U.S. Beach Teams Ready for 2023 U21 World Championships

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 6, 2023) – Four U.S. beach teams are set to compete at the FIVB Under-21 World Championships on Nov. 6-12 in Roi Et, Thailand.

The event begins on Tuesday with a 24-team qualifier for each gender. Once the qualifying phase is concluded, 32 teams will be featured in the main draw from Wednesday through the end of the competition when the 2023 U21 world champions are crowned. The U.S. is sending two teams for each gender.

Samaya Morin (Grand Canyon Univ.)/Taylor Wilson (Stanford Univ.) and Sally Perez (UCLA)/Alexa Fernandez (UCLA) are the U.S. women’s pairs. Fernandez/Perez were the alternate pair and earned a preliminary qualification phase bye. They will begin in the second round of qualification against Neub/Maidhof (GER).

Thomas Hurst/Gage Basey (Univ. of Colorado) and Carson Barnes (Webber Univ.)/Ayden Keeter (Webber Univ.) are the men’s representatives. Keeter/Barnes were the alternate pair and will compete in the preliminary qualification phase vs. Sacit K./Batuhan K. (TUR).

COMPLETE EVENT SCHEDULE – EVENT INFORMATION – LIVE STREAM

The teams earned their bids to represent the U.S. at the world championships at the 2023 U23 and U21 Beach National Team Trials in June in Hermosa Beach, California.

In the trials, Morin/Wilson advanced past the semifinal match with a victory over Jessie Smith/Ella Connor 2-0 (21-14, 21-17). This earned the team a place in the final across the net from Fernandez/Perez. The second game went to 25-25 before Fernandez/Perez forced game three. Morin/Wilson would go on to win 2-1 (21-12, 25-27, 15-13) and earn the right to represent the U.S.

In the men’s portion of the trials, Hurst/Basey matched up against Leo Tuncer/Zephyr Dew in the semifinals. Hurst/Basey advanced with a 2-0 victory (21-17, 21-12) to face Keeter/Barnes in the final. Keeter/Barnes forced a game three after winning the second game 24-22. Ultimately, Hurst/Basey were victorious by final score of 2-1 (21-16, 22-24, 15-13) which earned them the right to represent the U.S.

All of the age-group national teams and alternates went on to participate in the National Team Development Program (NTDP) summer training block held at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista in July.

This is the 19th year of the FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships and the third consecutive year that they will be held in Thailand.

U21 Beach National Team Roster

Name (Height, Birth year, Hometown, College, USAV region)

Women’s Competing Pair/Athlete
Samaya Morin (6-0, 2003, Lake Stevens, Wash., Arizona State, Puget Sound Region)
Taylor Wilson (5-10, 2003, Stanford, Santa Barbara, Calif., Southern California Region)
Alexa Fernandez (5-8, 2005, Houston, Texas, Lutheran South Academy, Lone Star Region)
Sally Perez (6-3, 2006, Apex, N.C., Middle Creek HS, Carolina Region)

Alternates
Alexis Durish (5-10, 2004, Venice, Fla., Florida State, Florida Region)
Madison White (5-10, 2004, Scottsdale, Ariz., Univ. of Southern California, Arizona Region)

Coach: Brooke Niles (Florida State)

Men’s Competing Pair/Athlete
Gage Basey (6-3, 2003, Lyons, Colorado, Univ. of Colorado, Rocky Mountain Region)
Thomas Hurst (6-4, 2004, Plano, Texas, UC Irvine, North Texas Region)
Carson Barnes (6-4, 2003, Ocean View, Delaware, Webber Univ., Chesapeake Region)
Ayden Keeter (6-1, 2004, Yorktown, Va., Webber Univ., Chesapeake Region)

Alternates
Zephyr Dew (6-4, 2005, Santa Cruz, Calif., Santa Cruz HS, Northern California Region)
Dylan McClung (6-8, 2003, North Kingstown, R.I.,  Sacred Heart Univ., New England Region)

Coach: Fiapo Tenius
Team Lead: Cody Liner (USAV NTDP)