Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena of the USA complete Olympic qualification period with Gold - Articles

The Olympic qualification period ended Sunday in Hamburg and 17 of the 24 spots are now official. Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena (USA) took the gold medal with a 21-16, 21-15 semifinal win over reigning FIVB World champions Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt and a 29-27, 21-12 championship-match victory over the Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen. Dalhausser/Lucena completed the Olympic qualification process in third place with 6,280 points. Casey Patterson/Jake Gibb finish in sixth with 5,680 points. Sunday’s bronze went to Russians Konstantin Semenov/Viacheslav Krasilnikov, who outplayed Brazilians Cerutti/Schmidt 15-21, 22-20, 15-10. In the gold medal match both teams sided out at a high level and neither led by more than three points. Brouwer/Meeuwsen had their first game point at 20-19, but Lucena was up to the task and held the Dutch at bay with five consecutive game-saving sideouts. At 24-24, Lucena made a critical dig, and eventually earned a U.S. game point on a scramble play to score 25-24. It was Brouwer/Meeuwsen’s time to be stubborn, and they saved game point four times until a Dalhausser ace ended the set 29-27. The second set was all USA. Tough serving, effective blocking, and a pair of hitting errors all went in favor of the USA, and Dalhausser/Lucena earned their third gold medal of the year 21-12. With the completion of the Olympic qualification period, 17 teams have qualified for the Olympics. Five or the last seven teams will be determined at their respective Continental Cups; the NorCECA Continental Cup is in Acapulco, Mexico, from June 20-26. The final...

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