menegatti of Italy (they finished 3rd
in last week's Gstaad Grand Slam).
See PREVIEW.
The other American
entries, Angie Akers / Nicole Branagh and
Brittany Hochevar / Lisa Rutledge, both have
0-2 records in Pool and must scramble to
avoid being dismissed from the tournament
before even reaching the knockout rounds.
First things
first -- where are Jen and April?!
They have apparently withdrawn from the
tournament, but why? Let us hope no injury
is involved. Maybe just taking a week off to
re-charge their batteries?
QUALIFIERS:
Jen and April's withdrawal helped two other
American teams. Angie Akers and Nicole
Branagh were automatically placed in the
Main Draw, where -- lucky them! -- they will
be playing in the Pool ruled by Juliana and
Larissa. And Brittany Hochevar and Lisa
Rutledge will finally also be in the Main
Draw after defeating two opponents in the
Qualifying rounds, including the #1 seeded
qualifiers, Barbara Hansel and Sara
Montagnolli of Austria, 21-18, 21-14. (In
the previous two tournaments, they had
beaten Angie and Nicole in the Country
Quotas only to be drummed out in the
Qualifiers before reaching the Main Draw.)
VIDEO: Highlights
from Gold Medal Match
(UniversalSports.com)
VIDEO: More
highlights from Gold Medal Match
(UniversalSports.com)
VIDEO: Highlights
from Bronze Medal Match
(UniversalSports.com)
"May/Walsh
top Brazilian nemesis for Moscow gold"
(UniversalSports.com)
"May-Treanor,
Walsh Golden Again; Win in Moscow"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"May-Treanor
and Walsh win 2011 Moscow Grand Slam"
(FIVB.org)
"U.S.
beach athletes await word on Olympic
qualifying"
(By Associated
Press, on UniversalSports.com)
"May/Walsh
get back into semis in Moscow"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Top four
seeds play semi-finals Moscow Grand Slam"
(FIVB.org)
"Two
U.S. Beach Teams Still Playing in Moscow"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Brazilian
Pedro Salgado suspended for doping"
(By Hans Stolfus,
Special to Universal Sports)
"May/Walsh,
Rogers/Dalhausser rolling in Moscow"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Three
Women's Teams Move on in Moscow"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Lucky
losers Huang/Yue pool winners in Moscow
Grand Slam"
(FIVB.org)
"May-Treanor,
Walsh Undefeated on Day 1"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"May-Treanor,
Walsh start strong in Moscow"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Eleven
teams still undefeated in women’s Moscow
Grand Slam"
(FIVB.org)
"Hochevar,
Rutledge Upset Their Way to Main Draw"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Eight
qualification teams from seven countries
advance to Moscow main draw"
(FIVB.org)
"Major
shakeup for Brazilian men's teams"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Ross
targeting gold medal success in Moscow"
(FIVB.org)
"Chinese
teams to defend their title in Moscow Grand
Slam"
(FIVB.org)
"Evgenia
Ukolova counts on home advantage in Moscow"
(FIVB.org)
"2011 FIVB
Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Leaders
through July 10"
(FIVB.org)
|
|
FIVB Grand
Slam in Gstaad, Switzerland
July 4 -
July 9, 2011 |
Final Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Main Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Pool Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Qualification Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Tournament
Seedings
(on
FIVB.org)
Entries
by Country
(on
FIVB.org)
Photo Gallery
(on
FIVB.org)
General Information
(on
FIVB.org)
** Juliana and Larissa win their 4th Gold of
2011 **
FINALS:
It's no contest!
Juliana Felisberta Silva
and
Larissa Franca
easily take the Gold, completely dominating
the Bronze winners at the Beijing Olympics,
Chen Xue
and
Xi Zhang
of China, 21-15, 21-13 in 36 minutes.
3rd PLACE
MATCH:
Greta Cicolari and
Marta Menegatti
of Italy -- who beat Misty and Kerri earlier
in the tournament -- validated their status
as one of the up-and-coming Cinderella teams
on the FIVB ciruit by sweeping the Brazilian
veterans,
Maria Antonelli
and
Talita Antunes,
22-20, 21-14, and thus capturing the Bronze
medal. It was their second time on the
podium this season, as they also had a
second place finish at the Myslowice Open in
Poland earlier this season.
