Walsh/Ross Win 3-Set Comeback To Earn Bye in 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 women’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.

Americans Walsh and Ross went down 0-1 to Brazil’s Seixas/Alves and were on the outside looking in for a first-round bye, but a huge comeback earned them the Pool A title in a hard-fought match.

Final Women’s Pool Results

Pool A

1. USA – Walsh/Ross (3-0)
2. Brazil – Seixas/Alves (2-1)
3. Finland – Lahti/Parkkinen (1-2)
4. Netherlands – Van Iersel/Flier (0-3)

Walsh and Ross overcame Seixas/Alves in a 2-1 thriller that ended in a runaway third set (15-8). Meanwhile Finland’s Lahti/Parkinnen earned their first win of pool play, beating Dutch Van Iersel/Flier to move on to the round of 24.

Pool B

1. Brazil – Larissa/Talita (2-1)
2. USA – Fendrick/Hughes (2-1)
3. Netherlands – Stubbe/Sinnema (2-1)
4. Australia – Bawden/Laird (0-3)

Americans Fendrick and Hughes handed Dutch pair Stubbe and Sinnema their first loss with a 2-0 sweep. With Brazil’s Larissa/Talita beating winless Bawden/Laird of Australia, that forced a three-way tie atop pool B. Brazil took the first-round bye, with the other two competing in the round of 24.

Pool C

1. Germany – Laboureur/Sude (2-1)
2. Brazil – Alves/Maestrini (2-1)
3. USA – Claes/Reeves (2-1)
4. Italy – Menegatti/Perry (0-3)

Another photo finish had Germany’s Laboureur/Sude falling in a 2-0 sweep to Brazil’s Alves/Maestrini, but the Germans still earned the bye over Brazil. Also tied at 2-1 were Americans Claes/Reeves, who beat Italy’s Menegatti/Perry 2-1 to move on to the round of 24.

Pool D

1. USA – Sweat/Ross (3-0)
2. Germany – Walkenhorst/Grossner (2-1)
3. Germany – Ittlinger/Mersmann (1-2)
4. Canada – Pischke/May (0-3)

Germany’s Ittlinger/Mersmann won their first over winless Canadians Pischke and May, but Americans Sweat and Ross beat the other German pair, Walkenhorst/Grossner, 2-0 to earn the bye.

Pool E

1. Brazil – Agatha/Eduardo (2-1)
2. USA – Day/Hochevar (2-1)
3. Netherlands – Meppelink/Van Gestel (1-2)
4. Germany – Bieneck/Schneider (1-2)

In a brutal pool E, Brazil won a tie for the first round bye despite losing their last match to Meppelink/Van Gestel of the Netherlands. The Dutch pair won a tiebreak with Germans Bieneck/Schneider, with the German pair eliminated, and Americans Day/Hochevar moved on but missed the first-round bye despite beating the German pair 2-0.

Pool F

1. Canada – Bansley/Wilkerson (2-1)
2. Czech Republic – Kolocova/Kvapilova (2-1)
3. Switzerland – Heidrich/Verge-Depre (2-1)
4. USA – Carico/Pollock (0-3)

A three-way tie at the top of Pool F went to Canada’s Bansley/Wilkerson, who won their first two matches but dropped Thursday’s to Switzerland’s Heidrich/Verge-Depre 2-1. Meanwhile Czech duo Kolocova/Kvapilova won 2-0 to eliminate Carico/Pollock, the only U.S. team eliminated out of pool play.

Pool G

1. Brazil – Maia/Lima (2-1)
2. Russia – Birlova/Makroguzova (2-1)
3. Germany – Borger/Kozuch (1-2)
4. Argentina – Gallay/Klug (1-2)

Brazil’s Maia/Lima and Russia’s Birlova/Makroguzova both won their matches to move to 2-1, but the Brazilian team got the bye. Brazil beat and eliminated Argentina’s Gallay/Klug 2-0, while Russia beat Germans Borger/Kozuch in three sets.

Pool H

1. Czech Republic – Hermannova/Slukova (3-0)
2. Russia – Ukolova/Barsuk (2-1)
3. Austria – Schuetzenhoefer/Schwaiger (1-2)
4. Switzerland – Hueberli/Betschart (0-3)

Czech duo Hermannova/Slukova won twice to remain undefeated, beating the Swiss and Austrian teams. They’ll take the bye, with Russia’s Ukolova/Barsuk beating Austrian duo Schuetzenhoefer/Schwaiger 2-1 for second in the pool. The Swiss team of Hueberli/Betschart dropped a pair of matches to Russia (1-2) and Czech Republic (0-2) and are eliminated.