Vienna, Austria, July 31, 2017 - With eight of the 12 women’s pools being decided here Monday at the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships presented by A1, the men’s schedule featured 12 matches for six groups during the fourth day of competition in the Austrian capital.
The leading early winners Monday were top-seeded Saymon Barbosa/Alvaro Filho of Brazil (Pool A) and third-seeded Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena of the United States (Pool C) as three of the four players from the two countries have competed in World Championship’s final four matches in the past.
Alvaro, who placed second with Ricardo Santos at the 2013 FIVB World Championships in Poland, and Brazilian partner Saymon Barbosa defeated 25th-seeded Christoph Dressler/Thomas Kunert of Austria 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) in 41 minutes.
The Brazilians play 24th-seeded Nivaldo Diaz/Sergio Gonzalez of Cuba Wednesday for the Pool A title. Like Alvaro and Saymon, the Cubans posted their second Vienna win Monday with a 2-0 (21-17, 21-14) win in 31 minutes over 48th-seeded Marlon Phillip/Daneil Williams of Trinidad and Tobago.
Dalhausser, who topped the FIVB World Championship podium with Todd Rogers at the 2007 edition in Gstaad, Switzerland, and Lucena scored their second win of the 2017 event with a 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) win in 35 minutes over 46th-seeded Luis Garcia/Andy Leonardo of Guatemala.
With Lucena seeking his second-straight World Championship final four berth after placing fourth with Theo Bruner in the Netherlands, the Americans end Pool C action Wednesday against 27th-seeded Kacper Kujawiak/Mariusz Prudel of Poland.
In women’s action Monday, group winners were fourth-seeded Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst of Germany (Pool D), seventh-seeded Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan of Canada (Pool G), ninth-seeded Maria Antonelli/Carolina Salgado of Brazil (Pool I), 10th-seeded Nina Betschart/Tanja Hüberli of Switzerland (Pool J), 14th-seeded Lauren Fendrick/April Ross of the United States (Pool K) and 32nd-seeded Taiana Lima/Eliza Maia of Brazil (Pool H).
The $1-million FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships presented by A1 will feature 24 pool play matches (16 men and eight women) and four women’s elimination matches on three courts Tuesday at the state-of-the art venue at Donauinsel with the focal point of the action and entertainment being held with a picturesque view of the Danube River and the lively atmosphere of the Beach Village.
A total of 216-matches will be contested over a 10-day period at the World Championships where the winning men’s and women’s teams will each split the $60,000 first-place prizes. The women’s medal matches will be played August 5 and the men’s August 6. With 96 teams from 40 countries in the competition, pool play highlights the first six days of play with the featured court being the 10,000-seat Red Bull Beach Arena.