SEMIFINALS:
Greta Cicolari and Marta
Menegatti of Italy are no match for the
world champs, as Juliana and Larissa blast
them off the sand 21-17 and 21-10. The other
Semi is also a sweep, as Chen Xue and Xi
Zhang of China make quick work of Maria
Antonelli and Talita Antunes of Brazil,
21-13, 21-19.
ROUND 2 and ROUND
3: Bummer...
Another 5th place finish for Misty and
Kerri.
This time, after starting out strong and
then having to struggle mightily before
dispatching the Salgado sisters from Brazil,
21-8, 17-21, 16-14, they don't have the
answers against another of the European
Cinderellas teams that have marked this
season as they fall to 5th-seeded Greta
Cicolari and Marta Menegatti of Italy,
19-21, 21-19, and 11-15. The second set
featured a mammoth comeback from 14-19 by
Misty and Kerri, as they scored the last
seven points in a row to steal the set
21-19. And then they started the third set
by going up 5-1. Unfortunately, after that
it was all Greta and Marta. Oh well... It's
only their sixth tournament together since
Beijing, 2008. And it's still a long time
until London, right?
Top-seeded
Jen and April fared even worse, as they fell
in their very first elimination match to the
Dutch pair that ended Misty and Kerri's
tournament last week in Stavanger, Sanne
Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel. The scores
were 22-24 and 16-21. That left them with a
9th place finish in the tournament, their
worse result this season. No bueno...
POOL PLAY - Day
#2 and ROUND 1: Lenka Hajeckova and
Hana Klapalova of the Czech Republic did
indeed give Misty and Kerri a hard time in
their last Pool match, but our Golden Girls
eventually prevailed in three sets, 21-14,
15-21, 15-11. As a result, they end up with
a 3-0 match record in Pool and receive a bye
into Round 2 where they will play the
12th-seeded Brazilian sister tandem of
Carolina and Maria Clara Salgado. The
Salgados just knocked off the Silver
medalists from Stavanger, Sara Goller and
Laura Ludwig of Germany, to reach Round 2,
so they will be loaded for bear.
See PREVIEW.
The #1 seeds, Jen
and April, had a another tough match in Pool
against Vivian Cunha and Taiana Lima of
Brazil, but finally got it going to win
going away 26-24, 21-15. Their record of 2-1
left them in second place in their Pool, and
so they had to play a Round 1 match. No
problem -- they completely smashed their
25th-seeded Canadian foes, Marie-Andree
Lessard and Annie Martin Canada, 21-12 and
21-12 in a very efficient 31 minutes. Their
Round 2 foes, however, promise to be rather
more challenging -- the #4 seeds Sanne
Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel of the
Netherlands. Jen and April beat them in
three sets at last week's Stavanger
Semifinals, but Sanne and Marleen won the
two matches previous to that. Overall, Jen
and April hold a 7-3 lifetime advantage.
Should be a great match!
See PREVIEW.
The third American
tandem, Laura Fendrick and Brooke Hanson,
succumbed to 6th-seeded Maria Antonelli and
Talita Antunes of Brazil in their last Pool
match, 18-21, 20-22. Their concluding 1-2
record plus tie-breakers left them in last
place in their Pool, and so they did not
move into the knock-out rounds. They
finished a very disappointing 25th in the
tournament.
As expected, in their
last Pool match Juliana and Larissa had a
battle on their hands against one of this
year's Cinderella teams, Katrin Holtwick and
Ilka Semmler of Germany, but managed to
prevail in three, 21-23, 21-10, 15-11. They
receive a bye into Round 2.
POOL PLAY - Day
#1:
Misty and Kerri easily blow by their first
two opponents, the youngsters Yuanyuan Ma
and Fan Wang of China (they're all of 21
and 17!), and the Aussie tandem of Louise
Bawden and Becchara Palmer. Their final Pool
match will be against 14th-seeded Lenka
Hajeckova and Hana Klapalova of the Czech
Republic. Although M&K beat them handily the
only other time they've been matched up --
in Stavanger, 21-13, 22-20 -- they must
remain vigilant, as Lenka and Hana came up
big in the recent World Championships in
Rome, finishing a very impressive fourth.
