Beach volleyball action was on center stage in Huntington Beach, California; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Mersin, Turkey; and Manila, Philippines last weekend, with four gold medalists crowned on Sunday.
The jam packed FIVB slate continues this week with three titles on the line: the Tuan Chau Island One-Star, the Bangkok One-Star and the Lucerne Three-Star.
Action begins in Lucerne, Switzerland on Wednesday with 100 teams from 35 countries among the field. The double-gender event includes 54 men’s teams and 46 women’s pairs. The teams will vie for a $150,000 total purse. Qualification rounds begin Wednesday with teams aiming for the final eight spots in the 32-team main draw for pool play action.
Check out the Lucerne hype video here.
New Zealand’s Taliqua Clancy/Mariafe Artacho del Solar are the top seeded women’s duo, coming off a bronze medal at the Xiamen Four Star in April. Four American pairs are among the field: Lara Dykstra/Lane Carico, Betsi Flint/Emily Day, Delaney Knudsen/Kendra Vanzwieten and Emily Stockman/Kelley Larsen.
On the men’s side, Qatar’s Cherif Younousse/Ahmed Tijan boast the top seed, followed by last week’s Mersin Three-Star bronze medalists Diaz Nivaldo/Sergio Gonzalez. Four American duo are in the lineup: Bill Kolinske/Miles Evans, John Mayer/Trevor Crabb, Casey Patterson/Stafford Slick and Sean Rosenthal/Chase Budinger.
At the Tuan Chau Island one-star women’s only event, qualification begins on Wednesday with four teams vying for the final two spots in the 16-team main draw. Among the field in Vietnam are top seeded Sayaka Mizoe/Suzuka Hasimoto, which won silver at the Phnom Penh Two-Star on Sunday. Teams from nine countries, including four duos from Vietnam, make up the competition field.
In Bangkok, Thailand, qualification for the double-gender one-star event begins on Thursday.
On the men’s side, home-standing top seeds Nutannon Inkiew/Sedtawat Padsawud are looking for their third podium finish after gold at the Satun One-Star and bronze at the Langkawi One-Star in April, while Manila One-Star gold medalists Max-Jonas Karpa/Milan Sievers (Germany) also are among the field. Thirty-eight teams from 19 countries will vie for the title.
On the women’s side, Manila One Star gold and silver medalists Ayumi Kusano/Takemi Nishibori (Japan) and Paula Soria/Maria Carro (Spain) are in action. Thirteen countries are represented by 19 teams among the field, which includes Americans Bree Scarbrough/Aurora Davis.
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