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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena won their third gold medal of the 2017 FIVB season when they took home the top prize on Sunday at the World Tour Finals.

Olympians Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena took down the reigning FIVB World Champions in the men’s gold medal match of the FIVB World Tour Finals in Hamburg, Germany. It marks the close of the 2017 season, giving the American duo three gold and one bronze on the year.

Dalhausser and Lucena, seeded No. 1, beat Brazil’s Evandro Goncalves/Andre Loyola in the finale, 21-15, 21-13. The matchup between the top two seeded teams in the final was the 66th time the two countries have faced off on the FIVB World Tour for a gold medal.

“Getting a win is always good, but beating the World Champions is awesome,” said Lucena. “It doesn’t happen often. We were able to side-out even if we were scrambling. We kept the pressure on them and Phil did a good job on that matter with his block scoring points.”

The pair won the contest in a cool 36 minutes. The gold medal match followed after Dalhausser/Lucena first beat Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak, 21-19, 21-15 in the semifinals Sunday morning.

“I came out on a really slow start in the first (set) and they got a pretty good lead on us,” said Dalhausser after the semifinal match. “We put them in some situations where they didn’t want to be and that made our defense and blocking a little easier.”

Dalhausser and Lucena have eight FIVB gold medals together and 16 podium finishes. They went 5-0 on the week after winning their pool, 2-0, assisted their abbreviated tournament by giving them a bye into the quarterfinals. There they beat Canada, 2-1, which featured the only set the Americans dropped during the tournament.

Earlier in the week, USA’s three other teams in attendance all met the fate of tying for ninth, respectively, after falling in the Round of 12 on August 25. FIVB World Tour points and rankings are not awarded at the World Tour Finals.

Though the FIVB World Tour Finals marked the end of the 2017 season, the 2018 season officially begins Sept. 7 with a 1-Star tournament in Montpellier, France. There are currently four FIVB World Tour stops in the 2017 calendar that will go toward the 2018 World Tour season.

WEEK IN REVIEW
Aug. 23 Result
Dalhausser/Lucena Herrera/Gavira Spain Win 21-19, 21-13
Patterson/Brunner Evandro/Andre Brazil Win 21-18, 16-21, 15-13
Patterson/Brunner Krasilnikov/Liamin Russia Loss 18-21, 21-17, 15-10
Aug. 24
A. Ross/Fendrick Betschart/Huberli Switzerland Win 21-16, 21-16
Sweat/S. Ross Larissa/Talita Brazil Win 21-19, 24-22
Dalhausser/Lucena Doppler/Horst Austria Win 21-17, 21-19
A. Ross/Fendrick Agatha/Duda Brazil Loss 21-14, 21-17
Sweat/S. Ross Ludwig/Walkenhorst Germany Loss 21-18, 21-12
Aug. 25 Round of 12
Tied 9th A. Ross/Fendrick Heidrich/Verge-Depre Switzerland Eliminated 21-15, 21-13
Tied 9th Sweat/S. Ross Hermannova/Slukova Czech Republic Eliminated 21-18, 13-21, 15-9
Tied 9th Patterson/Brunner Bockermann/Schumann Germany Eliminated 21-19, 21-17
Aug. 26 Quarterfinals
Dalhausser/Lucena Saxton/Schalk Canada Win 21-23, 25-23, 15-12
Aug. 27 Semifinals
Dalhausser/Lucena Kantor/Losiak Poland Win 21-19, 21-15
Gold Medal
1st Place Dalhausser/Lucena Evandro/Andre Brazil Win 21-15, 21-13
Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals Roster
Athletes        Coach   Entry
Brooke Sweat Summer Ross Via World Rankings
April Ross Lauren Fendrick Jon Daze Wild Card
Phil Dalhausser Nick Lucena Jason Lochhead Via World Rankings
Casey Patterson Theo Brunner Rich Lamborne Wild Card
Staff
Aimee Miyazawa USAV Beach Head Athletic Trainer