Beach Bytes: FIVB, AVCA Small College Champs, NORCECA, U21 qualifiers
FIVB four-star Xiamen: After a brief break, Olympic qualification heats up again at the Guanyinshan Beach in Xiamen, China. Three USA men’s and four women’s teams are in Thursday’s pool play.
On the men’s side, No. 9 Jake Gibb-Taylor Crabb begin their pool play against Brazil’s Alison Cerutti and Alvaro Filho. No. 10 Phil Dalhausser-Nick Lucena will also begin with Brazilian opponents, facing Andre Loyola and George Wanderley. Billy Allen-Stafford Slick and Ryan Doherty-John Hyden will play Peng Gao and Yang Li of China.
Today Allen-Slick defeated Australia’s Tim Dickson/Marcus Ferguson (21-15, 21-14) and France’s Olivier Barthelemy/Edouard Rowlandson (21-18, 15-21, 15-9) to reach the main draw.
Ryan Doherty-John Hyden were eliminated in qualification, defeating Japan’s Yoshiumi Hasegawa/Takumi Takahashi (21-13, 21-13) but fell short against Turkey’s Murat Giginoglu/Volkan Gogtepe (21-16, 23-21).
For the women, No. 5 Alix Klineman-April Ross will play China’s Xinxin Wang/Chen Xue, No. 8 Sara Hughes-Summer Ross face Italy’s Marta Menegatti/Viktoria Orsi Toth, No. 12 Kelley Larsen-Emily Stockman’s opponents are Finland’s Taru Lahti/Anniina Parkkinen, and Kerri Walsh Jennings-Brooke Sweat face Brazil’s Fernanda Alves/Barbara Seixas.
Walsh Jennings-Sweat advanced to the main draw after defeating Switzerland’s Esmee Bobner/Zoe Verge-Depre (21-11, 21-15) and France’s Aline Chamereau/Alexandra Jupiter (28-26, 21-13).
Small College champs: Eight NAIA and 12 NCAA DII/DIII colleges competed in the Small College Beach Championships April 19-21 at Hickory Point Beach in Tavares, Fla.
The University of Tampa swept defending champion Texas A&M Kingsville in the final, becoming the only school to win both NCAA DII indoor and outdoor in the same year. Spring Hill finished third and Colorado Mesa fourth.
The NCAA silver-division crown went to Saint Leo University, which defeated Florida Southern. Stevenson University finished third and Lincoln Memorial fourth.
Tusculum topped the bronze division with a win over Carson Newman University, with Principia finishing third and Eckerd College fourth.
On the NAIA side, Ottawa (Arizona) defeated Vanguard University, while Missouri Baptist finished third and Webber University fourth.
The NAIA silver division saw Ottawa (Kansas) in the top slot, with Southeastern University second, Warner University third, and William Carey University fourth.
NORCECA Aguascalientes: The USA won a full complement of medals at the NORCECA stop in Aguascalientes, Mexico, Sunday as Trevor Crabb and Tri Bourne won gold in the men’s competition, with Amanda Dowdy and Corinne Quiggle and Falyn Fonoimoana and Nicolette Martin winning silver and bronze, respectively.
Bourne and Crabb defeated Mexico’s Juan Virgen and Lombardo Ontiveros 21-16, 14-21, 15-8.
Cuba’s Sergio Gonzalez and Luis Enrique Reyes defeated Guatemala’s Andy Leonardo and Luis Garcia 19-21, 21-14, 15-11 to win the bronze medal.
Cuba took women’s gold as Maylen Deliz and Leila Martinez defeated the USA’s Amanda Dowdy and Corinne Quiggle 22-24, 21-16, 15-10.
Americans Falyn Fonoimoana and Nicolette Martin defeated Mexico’s Diana Valdez and Maria Jose Quintero 21-14, 21-19 to win the bronze medal.
FIVB Gothenburg: The one-star event in Gothenburg, Sweden, saw 17-year-old Raisa Schoon and 18-year-old Emi van Driel win their first gold medal on the senior tour, having won silver at the 2018 U19 World Championships and 2017 U18 European Championships.
They defeated Ukrainian twins Inna and Iryna Makho 21-17, 21-18.
The bronze medal went to Norway’s Ane Guro Tveit Hjortland and Victoria Faye Kjolberg, who defeated the Netherlands’ Katja Stam and Julia Wouters 21-14, 18-21, 17-15.
The USA’s Lara Dykstra and Cassie House finished fifth after coming out of the qualifier, losing to Kjolberg/Hjortland 17-21, 21-23.
On the men’s side, Belarus’ Aliaksandr Dziadkou and Pavel Piatrushka maintained their top seed without the loss of a set, defeating Latvia’s Toms Smedins and Haralds Regza 21-14, 21-14.
Turkey’s Selcuk Sekerci and Safa Urlu took bronze with a 21-13, 21-14 win over Sweden’s Martin Appelgren and Alexander Annerstedt.
The United States’ Timothy Brewster and Adam Wienckowski failed to qualify, losing to Russia’s Andrey Bolgov and Vladislav Ermilov 16-21, 18-21.
Six qualify for U21 Worlds: Three American men’s and three women’s teams qualified for the FIVB U21 World Championships June 18-23 in Udonthani, Thailand.
Bella Bauman and Tegan DeFalco, Mima Mirkovic and Caroline Shafer, and Alaina Chacon and Devon Newberry are the three women’s qualifiers after competing at the event at the Olympic training center in Chula Vista, Calif., April 14-15.
Tim Brewster and Adam Wienckowski, John Schwengel and Jacob Titus and Heath Hughes and Dane Johnson are the three men’s qualifiers.
The two winners, Bauman-DeFalco and Brewster-Wienckowski will receive main-draw berths. Second-place finishers Mirkovic-Shafer and Schwengel-Titus will receive qualifier berths, while Chacon-Newberry and Hughes-Johnson are in reserve status hoping for a wild card.
AVP sponsors: The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), which begins its season May 3-5 at the Huntington Beach Open, announced the official lineup of sponsors for its 2019 season.
First-time national sponsors Corner Bakery, Stella Rosa, Essentia Water, Aubio Life Sciences and Drake’s Organic Spirits returning sponsors Wilson, Kona Brewing Co., Hydro Flask, KT Tape, Hawaii Tourism/Hawaiian Islands, Rox Volleyball and Monster Hydro.
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