Brazil earns gold, U.S. silver in FIVB Gstaad - Articles

Americans both lost in the final this weekend in the FIVB Gstaad (Switzerland). Nick Lucena/Phil Dalhausser, the No. 2 seed, fell in championship match, 24-22, 21-16 to No. 11 Pedro Solberg/Evandro Goncalves on Sunday. No. 2 April Ross/Kerri Walsh Jennings of the USA left Gstaad with the silver medal, despite an early stumble vs No. 15 Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat of the USA 21-15, 19-21, 13-15. Fendrick/Sweat went on to finish fifth. In the final, Ross/Walsh Jennings lost to No. 1 Larissa Franca/Talita Antunes of Brazil 21-18, 21-14. Solberg/Goncalves had a stumbled a bit in recent events, with two ninth- and two fifth-place finishes, causing their seed to drop from No. 4. Lucena/Dalhausser gained momentum into Rio with consecutive second-place finishes on the world tour. No. 6 Alexsandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins of Latvia win bronze over No. 7 Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira of Spain with a 21-14, 34-32 score. Samoilovs/Smedins have insinuated themselves into the medal mix, with three consecutive top four finishes. Franca/Antunes put their stamp on the FIVB field by winning the women's side, moving through the tournament in convincing fashion, winning all of their matches in straight sets (with only one deuce set) and dominating their pool with a 1.432 points won/lost ratio. No. 3 Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst of Germany finished with bronze, defeating Meppelink/Van Iersel 21-13, 21-16. Ludwig/Walkenhorst gave Ross/Walsh-Jennings all they could handle in the semifinals (18-21, 23-21, 15-11). Ludwig/Walkenhorst have been remarkably consistent in the last four events, with two first place finishes, one third, and one fourth. Other American finishers: For the...

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