After an easy victory in Round 1 of
Pool, Jen Kessy and April Ross, the Gold
medalists last week in Stavanger, #1 ranked
in the world, and the top seeds in this
tournament, apparently let complacency get
the better of them and took a tumble against
17th-seeded Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa
Slukova of the Czech Republic in their
second Pool match, unaccountably falling
16-21 and 13-21. Wow!
The third
surviving American entry, Lauren Fendrick
and Brooke Hanson, were treated with even
less respect in their first two Pool
matches. They barely pulled out a three-set
victory in their first Pool match, and then
were soundly trounced in their second by yet
another team out of nowhere, 27th-seeded
qualifiers Anastasia Vasina and Anna
Vozakova of Russia, 16-21 and 14-21. It
should be pointed out that in the first
Round of Pool that Anastasia and Anna had
already beaten the highly rated Brazilian
tandem of Maria Antonelli and Talita
Antunes! There are simply no "safe" matches
anymore -- the international talent pool
just keeps getting wider and deeper.
Juliana and Larissa made easy work of
their first two Pool opponents. However,
their third match will be against one of the
Cinderlla teams of this year, Katrin
Holtwick and Ilka Semmler of Germany. Don't
let their 15th-seed in this tournament fool
you, as they have come out on top in both of
the last two matches against the recently
crowned World Champs. Should be interesting!
See PREVIEW.
QUALIFIERS:
Brittany Hochevar and
Lisa Rutledge once again upset Angie
Akers and Nicole Branagh in the Country
Quota matches to earn a berth in the
Qualifiers. However, like last week, they
didn't have quite enough juice to get all
the way into the Main Draw. After getting by
Lucy Boulton and Denise Johns of Great
Britain in a tough 3-setter, they were then
swept out of the tournament by the Finnish
twins, Emilia and Erika Nystrom, 21-18,
21-18.
VIDEO: Highlights
from Gold Medal match
(UniversalSports.com)
VIDEO: More
highlights from Gold Medal match
(UniversalSports.com)
VIDEO: Highlights
from 3rd Place match
(UniversalSports.com)
"Brazil's
Larissa, Juliana grab gold in Gstaad"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Brazil’s
Juliana/Larissa capture women’s gold medal
Saturday in Switzerland at FIVB Swatch 1to1
energy Grand Slam Gstaad 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"U.S. women
eliminated in Gstaad"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Brazil
with two tandems, China, Italy all reach
women’s final four on Saturday at FIVB
Swatch 1to1 energy Grand Slam Gstaad 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"Kessy/Ross
bounce back in Gstaad"
(UniversalSports.com)
"16 duos
remain as women’s pool play, first
elimination round ends Thursday at FIVB
Swatch 1to1 energy Grand Slam Gstaad 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"Top-seeded
Americans not perfect in Gstaad"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Ten
teams in eight women’s pools undefeated
after two rounds Wednesday at FIVB Swatch
1to1 energy Grand Slam Gstaad 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"Three
U.S. Women's Teams in Gstaad Main Draw"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Eight teams
from eight countries earn last spots for
women’s main draw at FIVB Swatch 1to1 energy
Grand Slam Gstaad 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"The
Unbeatable Duo: Sunny Villapando and Presley
Forbes"
(TheNVL.com --
Great story about super-stars of the future)
"2011 FIVB
Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour Point and
money leaders through July 3"
(FIVB.org)
|
|
FIVB Grand
Slam in Stavanger, Norway
June 27 to July
2, 2011 |
Final Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Main Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Pool Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Qualification Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Tournament
Seedings
(on
FIVB.org)
Entries
by Country
(on
FIVB.org)
Photo Gallery
(on
FIVB.org)
General Information
(on
FIVB.org)
FINALS:
Jen and April win
their first Gold medal of the season (and
their third "Stavanger Sword," with the one
in 2009
coming in the
World Championships), easily dispatching
Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig of Germany,
21-16, 21-15. Jen and April are now 10-2 in
matches lifetime against Sara and Laura, who
have yet to claim their first-ever FIVB
title (they have six Silvers).
3rd PLACE
MATCH:
Juliana and Larissa easily defeated the
Dutch girls Sanne and Marleen in a sweep,
21-13, 21-14 in 32 minutes. It was the only
relatively easy match of the tournament for
Juliana and Larissa, who
uncharacteristically lost one of their Pool
matches, and then required three sets in
their victories in both Round 1 and Round 2.
