Americans Klineman/Ross Advance to DELA Beach Semis in 1st Tourney

DELA BEACH OPEN

• FIVB Four-Star
• Jan. 2-7, 2018
• The Hague, Netherlands
• Schedule/Results

Brazilians Maria Antonelli and Carol Salgado will be looking to repeat as Hague champions, following their title at the three-star event in June.

Joining the pair in the quest for the gold will be Swiss pair Nina Betschart/Tanja Huberli, Czech duo Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova and newly formed American pair Alex Klineman and April Ross.

Betschart/Huberli have not won an FIVB Tour title since pairing up in 2016. The duo finished third at the Porec Five Star in July and were ninth at the Hague in June. They did win one CEV Satellite title in June 2016 in Austria.

Hermannova/Slukova, who have played together since 2015, posted their best tour finish of 2017 with a runner-up effort at the Porec Five Star in July, following a bronze at the Rio Four Star in May. The duo also placed ninth at the Hague in 2017.

Klineman and Ross are in their first season together and the Hague tournament marks Klineman’s first on the FIVB Beach Tour. Ross meanwhile finished second at the Vienna World Championships in August and at the Long Beach President’s Cup in July 2017 with former partner Lauren Fendrick after parting ways with longtime teammate Kerri Walsh Jennings. Together Walsh Jennings/Ross won 10 FIVB titles, the last in Long Beach in August 2016.

The women’s semifinals begin at 2 p.m. ET Saturday.

Maria Antonelli/Carol play Betschart/Huberli at 2 p.m. followed by Klineman/Ross vs. Hermannova/Slukova at 3:20 p.m. ET.

Both matches are slated to be streamed live on the FIVB YouTube channel as are Sunday’s podium matches.

The bronze medal match is slated for 4:15 a.m. Sunday with the gold medal match to follow at 5:30 a.m.

Elimination Round 3

Maria Antonelli/Carol Salgado (Brazil) def. Sandra Ittlinger/Kim Behrens (Germany) 21-18, 21-16

Nina Betschart/Tanja Huberli (Switzerland) def. Kristyna Kolocova/Michala Kvapilova (Czech Republic) 21-19, 21-17

Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova (Czech Republic) def. Riikka Lehtonen/Niina Ahtianinen (Finland) 21-12, 21-15

Alix Klineman/April Ross (USA) def. Barbara Seixas De Freitas/Fernanda Alves (Brazil) 21-16, 21-13