Danley Win First IDQ

Bill Kauffman March 08, 2010

Photo: Volleyshots/John Geldermann

Erin Gray serves during the final of the USA Volleyball IDQ held March 6-7 at Long Beach, Calif.

Bill Kauffman
Manager, Media Relations and Publication
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: bill.kauffman@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 8, 2010) – With entries into three NORCECA Beach Circuit events on the line, Erin Gray (Sugar Grove, Ill.) and Kathryn Babcock (Grand Rapids, Mich.) won the first of four women’s USA Volleyball beach volleyball International Development Qualifier (IDQ) events held March 6-7 at Long Beach, Calif., while Jason Wight (San Diego, Calif.) and Reuben Danley (San Diego, Calif.) teamed to win the men’s event.

Sixth-seed Gray/Babcock topped No. 12 seeded Michelle Moriarty (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and Dana Kabashima (Santa Monica, Calif.) 21-15, 16-21, 15-7 in the championship match. Aurora Skarra-Gallagher (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and Jennifer Corral (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), seeded 15th in the event, rebounded from a semifinal loss to Gray/Babcock to defeat No. 20 Jennifer Sharp (Los Angeles) and Cindie Boosin (Long Island, N.Y.) 21-12, 21-19 in the bronze-medal match.

“We come to LA every few weeks to train,” Babcock said. “We chose the IDQ because we knew there would be a lot of good players that we don’t get to train with in Chicago. It has helped us immensely to have Holly (McPeak) in our corner…to have an extra set of eyes and to have her share her knowledge and expertise.”

Gray/Babcock have been training with 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Holly McPeak, who came to the IDQ to support them.

Gray/Babcock were pushed in pool play with two of its three matches going to three sets. In rounds two and three, the tandem swept their opponents giving up no more than 16 points in a single set. Gray/Babcock handled Skarra-Gallagher/Corral 21-14, 22-20 in the semifinal round, while Moriarty-Kabashima edged Sharp/Boosin 21-19, 21-10 in the semifinals.

On the men’s side, No. 4 seed Wight/Danley downed No. 1 seed Michael Bruning (San Diego) and Dana Camacho (San Diego) 21-18, 21-16 in the championship match by relying on ball control. Last year, Wight and Bruning teamed to win the 2009 NORCECA Grand Cayman Open but competed with different partners at the first IDQ. Wight partnered with the lanky lefty Danley, while Bruning paired with Camacho.

“We were prepared for Dana’s skyball, but he never used it on us…which surprised us both,” Wight said. “I think a lot of teams underrate Reuben’s ball control, and that worked in our favor all weekend.”

The men’s winners finished pool play with a 2-1 record and rebounded from a pool-ending loss to No. 10 seed Tony Pray (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Lucas Wisniskoski (Houston), who finished in fifth place. Wight/Danley battled past No. 12 Alexi Gabriel (San Diego, Calif.) and Hylas Smith (Ventura, Calif.) 21-18, 21-17 in the second round, then posted a 22-20, 21-16 victory over No. 2 seed Seth Burnham (Tarzana, Calif.) and Jesse Rambis (Playa Del Rey, Calif.) in the third round. Wight/Danley rallied past No. 3 seed Kevin McColloch (Solana Beach, Calif.) and Curtis Jackson (Encinitas, Calif.) 16-21, 21-18, 15-11 in the semifinal round.

McColloch/Jackson captured third place by defeating No. 14 Derek Olson (San Diego, Calif.) and Matt Motter (San Diego, Calif.) 21-11, 21-14 in the bronze-medal match. Earlier, Bruning/Camacho defeated Olsen/Motter 15-21, 21-16, 15-12 in the semifinal match to reach the gold-medal match against Wight/Danley.

Sixteen teams per gender advanced to Sunday’s single elimination playoff.

Top three teams in both genders won entry into NORCECA Beach Circuit events in Guatemala (April 7-12), Mexico (May 12-17) and Trinidad & Tobago (May 5-9).

To view the full women’s results, click here. For the full men’s results, click here.

IDQ events are open to all athletes who are not ranked among the top 32 AVP players. All IDQ athletes must hold valid U.S. passports and cannot be registered as a member of another country’s volleyball federation.

The next IDQ events will be held March 27-28 and June 26-27 in Long Beach, Calif. The fourth and final event will be held Aug. 14-15 at a site to be determined in Florida.

Notes of Interest
Several athletes travelled long distances to make the event. Andrew Mack (Las Vegas, Nev.) drove through the storm Friday night in hopes that the event would not get cancelled.

Brook Sweat (Ft. Meyers, Fla.) and Kristen Batt (Venice, Fla.) made the cross-country trip to compete. Batt, who took the bronze at the 2009 NORCECA Grand Cayman event, and Sweat, who represented the U.S. as part of the 2009 U-26 beach national team that travelled to Aaland, Finland, form a new team which came to Long Beach to try out their partnership. Although they finished 5th, they are hoping to get a chance to represent the US this summer.

Two-time NORCECA gold medalist David Fischer (Santa Barbara, Calif.) made his return after sitting out the 2009 season with a torn Achilles tendon. A veteran of international competition, Fischer partnered with Vince Robbins (Aurora, Colo.). “I like the amount of teams entered this weekend, but it will make qualifying for NORCECA tough,” Fischer said. “Vince and I would like to go to any NORCECA event available to us.” Fischer/Robbins were defeated in the quarterfinals by eventual bronze medalists Kevin McColloch (Solano Beach, Calif.) and Curtis Jackson (Encinitas, Calif.).