Their win in Round 2 was a real barn-burner
against their compatriots, Maria Antonelli
and Talita Antunes. It took over an hour
with final scores of 21-15, 19-21, and then
(Wow!) 32-30 in the "15-point" deciding set.
SEMIS: It
was no easy task, but Jen and April prevail
in 57 minutes over Sanne Keizer and Marleen
Van Iersel of the Netherlands, losing the
first game in overtime 25-27, but then
coming back to handily win the last two
sets, 21-11 and 15-11. In the Finals
they will face 13th-seeded Sara Goller and
Laura Ludwig of Germany, who were surprise
winners over the #1 tournament seeds Juliana
and Larissa in their Semi, 25-23, 21-19.
ROUND
2 and ROUND 3:
Misty and Kerri easily take down Lenka
Hajeckova and Hana Klapalova of the Czech
Republic in Round 2, but then in Round 3
unaccountably can't make their first-set
victory stand up against one of this
season's European Cinderella teams,
Sanne Keizer and
Marleen Van Iersel of the Netherlands,
eventually falling 21-18, 19-21, 11-15. They
finish a disappointing 5th in the
tournament. In the five tournaments they've
played since getting back together this
season, Misty and Kerri have one Gold, two
Silvers, one 4th place (had to pull out of
the Semis due to Misty's injury), and now
this 5th place. Perhaps not quite up to the
usual standards of our Golden Girls, but
pretty darned good for a team that hadn't
been together since the Beijing Olympics.
Sanne and Marleen also ended the hopes
of a second American team, taking down
Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson in Round
2, 21-15, 16-21, 15-12. The #1 ranked team
in the world, Jen Kessy and April Ross,
however, had no issues, as they breezed
through Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa
Slukova of the Czech Republic 23-21, 21-15
in Round 2, and then in Round 3 dispatched
one of the other European Cinderellas of
this season, Greta Cicolari and Marta
Menegatti of Italy, 21-17 and 21-16. That
puts them in the Semifinals against -- you
guessed it! -- the American nemeses, Sanne
and Marleen of the Netherlands. Surely they
couldn't knock out three American teams in
one tournament!
POOL PLAY:
Both Misty and Kerri and their compatriots,
Jen Kessy and April Ross, breezed through
their respective Pools with 3-0 match
records. Both receive a bye into Round 2 of
the elimination Rounds.
The third
American tandem, Lauren Fendrick and Brooke
Hanson, finished second in Pool with a 2-1
record, and thus will be required to play a
Round 1 knock-out match against Jana Kohler
and Julia Sude of Germany, who finished 1-2
in Misty and Kerri's Pool.
After
stunning their fellow Americans Angie Akers
and Nicole Branagh in the Country Quotas,
the American entry of Brittany Hochevar and
Lisa Rutledge was defeated in Round 1 of the
Qualifiers by Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin
of Great Britain. They are out of the
tournament.
Two big surprises in
Pool!: 22nd-seed Elsa Baquerizo and Liliana
Fernandez Steiner of Spain defeated
6th-seeded (and already two-time Gold medal
winners this year) Sanne Keizer and Marleen
Van Iersel of the Netherlands in a three-set
extravaganza, 27-29, 26-24, 18-16.
But the really big surprise! -- Juliana and
Larissa were once again upset in a Pool
match, this time by the Cinderella Silver
medalists from the Beijing Grand Slam
earlier this season, Katrin Holtwick and
Ilka Semmler of Germany, 19-21, 21-16,
15-10. Not surprisingly, however, they still
finished second in their Pool with a 2-1
record, and move on to Round 1 where they
will no doubt take out their frustrations on
the 24-seeded Finnish sisters, the Nystrom
twins.
VIDEO: Highlights
of Stavanger Finals
(UniversalSports.com)
VIDEO: Additional
highlights from Stavanger Finals
(UniversalSports.com)
VIDEO: Highlights
of 3rd Place Match
(UniversalSports.com)
"Kessy,
Ross Claim Stavanger Gold Once Again"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Kessy/Ross
collect another Stavanger sword"
(UniversalSports.com)
"USA’s
Kessy/Ross capture gold medal Saturday in
Norway at FIVB Swatch ConocoPhillips Grand
Slam Stavanger 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"Kessy/Ross
into Stavanger semis; May/Walsh ousted"
(UniversalSports.com)
"10
minutes with beach volleyball babes Zara
Dampney and Shauna Mullin"
(London Evening
Standard -- Brits still need to be educated
before London Olympics that beach volleyball
is a real sport.)
