COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Three U.S. beach volleyball Olympians were honored with 2016 FIVB World Tour awards.
Olympic bronze medalists April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings, plus Phil Dalhausser were each honored with individual season awards, as announced by the Federation of International Volleyball on Oct. 21.
Walsh Jennings was awarded the Best Hitter award, the fourth time she has earned the recognition. Ross the Best Server, her fourth in the category. Dalhausser the Best Setter, his seventh and third consecutive in that distinction.
Walsh Jennings now has 25 career FIVB season awards, Ross eight and Dalhausser’s 26 individual FIVB awards leads all athletes since the FIVB’s inception of the awards in 2005.
In 2016, Walsh Jennings and Ross teamed to win five gold, two silver and one bronze on the FIVB World Tour, as well as bronze at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Dalhausser played an exceptional season with partner Nick Lucena, the pair won four World Tour events and stood on the podium a total of eight times in 2016. At the Olympics, the duo were only outplayed by eventual gold-medal winning Alison Cerutti/Bruno Schmidt of Brazil. For their effort, Dalhausser and Lucena finished second on the 2015-16 World Tour Rankings, just 120 points behind the leaders from Latvia.
| 2016 Women’s Award Winners | Men | |||
| Most Outstanding Player | Laura Ludwig, Germany | Bruno Schmidt, Brazil | ||
| Best Setter | Larissa Franca, Brazil | Phil Dalhausser, USA | ||
| Best Hitter | Kerri Walsh Jennings, USA | Alison Cerutti, Brazil | ||
| Best Server | April Ross, USA | Evandro Goncalves, Brazil | ||
| Best Rookie | Eduarda Lisboa, Brazil | Gustavo Carvalhaes, Brazil | ||
| Best Blocker | Kira Walkenhorst, Germany | Paolo Nicolai, Italy | ||
| Best Offensive Player | Larissa Franca, Brazil | Janis Smedins, Latvia | ||
| Best Defensive Player | Heather Bansley, Canada | Bruno Schmidt, Brazil | ||
| Most Improved Player | Joana Heidrich, Switzerland | Piotr Kantor, Poland | ||
| Most Inspirational Player | Nadine Zumkehr, Switzerland | Reinder Nummerdor, Netherlands | ||
| Sportswoman/man of the Year | Laura Ludwig, Germany | Bruno Schmidt, Brazil |
Related Links
FIVB Bruno voted World Tour’s Most Outstanding Player
FIVB Germany’s Ludwig wins top individual 2016 World Tour Award