2017 FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – VIENNA
- July 28 to August 6
- Vienna Centre Court, Vienna, Austria
- Co-ed
- Championships
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Third seeded Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena were the top remaining seed heading into the quarterfinals of the FIVB Beach World Championships. The lone American hope left in the competition ended its run on Saturday, falling to sixth-seeded Russians Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Nikita Liamin in straight sets, 21-15, 21-18.
“We stuck to our game plan and that gave us an opportunity to win,” Krasilnikov said. “Our side out was good and Nikita did a great job on blocking. That’s one of the top teams of the world. We had to play a very good game and to do our best even when the game looked over because you have to give everything on every second.”
Krasilnikov/Liamin jumped on the Americans early to the tune of a 12-5 lead in Set 1 en route to the 21-15 win. Dalhausser/Lucena recovered in Set 2, going up 5-2, only to see the Russians catch up and tie the score at 12 and 15 before grabbing a 19-16 lead of their own. The American could not recover, falling 21-18 to finish tied for fifth in the tournament.
The Russians had more offensive firepower in the match, with 28 kills to 21for the Americans, while hitting at a 58 percent efficiency as a duo. Krasilnikov put down 18 kills, mostly with cross court shots, while also serving up three of the team’s four aces and keeping Dalhausser/Lucena off balance with his serve throughout.
“I thought that Viascheslav served the ball real tough,” Lucena said. “The first game he outserved us; he had three tape aces. His defense was good but we couldn’t score any points but they made plays. We couldn’t get them into any passing trouble. They’ve won two tournaments so it’s not like they’re not a good team. When they are on they are hard to beat.”
Dalhausser managed nine kills, while hitting at a 69 percent efficiency and all three of the team’s blocks. Lucena added 12 points, all on kills, as the Americans were outdone 42 to 33 in points.
“They played really well,” Dalhausser said. “First set they were on fire with the serve and sided out great. They also made some good defensive plays. They were the better team today for sure. There’s a lot of parity in the World Tour right now. If you don’t play well against a team like this you can go home. It was obviously disappointing. We were never able to get it going, really. We never played that great, which is unfortunate.”
The loss leaves the Americans with a fifth-place finish at Beach Worlds.
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