"Four U.S.
Teams Remain in Stavanger Medal Chase"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Brazil,
Germany, Netherlands, USA reach women’s
final four at FIVB Swatch ConocoPhillips
Grand Slam Stavanger 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"Three
Women’s Beach Pairs Advance at Stavanger"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"U.S. women
strong in pool play"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Women’s
pool play ends Thursday, 24 women’s teams
move to single elimination at FIVB Swatch
ConocoPhillips Grand Slam
Stavanger 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"U.S. women
open strong in Stavanger"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Seven
of eight pool play leaders undefeated in
women’s main draw at FIVB Swatch
ConocoPhillips Grand Slam Stavanger
2011"
(FIVB.org)
"Stavanger
kicks Grand Slam season into gear"
(By Hans Stolfus,
Special to Universal Sports)
"Time Out
with Jen Kessy"
(Excellent
interview with Jen Kessy on TheNVL.com)
VIDEO:
Jen Kessy on rivalry with Misty and
Kerri (TheNVL.com)
"Wong,
Jennings to go separate ways"
(By Hans Stolfus,
Special to Universal Sports)
"Brazil,
Germany, United States advance women’s teams
to qualification Tournament at FIVB Swatch
ConocoPhillips Grand Slam Stavanger 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"Norway
ready to host 170 top beach duos from 41
countries For FIVB Swatch ConocoPhillips
Grand Slam Stavanger 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"Olympic
beach volleyball gold no longer certain for
U.S.?"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Brazil
assumes beach volleyball world supremacy"
(By Hans Stolfus,
Special to Universal Sports)
|
FIVB World
Championships
Rome, Italy
June 13 to June
19, 2011 |
Final Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Main Draw Results
(on
FIVB.org)
Pool Standings
(on
FIVB.org)
Tournament
Seedings
(on
FIVB.org)
Entries
by Country
(on
FIVB.org)
Photo Gallery
(on
FIVB.org)
Videos
(YouTube,
via FIVB.org)
Live Scores
(on
FIVB.org)
General Information
(on
FIVB.org)
*** Juliana and
Larissa are the World Champs ***
Only rarely in
their brilliant career have our Golden Girls
allowed a four-point lead late in a match to
get away from them, but heartbreakingly it
happened in the World Championships. Tied at
one set apiece, and holders of first an 8-4
and then a 9-5 lead in the third set, they
somehow let Juliana and Larissa back into
the game, eventually losing the set and the
Championship, 17-21, 21-13, 14-16. The last
two points were both the result of brilliant
blocks by Juliana. Despite their
international dominance since about 2005, it
was the first World Championship for Juliana
and Larissa. Their well-deserved
victory
prevented Misty and Kerri from winning a
fourth World Championship. My guess is that
this will be Misty and Kerri's last try for
a World Championship (they're contested only
once every two years), as they will probably
retire after the 2012 London Olympics.
"May,
Walsh find new motivation in tough defeat"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Larissa
and Juliana stay positive to the finish and
end wait for World Championship gold at Rome
2011"
(FIVB.org)
"Juliana/Larissa
defeat USA’s May-Treanor/Walsh at Foro
Italico for gold at 2011 FIVB Beach Volley
Swatch World Championships in Rome"
(FIVB.org)
"May-Treanor
and Walsh lose gold-medal match at FIVB
Worlds"
(UniversalSports.com)
"May-Treanor,
Walsh Win Silver at Worlds"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Next
up: Women's match we've been waiting for"
(UniversalSports.com)
The Final we all
wanted is here! -- Misty and Kerri vs.
Juliana and Larissa.
As almost
expected, the Gold medal match for the FIVB
World Championships will pit the two-time
Olympic and three-time defending World
Champions, Misty and Kerri of the USA,
against the team with the best international
record over the last few years and the team
that is first-seeded in this tournament
(Misty and Kerri are only 5th-seeded),
Juliana and Larissa of Brazil.
