COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – This week is a glimpse into the busy beach volleyball summer with multiple tournaments throughout the world. Teams will be playing in the Cayman Islands and China this week.
With the new FIVB tournament star ranking, there will be multiple World Tour tournaments played during a single week; like June 15-18 in The Netherlands, China and Monaco. USAV is getting a glimpse of concurrent tournaments when teams this week play on NORCECA Cayman Islands and FIVB Xiamen 3-Star.
In Xiamen, China, two women’s teams are in the 32-team main draw. Brittany Hochevar/Emily Day and last weekend’s gold medaling team Emily Stockman/Kimberly DiCello. From the 16-team single-elimination qualification bracket, Caitlin Ledoux and Kendra Vanzwieten hope to make it into Friday’s main draw. Stafford Slick and Billy Allen earned a main draw bid, and are joined by wild card entry Ryan Doherty/Avery Drost, in Drost’s first FIVB appearance since 2015. In the men’s qualifier are Sean Rosenthal and Trevor Crabb, who last time out tied for 17th in Fort Lauderdale.
The FIVB will live stream the semifinals and medal matches from Xiamen.
| FIVB Xiamen 3-Star Roster | ||||||
| Athletes | Entry | |||||
| Emily Day | Brittany Hochevar | Main Draw | ||||
| Emily Stockman | Kimberly DiCello | Main Draw | ||||
| Caitlin Ledoux | Kendra Vanzwieten | Qualification | ||||
| Stafford Slick | Billy Allen | Main Draw | ||||
| Ryan Doherty | Avery Drost | Main Draw Wild Card | ||||
| Sean Rosenthal | Trevor Crabb | Qualification | ||||
| Staff | ||||||
| Stacy Struble | Sports Medicine, ATC | |||||
| Amor Adams | Sports Medicine, DC, DACBSP, EMT | |||||
At the second stop of the NORCECA Continental Tour, four teams will play in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, starting Friday. Winners of the first U.S. NORCECA playoff, Betsi Flint/Kelley Larsen, are coming off a bronze in La Paz, Mexico. Third-place playoff finishers Lara Dkystra/Jace Pardon are taking the sand for the first time this season. Jon Mesko and Skylar Del Sol are looking to improve upon their fourth-place finish in La Paz, and are joined in the men’s bracket with Mark Burik/Bill Kolinske.
| NORCECA Cayman Islands Roster | ||||||
| Athletes | Entry | |||||
| Betsi Flint | Kelley Larsen | Main Draw | ||||
| Lara Dkystra | Jace Pardon | Main Draw | ||||
| Jon Mesko | Skylar Del Sol | Main Draw | ||||
| Mark Burik | Bill Kolinske | Main Draw | ||||
| Staff | ||||||
| Mike Bohrnsen | Sports Medicine, DC, DACBSP | |||||
Watch Facebook Live April 19, 930amPT @AprilRossBeach @AnneMAnderson @hmcpeak1 talk Collegiate Beach Championships https://t.co/NT03P1SEAh pic.twitter.com/p1FX1ctlma
— USAV Beach (@USAVBeach) April 17, 2017
USA VOLLEYBALL COLLEGIATE BEACH CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Team USA Summer Champions Series will highlight events from four National Governing Bodies, and all of the competitions will air on NBC networks. USA Volleyball is the first event of the Series, airing the women’s final live on NBCSN, May 13, 6 p.m. ET. USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships are June 23-25, USA Swimming National Championships June 27-July 1 and USA Diving National Championships July 29-Aug. 12.
USA Volleyball’s Collegiate Beach Championships will be played at Hermosa Beach Pier in California, May 11-13. On the line are spots on a USA Volleyball collegiate beach national team. The preliminary schedule is out and all 24 women’s and eight men’s teams competing are expected to be named in the first week of May.
NCAA BEACH
This weekend’s college match-ups feature a heavy hitting Pac-12 schedule. On Friday, California will take on Arizona State and Stanford versus Arizona. Saturday’s don’t-miss match is the showdown between UCLA and USC. The majority of schools are wrapping up their regular seasons this week, with conference tournaments scheduled for the last week of April.
Follow the NCAA beach volleyball action with the NCAA’s game center page, for up-to-date information about each week’s match-ups.
JUNIOR BEACH TOUR
This weekend packs a busy JBT schedule with four events in four states: Albuquerque, NM (April 22), Snohomish, WA (April 22-23), Greensboro, NC (April 22-23) and New Braunfels, TX (April 22-23). Three of those tournaments will give invitations to the Beach HP National Team Selection Camp.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Langkawi 1-Star
– Kimberly DiCello/Emily Stockman won gold, their first FIVB podium finish, individually and as a team
– Dave McKienzie/Andrew Dentler tied for ninth, McKienzie’s second ninth place in 2017; Dentler’s first career FIVB tournament
UPCOMING EVENTS | Add to your schedule
April 20-23 FIVB Xiamen 3-Star
April 21-23 NORCECA Cayman Islands
May 4-7 AVP Huntington Beach
May 5-7 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship
May 11-13 USA Volleyball Collegiate Beach Championships
May 17-21 FIVB Rio 4-Star
May 18-21 AVP Austin
May 23-28 FIVB Lucerne 4-Star
May 31 – June 4 FIVB Moscow 3-Star