Americans Klineman/Ross Wrap Dream Debut with DELA Beach Gold

DELA BEACH OPEN

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

American duo Alix Klineman and April Ross closed out a Cinderella run through the DELA Beach Open with their 10th straight victory and a gold medal. The duo, which joined forces in late November, did not drop a set during their run, which began with two country quota matches.

The pair capped the dream run with a 21-12, 21-15 win over Brazil’s Maria Antonelli and Carol Salgado. Klineman issued the final blow with a big block.

The tournament was the first professional beach outing for Klineman and brought Ross her first title since 2016 and 11th FIVB crown overall.

“I’m still in shock, but we tried to play this game as we would play any other game,” Klineman said. “We prepared the same way and we tried to play the same way and it was enough in the end.”

In the bronze medal match, Swiss pair Nina Betschart and Tanja Huberli bested Czech duo Marketa Slukova and Barbara Hermannova 21-18, 21-10. The victory gave the pair their third FIVB bronze.