USA Matchup Surfaces at Olympic Test Event

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

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 11, 2011) - Round one of the FIVB “Road to London” Visa International Test Event will be an American battle between the U.S. women’s beach teams of Jen Kessy/April Ross and Rutledge/Hochevar when they face each other in Friday’s match at the Horse Guards Parade in London.

Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.), seeded third, defeated 10th-seeds Kacie MacTavish and Julie Rodgrique of Canada, 21-11, 21-17 in 32 minutes. The win gave the Americans the top-seed out of Pool C and a position in Friday’s round-one bracket.

Rutledge (Vista, Calif.) and Hochevar (Fowler, Colo.) couldn’t out play Mexico’s sixth-seeded team of Candelas Bibiana and Mayra Garcia, falling 21-14, 21-18 in 37 minutes to the higher seed. The loss marked the Americans second, giving them a third-place finish in Pool F and advancement into the top 16.

Kessy and Ross enter Friday’s match with a perfect 3-0 record, one of the only six remaining, to face seventh-seeded compatriots, Rutledge and Hochevar.

Tealle Hunkus (Girard, Ohio) and Heather Lowe (Cypress, Calif.) charted their first win in the exhibition tournament Thursday, defeating Canada’s 16^th-seeded team of Jamie Lynn Broder and Ashley Voth, 21-11, 21-12 in 30 minutes. The win gave the duo a 1-2 record with advancement into the “lucky loser” round where they faced Spain’s 17th-seeded team of Simon and Andrea. The U.S. couldn’t get ahead in a 49-minute battle to the end, falling, 22-20, 9-21, 15-9, eliminating them from the competition.

Three U.S. Women’s Beach Volleyball teams compete in the FIVB "Road to London” Visa International Test Event that began on Tuesday, initiated to test functionality and technical-aspects of the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The 2012 Olympic Games beach volleyball exhibition tournament spans from Aug. 9-14 in the first-ever international beach volleyball tournament staged in the British capital. The event welcomed 24-female teams from 15 countries to compete at the exact location that will house the beach volleyball portion of the zenith event of the sport’s world, the Olympics.

Friday’s round of the top 16 teams will feature eight single-elimination matches with the first session of four matches starting at noon and the second session of the last four matches beginning at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday the quarterfinals will be held with the semifinals and medal matches on Sunday.

For more information about the FIVB London Olympic Test Event, click here.

Be sure to follow @usa_volleyball on twitter at www.twitter.com/usa_volleyball for live and breaking news from London.

Tags: 2011 FIVB World Tour, 2011 SWATCH World Tour, April Ross, Beach, Beach Volleyball, Jennifer Kessy, Lisa Rutledge, mobile, Tealle Hunkus