USA Men Earn 3 of 8 Pool Titles As Ft. Lauderdale Moves To Round of 24

2017 FIVB WORLD TOUR SEASON OPENER

• Tuesday, Feb 7 – Sunday, Feb 12, 2017
• Fort Lauderdale, FL (Eastern Time Zone)
• Swatch Major Series site
• Finals live stream: RedBullTV
• Full event live stream

The men’s pool play continued Thursday at the opener of the Swatch Major Series in Fort Lauderdale, with the qualifiers for the elimination matches locking in after the early session. The winners of each of the 8 pools moved on to the tournament with first-round byes. The second and third-place finishers in each pool earned spots in the round of 24, which took place later on Thursday. The fourth-place team from each pool was eliminated entirely.

Final Men’s Pool Results

Pool A

1. USA – Lucena/Dalhausser (3-0)
2. Austria – Doppler/Horst (2-1)
3. Russia – Stoyanovskiy/Yarzutkin (1-2)
4. Brazil – Ricardo/Harley (0-3)

Team USA’s Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena capped an undefeated pool slate with a 2-0 sweep of Russia’s Stoyanovskiy/Yarzutkin pairing. Meanwhile Austria’s Doppler/Horst team swept Brazil’s Ricardo/Harley in a 2-1 thriller that came down to a 15-13 final set. The win sent the Austrian duo into the round of 24, while eliminating Brazil.

Pool B

1. Russia – Liamin/Krasilnikov (2-1)
2. Latvia – Smedins J/Samoilivos (2-1)
3. USA – Rosenthal/Trevor Crabb (2-1)
4. Poland – Prudel/Kujawiak (0-3)

In a tight pool B, Russia’s Liamin/Krasilnikov went from 2-0 and leading the pool to dropping a 3-setter to Latvia’s Smedins/Samoilov pairing. Meanwhile USA’s Rosenthal/Crabb duo beat Poland’s winless Prudel/Kujawiak to force a three-way tie at 2-1. Russia’s crew was ultimately 5-3 in sets (tied with the Americans for best in the pool) and 149-123 in points, which was the best ratio of the pool. They’ll move to the round of 16, with Latvia and the U.S. playing in the round of 24.

Pool C

1. USA – Brunner/Patterson (3-0)
2. Brazil – Alison/Bruno (2-1)
3. Germany – Boeckerman/Flueggen (1-2)
4. Germany – Poniewaz/Poniewaz (0-3)

In a straightforward C pool, undefeated Americans Brunner and Patterson handed Germany’s Poniewaz/Poniewaz combo their third loss to eliminate the Germans and send the Americans into the tourney with a bye. Meanwhile Brazil’s Alison/Bruno beat Germany’s other team 2-0 to clinch the second slot in the pool.

Pool D

1. Poland – Fijalek/Bryl (3-0)
2. Brazil – Solberg/Carvalhaes (2-1)
3. Switzerland – Beeler/Krattiger (1-2)
4. Latvia – Plavins/Regza (0-3)

In a showdown of unbeatens, Poland’s Fijalek/Bryl triumphed 2-1, earning a first-round bye and sending Brazil’s Solberg/Carvalhaes into the round of 24. And in a battle of winless teams, Switzerland’s Beeler/Krattiger dominated a 2-0 sweep of Latvia’s Plavins/Regza. That moved the Swiss on and eliminated Latvia.

Pool E

1. Poland – Kantor/Losniak (3-0)
2. Canada – Pedlow/Schachter (2-1)
3. Canada – Plantinga/O’Gorman (1-2)
4. Austria – Winter/Seidl (0-3)

Undefeated Polish team Kantor/Losniak handed Canada’s Pedlow/Schachter their first loss in a 2-0 battle for the first-round bye. Meanwhile Canada’s other team, Plantinga/O’Gorman, earned their first win with a tight 2-1 victory over Austria to move on.

Pool F

1. USA – Gibb/Crabb (3-0)
2. Spain – Gavira/Herrera (2-1)
3. Italy – Rangieri/Caminati (1-2)
4. Poland – Szalankiewicz/Rudol (0-3)

Yet again, the first-round bye came down to the final match, with the American Gibb/Crabb pairing knocking off Spain’s Gavira/Herrera 2-1 in a tight third set. And in an elimination match, Italy’s Ranghieri/Caminati survived, handing Poland’s Szalankiewicz/Rudol their third and final loss, 2-0.

Pool G

1. Italy – Lupo/Nicolai (3-0)
2. Canada – Saxton/Schalk (2-1)
3. Chile – Grimalt/Grimalt (1-2)
4. Germany – Walkenhorst/Matysik (0-3)

Italy’s Lupo/Nicolai topped Canada 2-0 to win the pool and finish 6-1 in sets for the pool play portion. Chile’s Grimalt duo beat out Germany in a quick two sets for the final tournament spot.

Pool H

1. Brazil – Alvaro Filho/Saymon Barbosa (3-0)
2. USA – Hyden/Doherty (2-1)
3. Brazil – Evandro/Andre Loyola (1-2)
4. Austria – Dressler/Kunert (0-3)

Brazil’s Evandro and Loyola lost to Americans Hyden and Doherty, but it still wasn’t enough for the other Brazilian team (Alvaro/Barbosa) to lose the pool. That second duo won an easy 2-0 sweep of Austria’s Dressler/Kunert to earn the bye.