Juliana and Larissa reached the Final by
going through their Semifinal opponents, the
Cinderellas of this week, the 22nd-seeded
Lenka Hajeckova and Hana Klapalova of the
Czech Republic, like a hot knife through
butter, 21-14 and 21-13 in 32 minutes. Misty
and Kerri had a much tougher Semifinal
opponent: the Bronze medalists from Beijing,
Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of China. Though
requiring three sets for the third straight
match, Misty and Kerri once again prevailed,
this time by scores of 21-17, 15-21, and
15-10 in 48 minutes. This should be one
GREAT Gold Medal match!
See PREVIEW.
"May-Treanor,
Walsh Win Semis at Worlds"
(USAVolleyball.org
"Brazil’s
Juliana/Larissa and USA’s May-Treanor/Walsh
to meet for gold at 2011 FIVB Swatch World
Championships in Rome"
(FIVB.org)
"May,
Walsh into final at beach volleyball Worlds"
(UniversalSports.com)
"No end to
the fairytale yet as May-Treanor and Walsh
reach women’s final"
(FIVB.org)
"Juliana and
Larissa still on course for first ever world
title, at Rome 2011"
(FIVB.org)
Misty
and Kerri in the Semifinals!!
In
the Quarterfinals, our Golden Girls defeated
their always dangerous compatriots Jen Kessy
and April Ross in yet another three-set
barn-burner of a match, emerging in the end
with a very hard-fought 21-18, 18-21, 15-10
victory.
See RECAP. This left the defending world
champions Jen and April with a 5th-place
finish. In the preceding "Round of 16," M&K
garnered an equally difficult triumph over
the 7th-seeded German team of Sara Goller
and Laura Ludwig by the very similar scores
of 21-19, 18-21, and 15-11.
In the
Semifinals they will face the Beijing bronze
medals, 8th-seeded Chen Xue and Xi Zhang of
China. Xue-Zhang Xi secured their Semifinal
berth by disposing of the very pesky
upstarts from Italy Greta Cicolari and Marta
Menegatti in the "Round of 16." They then
found a way to take down the #2 seeds in the
tournament, Maria Antonelli and Talita
Antunes of Brazil, by scores of 21-17,
18-21, and 15-11. This matchup will make for
a great Semifinal.
See Preview.
In the other Semi,
Juliana and Larissa -- who else?! -- will be
pitted against the latest European
Cinderella team, 22nd-seeded Lenka Hajeckova
and Hana Klapalova of the Czech Republic.
Juliana and Larissa tore through their Pool
and Round 1, swept their compatriots the
Salgado sisters in the "Round of 16," and
then were tested before surviving a stern
effort from the tough American team of
Brooke Hanson and Lauren Fendrick, 21-13,
17-21, and 15-12. Brooke and Lauren ended up
with a great 5th-place finish in the world
championships.
The Cinderellas,
Lenka and Hana, barely got through Pool with
a 1-2 record, survived our American team of
Angie Akers and Nicole Branagh in a grueling
three-setter in Round 1, and then somehow
got by Louise Bawden and Becchara Palmer of
Australia in another three-set nail-biter in
the "Round of 16." In the Quarterfinals,
they made fairly easy work of a team that
had a pretty good Cinderella tournament
going themselves, 24th-seeded Jana Kohler
and Julia Sude of Germany (Jana and Julia
took out the two-time 2011 Gold winners,
Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel of the
Netherlands, in the
previous Round.)
This matchup should be a blowout for Juliana
and Larissa, but stranger things have
happened.
See Preview.
"When in
Rome...stay in Rome" (By
Hans Stolfus, Special to Universal Sports)
"Walsh,
May-Treanor Victorious at FIVB Worlds" (USAVolleyball.org)
"Rough
day for U.S. at FIVB Beach Worlds; May/Walsh
only American team left" (UniversalSports.com)
"Brazil,
China, Czech Republic and USA all earn
women’s semifinal spots at 2011 FIVB Beach
Volleyball Swatch World
Championships" (FIVB.org)
"Xue
and Zhang keep a hold of their emotions to
reach women’s semifinals at Rome 2011" (FIVB.org)
After
Pool play and Round 1, so far so good. Misty
and Kerri easily swept all three Pool
matches with a 6-0 set record, and
followed that up with a very easy 29-minute,
21-13, 21-12 sweep in Round 1. With the
lower seeds out of the way, however, M&K
will be facing the #7 seeds, Sara Goller and
Laura Ludwig of Germany in Round 2. Despite
their 4-0 lifetime record against them, it
promises to be a far more competitive match.
