Canadian Duo Wins Another Gold at Sydney World Tour Stop

2017 FIVB SYDNEY EVENT

March 16th-18th, 2017
Two-Star Event
Women’s Only
Manly Beach, Sydney, Australia
Tournament home page
Schedule/results
Live Video

The Canadian duo of Julie Gordon and Camille Saxton brought home their second straight FIVB Tour gold with a win over Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Jessyka Ngauamo of Australia at the Sydney Two-Star at Manly Beach on Friday. It took a come-from-behind effort in Set 2 of the 21-14, 21-16 win to secure the title. Gordon/Saxton trailed 6-1 early in the second stanza, but rebounded for the victory.

For their win, Gordon and Saxton will share $6,000 out of a $50,000 prize pool.

Prize Money (Per Team):

1st – $6,000
2nd – $4,500
3rd – $3,700
4th – $2,800
5th – $2,250
9th (8 teams) – $1,700
17th (8 teams) – $1,300

Aussie Nicole Laird earned her second straight bronze, pairing up with three-time Olympian Louise Bawden for the medal in Sydney, following a third-place finish with youngster Phoebe Bell at the FIVB One-Star event in Shepparton, March 3-5. Bell and 2012 Olympian Becchara Palmer advanced to the Sydney quarterfinals before falling to Artacho del Solar/Ngauamo.

Americans Kimberly Dicello and Emily Stockman made it to the quarterfinals in Sydney before being ousted by Gordon/Saxton.

Next up for the FIVB women is the Langkawi One-Star event, April 15-16 on Pantai Cenang in Langkawi, Malaysia, which will feature both men’s and women’s teams vying for the $20,000 prize. It is the third of 18 double gender events, following the Five Star Swatch Major in Fort Lauderdale in February and the Shepparton event in March.

The event, originally scheduled to be played in Selango, was moved to Langkawi in February. It is the second of seven one-star FIVB tournaments this year, following the Shepparton event.

The Austrian team of Christopher McHugh and Damien Schumann took gold in Shepparton, edging countrymen Cole Durant and Zachary Schubert (21-18, 21-18). New Zealanders Dan and Sam O’Dea defeated Americans Adam Roberts and Martin Lorenz (21-12, 21-14) for the bronze.