Kessy, Ross Advance to Myslowice Open Semifinals

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 20, 2011) – Two U.S. women’s teams have advanced to Saturday’s rounds in the Myslowice Open of the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour in Poland.

Second-ranked Jennifer Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) continued to play flawlessly on Friday, conquering Brazil’s 26th-seeded Maestrini Liliane and Angela Viera, 21-15, 21-9 in a 35-minute, third-round match. The American pair defeated Italy’s 14th-seeded team of Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti, 22-20, 21-8 in 37 minutes during the fourth round.

Kessy and Ross, the only undefeated U.S. team in the tournament, have advanced into Saturday’s semifinals. Their opponent will be decided after Saturday’s consolation match.

Kerri Walsh (San Jose, Calif.) and Brittany Hochevar (Fowler, Colo.), seeded 13th, who lost in the second round on Thursday, battled through three must-win-matches Friday to advance in consolation. Walsh and Hochevar opened Friday by defeating Great Britain’s 30th-seeded Shauna Mullin and Zara Dampney, 18-21, 21-15, 15-12 in 49 minutes. Walsh and Hochevar then defeated their compatriots Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Brooke Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.), seeded 11th, 23-25, 21-16, 18-15 in 49 minutes. Walsh and Hochevar battled past Brazil’s 26th-seeded team of Angela Vieira and Liliane Maestrini 21-19, 21-19 in a 37-minute match to conclude the day.

The duo will face Netherlands’ sixth-seeded Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel to start Saturday.

Prior to their elimination-defeat by their U.S. opponents, Fendrick and Hanson were victorious against 12th-seeded Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa SLykova of the Czech Republic, 22-20, 21-12.

Seventh-seeded Angie Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) defeated Italy’s 24th-seeded team of Daniela Giaria and Giulia Momoli 21-19, 21-18 in 39 minutes. Akers and Branagh then battled Canada’s 18th-seeded Maria-Andree Lessard and Annie Martin for 35 minutes, winning 21-18, 21-15. In a tough concluding match for the pair, Akers and Branagh lost Keizer and Van Iersel, 21-16, 21-18.

The Myslowice Open will continue Saturday with the semifinal matches to follow the last two rounds of consolation. The medal matches will follow on Sunday.

Complete information about the FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour Myslowice Open is available on the FIVB website.

For the complete schedule and updated results of the matches, visit the FIVB web site and click here.

Tags: 2011 FIVB World Tour, 2011 SWATCH World Tour, April Ross, Brittany Hochevar, FIVB, FIVB beach, Jennifer Kessy, Kerri Walsh