COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 1, 2019) – U.S. beach teams went 3-2 in matches on Monday as pool play at the FIVB World Championships started to wind down.
No. 13 seeded Tri Bourne/Trevor Crabb improved to 2-0 in pool play with a 21-13, 21-9 win over No. 37 Patrick Kavalo/Olivier Ntagengwa of Rwanda.
“We wanted to start playing the way we should be playing, no matter what the other side was doing” Crabb said.
“It takes a lot of self-discipline to stay focused in a match like that,” Bourne added. “It’s easy to just come out and relax and have fun. But we said beforehand that we wanted to set the tone for the next match.”
The next match will be Tuesday on center court against Germany’s No. 12 Julius Thole/Clemens Wickler. The match will decide the pool winner.
“This right here is why we play,” Bourne said. “We dream about being elite, world-class athletes. We want our sport to be held at that level and this is it.:
“All of the matches on center court have been insane, even if it wasn’t a German team playing,” Crabb said. “The fans here are pretty awesome and support volleyball a lot.”
No. 11 Sara Hughes/Summer Ross improved to 2-0 with a 21-19, 21-13 victory over No. 35 MeiMei Lin/Jinjin Zeng of China.
“Yesterday was a little shaky but this felt better,” Ross said.
“I think that was a great match to win,” Hughes (in photo above) added. “Next up we have Russia and I think Summer and I just need to focus on our side and our game and it will be a great match.”
No. 5 April Ross/Alix Klineman finished pool play 2-1 in second place after losing to Germany’s No. 20 Karla Borger/Julia Sude, 21-15, 21-23, 15-10.
In the second set, Ross/Klineman came back from a 16-19 deficit to win. But the scrappy Germans used tough serving and digging to win the third set.
“They got us on rhythm a good amount,” Ross said. “We fought as hard as we could, but I think they played better than we did today.”
Klineman added: “I just think our sideout is normally the steady part of our game and today we had some trouble with it due to their service pressure. I know we can play better than we did tonight.”
No. 18 Brooke Sweat/Kerri Walsh Jennings finished pool play 1-2 after losing to No. 7 Mariafe Artacho/Taliqua Clancy of Australia, 21-19, 24-22. The U.S. pair finished third in their pool and must wait to find out if they have to play in a “lucky loser” match.
“I think the difference was they scored more points after the long rallies and they served way tougher than we did,” Walsh Jennings said. “We’re so capable against anyone in the world. These girls stepped up and in the competitive moments they were more aggressive than us.
“I hate this feeling. It’s not just losing, it’s losing in a tentative manner. It’s not lack of effort, or heart, or focus, or preparation. It’s just rising to the occasion.”
NBCSN presents live coverage beginning Friday, June 28 at Noon ET. Coverage on NBCSN will stream live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
U.S. Teams and Coaches
Women
April Ross/Alix Klineman (Jen Kessy)
Sara Hughes/Summer Ross (Jose Loiola)
Emily Stockman/Kelley Larsen (Evie Matthews)
Sarah Sponcil/Kelly Claes (Leandro Pinheiro)
Kerri Walsh Jennings/Brooke Sweat (Marcio Sicoli)
Men
Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena (Jason Lochhead)
Jake Gibb/Taylor Crabb (Rich Lambourne)
Trevor Crabb/Tri Bourne (Pompilio Mercadantes)
Stafford Slick/Billy Allen (John Mayer)
Support Staff
Athletic Trainer: Mike Martinez
Sports Psychologist: Peter Haberl
Chiropractor: Jen Watters
National Team Coach: Tyler Hildebrand
Team Leader: Sean Scott
Performance Analyst: Tyler Widdison
USOPC Representative: John Crawley
Massage Therapist: Tony Poland
U.S. Schedule for the Beach Volleyball World Championships
(All times PT)
June 28
Dalhausser/Lucena USA def Azaad/Capogrosso ARG, 21-14, 21-13
Alison/Alvaro Filho BRA def Allen/Slick USA, 19-21, 21-15, 15-10
Stubbe/Van Iersel NED def Sweat/Walsh Jennings USA, 21-15, 19-21, 15-9
Kozuch/Ludwig GER def Larsen/Stockman USA, 25-19, 25-15
June 29
Sponcil/Claes USA def Ukolova/Birlova RUS, 21-8, 21-16
Hughes/S Ross USA def Gallay/Pereyra ARG, 21-18, 15-21, 16-14
Gibb/Ta Crabb USA def Vieyto/Cairus URU, 21-17, 21-13
Bourne/Tr Crabb USA vs Salemi/Vakili IRI, 13-21, 21-16, 15-9
Klineman/A Ross USA vs Mendoza/Lolette NCA, 21-8, 21-7
June 30
Sweat/Walsh Jennings USA def Maita/Letendrie MRI, 21-2, 21-2
Sponcil/Claes USA def Yuli/Diana COL, 21-8, 21-9
Klineman/A Ross USA def Xue/Wang CHN, 21-10, 21-11
Allen/Slick USA def Semenov/Leshukov RUS, 13-21, 27-25, 15-12
Gibb/Crabb Ta USA def Hudyakov/Velichko RUS, 21-15, 21-14
Larsen/Stockman USA def Nnoruga/Franco NGR, 21-6, 21-13
Saxton/O’Gorman CAN def Dalhausser/Lucena USA, 21-16, 21-19
July 1
Hughes/S Ross USA def Zeng/Lin CHN, 21-19, 21-13
Bourne/Tr Crabb USA def Kavalo/Ntagengwa RWA, 21-13, 21-9
Clancy/Artacho Del Solar AUS def Sweat/Walsh Jennings USA, 21-19, 24-22
Borger/Sude GER def Klineman/A Ross USA, 21-15, 21-23, 15-10
July 2
3a Pavan/Melissa CAN vs Sponcil/Claes USA
4a Maria Antonelli/Carol BRA vs Larsen/Stockman USA
5a Hughes/S Ross USA vs Makroguzova/Kholomina RUS
6a Allen/Slick USA vs Tamer Mahmoud QAT
6a Dalhausser/Lucena vs Brouwer/Meeuwsen NED
8a Gibb/Ta Crabb vs Kantor/Losiak POL
9a Thole/Wickler GER vs Bourne/Tr Crabb USA
July 3
Women’s Round of 32
July 4
Men’s Round of 32
July 5
Women’s Quarterfinals
Women’s Semifinals
July 6
Men’s Quarterfinals
Men’s Semifinals
Women’s Bronze and Gold
July 7
Men’s Bronze and Gold