Mangaung, South Africa, December 10, 2014 - Top seeded Lane Carico and Kimberly Dicello had a message after winning their opening match at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Mangaung Open on Wednesday. The American girls hope that they got the local people excited about beach volleyball and that their love for the sport is going to spread and help the sport grow in the Free State province.
Carico and Dicello had a bye in the morning because there are only 26 teams in the women’s main draw, but defeated their fellow Americans Caitlin Ledoux and Irene Hester 2-1 (21-15, 18-21, 15-9) in their opening match.
“I am happy that we pulled out a win”, said Dicello. "It was against a solid team. I am proud of the way we fought.”
“USA-USA is always tough”, Carico added. “Because we play each other on a regular basis on the domestic tour and we train together.”
Carico and Dicello teamed up in the middle of the season and it proved to be a good combination with three 9th place finishes at the Sao Paulo Grand Slam, the Xiamen Open and Parana Open.
In Mangaung they are the number one seeded team, a bit of a surprise. Carico: “Well, we have been working our way up through Norceca’s and Opens and had a good finish at the Brazil Grand Slam and those have helped us all out, but it’s really a lot of hard work and dedication and being willing to show up here. Because a lot of teams did not even come. We have the determination.”
Sizing up the competition Carico thinks they have a good chance to end on top in Mangaung. “I have not seen that many matches yet, but I really do believe we should be able to win this tournament.”
If it is up to the girls the new partnership is one to stay. “We are definitely want to move forward together”, said Carico. “But with this sport you never know what happens, injuries, anything. So you have to work towards your goals, but always be flexible and ready to adjust.”
For both girls it is the second time they play on a World Tour event in South Africa. Carico took 9th place with Heather Hughes last year in Durban, Dicello finished 25th with Sarah Day.
For Dicello there is no difference between playing in Durban or inland Mangaung.
“The inland tournaments don’t bother me, on our domestic tour, the AVP, we have a handful events that are not on the beach either, they are in beautiful parks.”
She continues: “The great thing about it is that it brings the sport to cities outside of just beach cities. And I think for our sport to grow that’s something we need to see happening. So my hope would be that the people and communities that host events maybe then build some sand courts and people start playing and the sports would spread and grow.”