COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Four U.S. men’s teams and three women’s teams finished in the Top 25 at the FIVB Klagenfurt Major in Austria this weekend.
Top finishers were John Hyden/Tri Bourne and Trevor and Taylor Crabb, both pair’s tied for ninth. Wild card entry Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes were among the women’s contingent that tied for 17th-place. The USC student-athletes highlighted the tournament by beating two Olympic-bound teams during pool play.
Brittany Hochevar/Emily Day and Lane Carico/Summer Ross also tied for 17th. Ryan Doherty/John Mayer tied for 17th, while Theo Brunner/Billy Allen rounded out the Top 25 finishers with a 25th-place performance.
With four men’s teams in the main draw, the U.S. got off to a rocky start. Nine-seed Hyden/Bourne finished 1-2, suffering a loss to the Crabb brothers, who won the pool 3-0. Despite going 2-1, Doherty/Mayer finished their in their pool and Brunner/Allen were eliminated after going 0-3.
In round one, Hyden and Bourne bounced back to top Belgium in two before falling to Norway in the second round, 29-27, 21-16. Doherty and Mayer were eliminated in the first round, 21-16, 21-19 by Brazil’s Alvaro Filho/Vitor Felipe.
In round two, Italy’s Andrea Tomatis/Davide Dal Molin ended the Crabb brothers’ run, 21-19, 21-12. It is the third ninth-place finish for the Crabbs this year, which continues to tie their career best FIVB finish.
Entered into the tournament as a wild card entry for the main draw, Claes and Hughes were the only U.S. women’s team to not have to play in qualification. Earning their way into the main draw were Carico/Ross and Hochevar/Day, both teams finishing 1-2 in pool play, respectively.
Claes and Hughes, fresh off a gold at the World University Games, were 2-1 in pool action, their lone loss to Brazil’s Angela Lavalle/Elize Maia, 14-21, 26-24, 15-11. In an impressive feat, the duo took down the No. 1 seed and Olympic-bound Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst of Germany 21-18, 21-19. That wasn’t all though, they also took down Canada’s Olympic duo Jamie Lynn Broder/Kristina Valjas, 21-17, 21-17.
The round of 16 proved to be too much for the American women, all three teams being eliminated at that point. Claes and Hughes met their match with Switzerland, Hochevar/Day by hand of Czech Republic and Carico/Ross by Russia.
the FIVB World Tour halts for the Olympic Games, Aug. 6-18, and will return for the Long Beach Grand Slam in the U.S. from Aug. 23-28. The 2016 Tour concludes in Toronto at the second annual Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals, Sept. 13-18.
WEEK IN REVIEW
FIVB Klagenfurt Major
– John Hyden/Tri Bourne tied for ninth, their 11th Top 10 finish in 2016
– Trevor Crabb/Taylor Crabb tied for ninth, their third consecutive out of three World Tour events in 2016
– Brittany Hochevar/Emily Day tied for 17th in their first FIVB event together in 2016 and since Oct. 2014
– Lane Carico/Summer Ross tied for 17th, their 10th Top 25 finish in 2016
– Kelly Claes/Sara Hughes tied for 17th, their best career FIVB finish
– Ryan Doherty/John Mayer tied for 17th, their second best finish in 2016
– Theo Brunner/Billy Allen tied for 25th, their third Top 25 finish together in 2016
– Lost in qualification: Kim DiCello/Kendra Vanzwieten, Kelley Larsen/Betsi Metter
– Lost in country quota: Sean Rosenthal/Jeremy Casebeer, Mark Burik/Marty Lorenz
UPCOMING EVENTS
Aug. 6-18 Olympic Games beach volleyball matches
Aug. 5-7 NORCECA Boqueron
Aug. 11-13 NVL Hermosa Beach
Aug. 23-28 Long Beach Grand Slam
Aug. 26-28 NVL Virginia Beach
Sept. 1-4 AVP Chicago
Sept. 13-18 FIVB World Tour Finals
Related Links
FIVB No more watching for American collegiate champs Claes and Hughes
FIVB Thinned, but opportunities abound
FIVB Klagenfurt-bound Claes and Hughes top World University Championships podium