Gretchen Duffner (Saint Louis, Mo.) took a risk by partnering with 17-year-old Falyn Fonoimoana (Hermosa Beach, Calif.). “I like Falyn’s swagger and confidence,” Duffner said. “I look forward to competing for a chance to represent the USA.” Duffner/Fonoimoana finished ninth.

Women’s IDQ 1 Final Standings
1st-Erin Gray (Sugar Grove, Ill.)/Kathryn Babcock (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
2nd-Michelle Moriarity (Hermosa Beach, Calif.)/Dana Kabashima (Santa Monica, Calif.)
3rd-Aurora Skarra-Gallagher (Santa Cruz, Calif.)/Jennifer Corral (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)
4th-Jennifer Sharp (Los Angeles)/Cindie Boosin (Long Island, N.Y.)
5th-Tealle Hunkus (El Segundo, Calif.)/Heather Lowe (Cypress, Calif.)
5th-Kristen Batt (Venice, Calif.)/Brooke Sweat (Estero, Fla.)
5th-Anne McArthur (Los Angeles)/Arcadia Keane (Hermosa Beach, Calif.)
5th-Rosalinda Masler (Kahulio, Hawaii)/Saralyn Smith (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
9th-Laurel Riechmann Miller (Los Angeles)./Alicia Zamparelli (Redondo Beach, Calif.)
9th-Briana Hinga (Irvine, Calif.)/Valinda Sue Roche (Newport Beach, Calif.)
9th-Tarin Keith (Long Beach, Calif.)/Traci Morin (Los Alamitos, Calif.)
9th-Laryssa Mereszczak (El Segundo, Calif.)/Sara Fredrickson (Pagosa Springs, Colo.)
9th-Lauren Mills (Westlake Village, Calif.)/Lynne Brinkman Galli (Laguna Beach, Calif.)
9th-Cayley Thurlby (Hermosa Beach, Calif.)/Olivia Waldowski (Irvine, Calif.)
9th-Gretchen Duffner (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)/Falyn Fonoimoana (Hermosa Beach, Calif.)
9th-Laura Ratto (San Diego, Calif.)/Mackenzie Brook (San Diego, Calif.)
17th-Evyn Wills (Redondo Beach, Calif.)/Amy Hvitfeldtson (Hermosa Beach, Calif.)
17th-Ginger Schuster (Playa Del Rey, Calif.)/Kelli Nerison (Laguna Nigel, Calif.)
19th-Amanda Vialpando (Moreno Valley, Calif.)/Jane Chafeh (Fontana, Calif.)
19th-Chelsea Rashoff (Huntington Beach, Calif.)/Kirstin Olsen (Clearwater, Fla.)
19th-Jennifer Lombardi (Redondo Beach, Calif.)/Bianca Peigler (Santa Monica, Calif.)
19th-Kim Zuffelato (Clovis, Calif.)/Tori Grafeman (Albuquerque, N.M.)

Men’s IDQ 1 Final Standings
1st-Jason Wight (San Diego, Calif.)/Reuben Danley (San Diego, Calif.)
2nd-Michael Bruning (San Diego, Calif.)/Dana Camacho (San Diego, Calif.)
3rd-Kevin McColloch (Solana Beach, Calif.)/Curtis Jackson (Encinitas, Calif.)
4th-Derek Olsen (San Diego, Calif.)/Matt Motter (San Diego, Calif.)
5th-Kevin Lynch (Venice, Calif.)/Dhiraj Coats (San Francisco)
5th-Tony Pray (Redondo Beach, Calif.)/Lucas Wisniakowski (Houston)
5th-David Fischer (Venice, Calif.)/Vincent Robbins (San Diego, Calif.)
5th-Seth Burnham (Tarzana, Calif.)/Jesse Rambis (Playa Del Rey, Calif.)
9th-Kevin Buekema (Redondo Beach, Calif.)/Kevin Gregan (White Plains, Md.)
9th-Sean Allstot (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)/John Wankner (Freemont, Calif.)
9th-Alexi Gabriel (San Diego, Calif.)/Hylas Smith (Ventura, Calif.)
9th-Andrew Mack (Las Vegas, Nev.)/Guy
9th-Jeffery Long (San Diego, Calif.)/Allan Dawber (Escondido, Calif.)
9th-Paul McDonald (San Diego, Calif.)/Mike Desjardins (San Diego, Calif.)
9th-Marcin Jagoda (Tarzana, Calif.)/Stafford Slick (Hermosa Beach, Calif.)
9th-Jedidiah Stotsenberg (Leucadia, Calif.)/Amitai Strutin (Encinitas, Calif.)
17th-Matthew Hilling (Huntington Beach, Calif.)/Stuart Sherman (Tucson, Ariz.)
17th-Dillan Bennett (Santa Barbara, Calif.)/George Richardson (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
19th –Jace Olsen (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)/Jordon Dyer (Costa Mesa, Calif.)
19th –Blake Gentry (San Diego, Calif.)/Richard Parris (Fountain Valley, Calif.)
19th –Vince Fierro (Torrance, Calif.)/Brian Kwansy (Del Mar, Calif.)