COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 24, 2018) – The FIVB has released its 2018-19 Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar with events that will pave the way to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Highlights of the 2018-2019 calendar include three five-star Beach Major Series events in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Gstaad (Switzerland) and Vienna (Austria), as well as a 5-star event in Rome (Italy) TBC.
There will also be as many as 14 four-star events, eight three-star events, seven two-star events, and nineteen one-star events across all five continents.
The year’s signature event will be the 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Hamburg, Germany on June 28-July 7. The 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships will take place on Samila Beach in Songkhla, Thailand on June 19-23.
U.S. beach athletes can qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games by competing at FIVB World Tour events and earning points toward their rankings.
FIVB ZHONGWEI OPEN
The three U.S. women’s beach teams that competed at the FIVB World Tour two-star event in Zhognwei, China all won their pools and advanced to single elimination.
Jessica Gaffney and Corinne Quiggle fell to Poland’s Jagoda Gruszczynska and Aleksandra Wachowicz in the round of 16, 21-16, 21-19.
Kelly Reeves and Brittany Howard won their round of 16 match over China’s Xinxin Wang and Xinyi Xia, 14-21, 21-12, 15-6. Reeves and Howard lost in the quarterfinals to China’s Fan Wang and Chen Xue, 21-18, 21-17 and finished fifth.
Kendra VanZwieten and Lara Dykstra won their round of 16 match over China’s Chen Chunxia and LV Yuanyuan, 23-21, 21-19. VanZwieten/Dykstra fell in the quarterfinals to China’s MeiMei Lin and Lingdi Zhu, 21-17, 21-15 and finished fifth.
KING OF THE COURT – WAIKIKI
Kelley Larsen and Emily Stockman won gold at the King of the Court event on Sept. 16 in Waikiki, Hawaii. Betsi Flint and Emily Day took second on the women’s side.
Jake Gibb and Taylor Crabb won gold for the men. Sean Rosenthal and Chase Budinger finished third behind Anders Mol and Christian Sorum of Norway.
The AVP Hawaii Invitational followed the King of the Court event.
Alix Klineman and April Ross won the women’s bracket, beating Sara Hughes and Summer Ross in the final, 18-21, 21-19, 15-10.
Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena won the men’s title, defeating Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen on Netherlands in the final, 21-16, 27-25.
KING OF THE COURT – HUNTINGTON BEACH
Klineman and Ross were named the Queens of the Court and Gibb and Crabb were Kings of the Court in Huntington Beach on Sunday (Sept.. 23).
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sept. 28-30: NORCECA Tour in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
U.S. Teams
Katie Spieler/Karissa Cook
Falyn Fonoimoana/Molly Turner
Eric Zaun/Avery Drost
Branden Clemens/Ben Vaught
Sports Medicine: Davis Koh
Sept. 28-30: p1440 in San Jose, Calif.
Sept. 29-30: USA National Beach Tour Adult Championships in Fort Lauderdale
Sept. 30-Oct. 4: FIVB World Tour 3-star in Qinzhou, China
U.S. Teams
Emily Day/Betsi Flint
Sarah Sponcil/Kelly Claes
Kelly Reeves/Brittany Howard
Irene Pollock/Amanda Dowdy
Casey Patterson/Stafford Slick (Coach Tim Jensen)
Trevor Crabb/Tri Bourne
Sports Medicine: Spencer Mack
Oct. 5-7: NORCECA Beach Tour in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic
U.S. Teams
Emily Stockman/Kelley Larsen
Alix Klineman/April Ross
Ryan Doherty/Billy Allen
Eric Zaun/Avery Drost
Sports Medicine: Ciara Cappo