COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 6, 2019) – April Ross/Alix Klineman lost a battle to Canada and won the silver medal Saturday at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Hamburg, Germany.
The men’s team of Tri Bourne/Trevor Crabb fell to Russia in the semifinals and will play Netherlands’ top-seeded Anders Berntsen Mol/Christian Sandlie Sørum for the bronze medal at 3:30 a.m. PT on Sunday.
In the women’s final, Ross/Klineman fell to Canada’s Sarah Pavan/Melissa Humana-Paredes, 23-21, 23-21.
Ross/Klineman had to battle back from 7-14 in the first set. The second set was close throughout.
The silver medal is Ross’s third World Championship medal. She won gold in 2009 with Jen Kessy and silver in 2017 with Lauren Fendrick.
“I’m pretty upset,” Ross said. “To get here and have it be Alix’s first World Championships, it would have been so amazing to win the gold.
“Obviously we’re very happy to win a silver at World Championships. This is the best I’ve ever done at World Championships in an Olympic qualifying year by far. That goes a really long way toward Tokyo so we’re really proud about that.”
Klineman added, “We’re never going to be a team that gives up. Our nature is to fight, fight, fight.
“When things feel uncomfortable, we don’t translate that to the same momentum that we do when things are firing on all cylinders. We just weren’t able to get it going the way we were in some other matches and that’s disappointing.”
Ross/Klineman led the match in blocks (5-3) and aces (4-2). Pavan/Humana-Paredes led in attacks (31-29) and scored 10 points on U.S. errors while committing only four.
In the men’s semifinals, Bourne/Crabb battled back to win the second set against Russia’s Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Oleg Stoyanovskiy; but couldn’t keep up the momentum in the third and lost,
21-13, 19-21, 15-11.
“We gave ourselves an opportunity to win,” Bourne said. “We had a chance to win in the third set and that’s what we want. We want an opportunity to win. We’ll have another one tomorrow.”
“It’s going to be a tough match to win,” Crabb said of the bronze medal contest. “We’ve got to bring everything we have tomorrow.”
In the quarterfinals, Bourne/Crabb had to come back to beat Brazil’s Andre Loyola Stein/George Wanderley, 16-21, 21-15, 17-15.
Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena finished fifth after losing in the quarterfinals to Germany’s Julius Thole/Clemens Wickler, 21-18, 21-17.
“They played really well today,” Dalhausser said. “They didn’t make any mistakes. We had to earn all our points. They served really tough and played good defense. They were the better team today.”
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
Pavan/Melissa CAN def Sponcil/Claes USA, 22-24, 21-17, 18-16
Larsen/Stockman USA def Maria Antonelli/Carol BRA, 24-22, 14-21, 15-9
Makroguzova/Kholomina RUS def Hughes/S Ross USA, 21-16, 21-18
Allen/Slick USA def Tamer Mahmoud QAT, 21-13, 21-11
Brouwer/Meeuwsen NED def Dalhausser/Lucena, 21-19, 21-15
Kantor/Losiak POL def Gibb/Ta Crabb USA, 21-17, 21-19
Thole/Wickler GER def Bourne/Tr Crabb USA, 21-16, 21-17
July 3
Women’s Round of 32
Keizer/Meppelink NED def Larsen/Stockman USA, 21-17, 13-21, 15-13
Sponcil/Claes USA def Laboureur/Ittlinger GER, 19-21, 21-19, 15-10
Hughes/S Ross USA def Kozuch/Ludwig GER, 21-15, 21-12
Agatha/Duda BRA def Sweat//Walsh Jennings USA, 21-18, 21-16
Klineman/Ross USA def Maria Antonelli/Carol BRA, 21-15, 13-21, 15-11
Men’s Lucky Loser
Dalhausser/Lucena USA def Ontiveros/Virgen, 21-15, 21-17
July 4
Men’s Round of 32
Allen/Slick USA def Evandro/Bruno Schmidt BRA, 21-19, 21-18
Gibb/Ta Crabb USA def Herrera/Gavira ESP, 21-16, 21-17
Bourne/Tr Crabb USA def Ehlers/Fluggen GER, 15-21, 21-19, 15-10
Dalhausser/Lucena USA def Cherif/Ahmed QAT, 21-18, 21-15
Women’s Round of 16
Hughes/S Ross USA def Stubbe/Van Iersel NED, 21-14, 21-19
Klineman/A Ross USA def Graudina/Kravcenoka LAT, 21-11, 21-18
Menegatti/Orsi Toth ITA def Sponcil/Claes USA, 26-24, 21-16
July 5
Women’s Quarterfinals
Klineman/A Ross USA def Hughes/S Ross USA, 21-18, 21-14
Women’s Semifinals
Klineman/A Ross def Mariafe Artacho Del Solar/Taliqua Clancy AUS, 21-15, 21-18
Men’s Round of 16
Krasilnikov/Stoyanovskiy RUS def Gibb/Ta Crabb USA, 21-13, 21-18
Bourne/Tr Crabb USA def Leshukov/Semenkov RUS, 21-18, 21-18
Nicolai/Lupo ITA def Allen/Slick USA, 27-25, 18-21, 15-13
Dahausser/Lucena USA def Liamin/Myskiv RUS, 21-15, 21-17
July 6
Men’s Quarterfinals
Bourne/Tr Crabb USA def Andre Loyola Stein/George Wanderley BRA, 16-21, 21-15, 17-15
Julius Thole/Clemens Wickler GER def Dalhausser/Lucena USA, 21-18, 21-17
Women’s Gold
Pavan/Humana-Paredes CAN def Klineman/A Ross USA, 23-21, 23-21
Men’s Semifinals
Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Oleg Stoyanovskiy def Bourne/Crabb, 21-13, 19-21, 15-11
July 7
Men’s Bronze
Anders Mol/Christian Sørum NOR vs Bourne/Crabb USA