Four Advance to World Champs Round of 16

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 15, 2022) – The 2022 FIVB Beach World Championships moved into the playoff rounds Wednesday, and four U.S. Beach National Team pairs claimed wins during the Round of 32 in Rome.

Sara Hughes/Kelley Kolinske were the first duo to advance when they beat BNT teammates Emily Day/Emily Stockman, 2-0 (21-19, 21-16). Kolinske outscored everyone on the court with 23 kills, three aces and a block. Day led the Emilys with 17 total points, 14 in the attack.

With the win, Hughes/Kolinske notched their fourth playoff appearance of the year and will play Tanja Huberli/Nina Brunner of Switzerland in the Round of 16. Day/Stockman, after playing together internationally for the first time, will return to their typical Beach Pro Tour partners, April Ross and Megan Kraft, respectively.

Terese Cannon/Sarah Sponcil also advanced with a two-set win, sweeping Maria Belen Carro Marquez de Acuna/Angela Lobato Herrero of Spain, 2-0 (21-12, 21-19). Cannon dominated the scoresheet with 25 total points: 21 on the attack, two aces and two blocks; she alone topped Carro/Lobato in those categories. The Americans will next take on Germany’s Svenja Muller/Cinja Tillmann.

Two men’s pairs advanced with three-set wins. Chaim Schalk/Theo Brunner downed Austrians Martin Ermacora/Moritz Pristauz, capping their comeback at 2-1 (17-21, 21-18, 15-12). In a back-and-forth third set, Schalk/Brunner took the frame’s first two-point lead at 9-7. While they never trailed again, Austria forced three more tie scores before the Americans claimed the match’s final three points. Schalk/Brunner face Piotr Kantor/Maciej Rudol of Poland in the next round.

In the third set between the Netherlands’ Leon Luini/Ruben Penninga, Trevor Crabb/Tri Bourne won seven of eight consecutive points to lock up a 2-1 (18-21, 21-19, 15-10) win. Bourne dominated the net with all seven of the U.S. blocks, while as a team, Crabb/Bourne also led in service points and forced the Dutch pair into 12 more errors.

Crabb/Bourne will play Estonia’s Kusti Nolvak/Mart Tiisaar in the Round of 16.

Two other U.S. pairs competed in the Round of 32 but lost the opening playoff match. Kelly Cheng/Betsi Flint lost, 2-1 (21-17, 11-21, 15-12), to 2020 Olympians Karla Borger/Julia Sude of Germany, and Taylor Sander/Taylor Crabb fell 2-1 (17-21, 21-15, 15-9) to the reigning champions of Austria, Robin Seidl/Philipp Waller.

Schalk/Brunner and Cannon/Sponcil are the first two American pairs to compete in the Round of 16; their matches begin at 3 a.m. Pacific on Thursday, June 16. Tr. Crabb/Bourne play at 5 a.m., and Kolinske/Hughes play at 6 a.m.

All matches will be streamed live on VolleyballWorld.TV.