See Preview.
The defending World
Champs, Jen and April, have had a comparably
easy time of it so far. They swept their
matches during Pool, and then easily
dismantled their Round 1 opponents, 21-14,
21-14. Their Round 2 match against Katrin
Holtwick and Ilka Semmler of Germany will
not be so easy despite their opponents'
40th-seed, as that seed was
established
before Katrin and Ilka came out of nowhere
last week to finish 2nd to Misty and Kerri
at the Beijing Grand Slam.
See Preview.
Brooke and Lauren's
road has been more challenging. Two of their
three matches in Pool went three sets,
including a loss against the very tough
Italian tandem of Greta Cicolari and Marta
Menegatti. Their Round 1 match was no
snoozer either, as they barely eased past
the higher-seeded Brazilian team of Vivian
Cunha and Taiana Lima. Their Round 2
opponent is 23rd-seeded Elsa Baquerizo and
Liliana Fernandez Steiner of Spain.
See Preview.
After registering
a solid 3-0 record to win their Pool,
11th-seeded Nicole and Angie stumbled to an
upset in Round 1 at the hands of the #22
seeded team from the Czech Republic, Lenka
Hajeckova and Hana Klapalova.
 "Walsh
Hits New Heights as 'FIVB Hero'" (USAVolleyball.org)
"Three
U.S. women's teams advance at FIVB Worlds in
Rome"
(UniversalSports.com)
"Seven Beach
Teams Advance at Worlds"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"16
women’s teams still pursuing Roman gold at
2011 FIVB Swatch World Championships"
(FIVB.org)
"Beach
Teams Flawless in Rome"
(USAVolleyball.org)
"Inspiring
Roman pool play finalizes women’s 32 teams
for single-elimination field"
(FIVB.org)
"U.S.
women cruise through pool play at beach
volleyball worlds" (UniversalSports.com)
"Walsh
and May-Treanor getting back into the old
routine in bid for fourth world title"
(FIVB.org)
"Tops
seeds Juliana and Larissa keeping minds
focused on the task ahead at World
Championships"
(FIVB.org)
 "The
Walsh-Jennings family excursion" (Great
story on UniversalSports.com!)
"Americans
in charge day two at FIVB Beach Volleyball
Worlds" (UniversalSports.com)
"Beach
Teams Almost Perfect on Day 2" (USAVolleyball.org)
"Kessy
and Ross start their title defence in
winning style at Rome 2011"
(FIVB.org)
"Tuesday’s
Women’s pool play in Rome features classic
matches"
(FIVB.org)
"FIVB
Worlds: Was the Rogers/Dalhausser loss a
huge surprise?"
(By
Hans Stolfus, Special to Universal Sports)
"Bikinis,
sandburn and the hottest ticket in town"
(Interesting
article in the London Evening Standard.
Sounds like the Brits will require some
schooling on the athleticism of women's
beach volleyball!)
"Rome’s
Foro Italico welcomes world’s best women’s
teams"
(FIVB.org)
"World
Championships: Win - Place - Show"
(By
Hans Stolfus, Special to Universal Sports)
"5
things we learned from Beijing"
(By
Hans Stolfus, Special to Universal Sports)
MISTY AND KERRI WIN GOLD!!
 Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler, the
Cinderella giant-killers from Germany, made
it a little too interesting for comfort, but
in the end our two-time Olympic champions
came through with their first international
victory since their 2008 Olympic triumph in
this very same venue (and the same weather
-- wet!). Final scores: 21-14, 24-26, 15-9.
Next week in Rome: The World Championships!
Bring it, Misty and Kerri! You're
baaaaacckk!!
In the 3rd Place match,
Jen Kessy and April Ross made quick work of
the the other Cinderella semifinalists, the
Italian tandem of Greta Cicolari and Marta
Menegatti, 21-18, 21-18. This was after
giving Misty and Kerri all they could handle
in their semifinal match before succumbing
in a 53-minute three-setter, 21-17, 13-21,
13-15.
