Beach Teams Flawless in Rome

Becky Murdy
Assistant, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: becky.murdy@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 15, 2011) – Seven U.S. beach volleyball teams were unbeatable Wednesday at the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Championships in Rome, with three winning their respective pools and all earning a spot in the top-32.

What started out as 46 women’s teams has now been whittled down to the top 32 with the conclusion of pool play in the women’s event on Wednesday.  The United States holds four of those top 32 positions. Those that advanced will enter the first phase of single-elimination of the eighth edition of the FIVB World Championships on Thursday.

Jennifer Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) moved one step closer to defending their title, defeating Switzerland’s 46th-seeded team of Muriel Grassli and Tanja Goricanec, 21-13, 21-12 in 33 minutes to win Pool C. Kessy tallied 20 attacks, 14 kills, five digs, two blocks and two aces, while Ross put 18 attacks, 10 kills, 11 digs and six aces into the record books. Kessy’s six aces stand as the current tournament high.

“It was a tough match, but we were able to face it very well,” Kessy said in an FIVB release. “We played against young and good players, but we took advantage of our explosive serve. Now, we must go on this path and keep our serve at a high level to reach our goal at the top of the podium again.”

The Americans will face Canada’s 39th-seeded team of Heather Bansley and Elizabeth Maloney in their first match of single elimination.

Two-time Olympic gold medalists and three-time FIVB World Champions, Misty May-Treanor (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Kerri Walsh (San Jose, Calif.) defeated the Czech Republic’s 44th-seeded team of Sona Novakova Dosoudilova and Tereza Tobiasov, 21-15, 21-19 in 33 minutes. Walsh had 16 attacks, 13 kills, two blocks and five digs while May-Treanor had 26 attacks, 15 kills, nine digs and one ace to win in Pool E.

Walsh and May-Treanor will take on Great Britain’s 41st-seeded team of Shauna Mullin and Zara Dampney in the single-elimination round of 32.

Angie Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.), seeded 11th, continued their undefeated streak in Rome, downing Belgium’s 38th-seeded team of Katrien Gielen and Liesbeth Mouha, 22-24, 21-15, 15-13 in 54 minutes. The U.S. pair will face the Czech Republic’s 22nd-seeded team of Hana Klapalova and Lenka Hajeckova, who previously lost in pool play to the American team of Kessy and Ross. 

Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Brooke Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.), seeded 12^th, closed out Pool M defeating 37th-seeds Roos Van der Hoeven and Janitine Van der Vlist of the Netherlands, 21-10, 18-21, 15-8 in 43 minutes. Fendrick and Hanson will battle Brazil’s ninth-seeded team of Taiana Lima and Vivian Danielle de Conceicao Cunha on Thursday.

Four men’s pools concluded Wednesday with the U.S. teams of Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) with Nick Lucena (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Casey Jennings (Las Vegas, Nev.) with Kevin Wong (Honolulu, Hawaii) winning each of their pools, respectively.

Fuerbringer and Lucena dominated Pool G and continued to go unbeaten by beating Georgia’s 31st-seeded team of Renato Gomes and Jorge Terceiro, 18-21, 21-13, 15-10 in 54 minutes. Jennings and Wong have also remained undefeated, downing Angola’s 48th-seeded team of Morais Abreu and Mario Silva, 21-12, 21-8 in 30 minutes.

Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Fla.) also advanced into the top 32, defeating France’s 25th-seeded team of Andy and Kevin Ces, 21-19, 21-13 in 37 minutes.

“The Cés brothers are a good team,” Dalhausser said in an FIVB release. “Perhaps tonight they did not have a great performance so our victory was less complicated than expected. I cannot play my best because of my ankle injury, but my condition has visibly improved thanks to a little rest I had. We are here to defend our title and we will try our best every game even though we are not in the best condition. We aim to reach the semifinals at least”.

Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.) will wrap up pool play Thursday against Latvia’s 15th-seeded team of Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins.

The remaining eight men’s pools will conclude Thursday, determining the top-32 teams and establishing opponents for the first round of elimination. The first round of single elimination in the men’s event will begin Friday.

For the 2011 FIVB Swatch World Championships full-color media guide, click here.

Complete information about the FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour is available on the FIVB web site.

Tags: 2011 FIVB World Tour, 2011 SWATCH World Tour, Angie Akers, April Ross, Brooke Hanson, Casey Jennings, FIVB, FIVB beach, FIVB World Tour, Kerri Walsh, Kevin Wong, Lauren Fendrick, Misty May-Treanor, Nick Lucena, Nicole Branagh, Philip Dalhausser, Sean Rosenthal, Todd Rogers