After eased-up victories over 24th-seeded
Saka-Rtvelo of Georgia in Round 2 and
16th-seeded Kuhn-Zumkehr of Switzerland in
Round 3, our Golden Girls are back in their
accustomed spot in the Semis! There they
will face their compatriots, Jen Kessy and
April Ross, against whom they have a
lifetime 21-3 record. However, they haven't
faced each other since 2008, and Jen and
April have split their last four matches
with Misty and Kerri. In their march to the
Semis, Jen and April had to take down the
2008 Olympic Bronze medalists, Xue-Zhang Xi
of China. Should be a barn-burner!
See PREVIEW.
The other Semifinal
will be between the already-Cinderella team
of 14th-seeded
Greta Cicolari and
Marta Menegatti of Italy (finished 2nd
at Myslowice) and the brand-new Cinderella
tandem of 31st-seeded (!!)
Katrin Holtwick and
Ilka Semmler of Germany. Both sneaked
into the knock-out Rounds with 1-2 records
during Pool play. But Greta and Marta then
went on to defeat the likes of
Akers-Branagh, Ludwig-Goller of Germany, and
the Salgado sisters of Brazil -- all higher
seeds. But the remarkable run of upsets by
Katrin and Ilka included: #1 in the World,
JULIANA and LARISSA (in straight sets no
less, 21-15, 23-21!!), the 6th-seeded
Schwaiger sisters of Austria, and 2nd-seeded
Maria Antonelli and Talita Antunes of
Brazil. Wow! These two teams are 1-1 against
each other. Should be interesting.
See PREVIEW.
Misty and Kerri win their Pool despite their
loss to Akers-Branagh, based on points-for
vs. points-against differential. As a result
of their easy victory over Liliana-Baquerizo
of Spain, they receive a bye into Round 2,
where they will face either 15th-seeded
Martin-Lessard of Canada or 24th-seeded
Saka-Rtvelo of Georgia.
Akers-Branagh and our special Brazilian
friends, Juliana and Larissa, both face
Round 1 matches because of second place
finishes in their respective Pools. (Juliana
and Larissa had their stumble against
16th-seeded Simone Kuhn and Nadine Zumkehr
of Switzerland.)
Both Jen Kessy/April
Ross and Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Hanson
received byes into Round 2 as they swept
their Pools with unblemished 3-0 records.
The Gold medal winner of the last two FIVB
Opens, Marleen Van Iersel and Sanne Keizer
of the Netherlands, had to forfeit to
Fendrick/Hanson in their last Pool match due
to injury (serious back cramps). Having
finished 0-3 in Pool, they are out of the
tournament.
Uh-oh. Misty and Kerri stumble in their first
of three Pool matches, falling to their
compatriots Angie Akers and Nicole Branagh,
19-21, 21-17, 13-15. No bueno! They come
back in their second match to record an easy
win over Garcia-Candelas of Mexico, 21-8,
21-18. Should beat 21st-seeded
Elsa Baquerizo and
Liliana Fernandez Steiner of Spain
in their third Pool match to proceed to
Round 1. However, their Spanish adversaries
are 2-0 in Pool, including a three-set upset
of Akers-Branagh. So watch out!
See Preview.
Along with Misty and Kerri, Akers-Branagh
are also 1-1 in Pool. Need to win to assure
moving along to Round 1. Both Jen Kessy /
April Ross and Lauren Fendrick / Brooke
Hanson are 2-0 so far in their respective
Pools.
Early Suprise! -- Sanne
Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel of the
Netherlands, who came out of nowhere to
claim the last two FIVB Open gold medals,
have lost their first two matches in Pool
play (to the 20th and 29th seeds!), and now
must beat the very tough American tandem of
Fendrick/Hanson to have even a chance of
moving onto Round 1.
The other
Americans: Hanson-Fendrick finished 9th in
the tournament after losing a tough
three-setter to the Brazilian Salgado
sisters, and Akers-Branagh went out after an
even closer three-setter against eventual
semifinalists, Greta Cicolari and Marta
Menegatti of Italy. That left them with a
17th place finish.
VIDEO: Highlights
of Gold Medal Match
(UniversalSports.com)
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