Kerri and Misty will rejoin forces for the first time since they split last year (not counting the match against Shaq, of course.)
The pair will debut as a part of the U.S. squad that will battle Brazil, the other beach volleyball powerhouse in a duel of sorts at the AVP's World Challenge in Glendale, Arizona this weekend.
Should be interesting. Not only will we see if Kerri and Misty can pick up where they left off, but we'll get a glimpse into how our best pairs match up against Brazil who is dominating the FIVB Tour circuit.
The U.S. team will be coached by Mike Dodd and will also include Youngs/Branagh, Kessy/Ross and Davis/Johnson-Jordan on the women's side. The men's teams will be Dalhausser/Rogers, Gibb/Rosenthal, Hyden/Scott and Keenan/Lucena.
This Ryder Cup format round-robin tournament will show us some match-ups we haven't seen before. For instance, Hyden and Scott do not play on the FIVB circuit, but they managed to beat Beijing gold medalists Phil and Todd in four out of seven meetings in AVP finals this summer.
On the women's side, Jenny and Annette will get a chance to show us their chops versus the best in the world. Conspicuously missing from the competition are Tyra Turner and Angie Akers who have done well on the international circuit this summer and are ranked number four on the FIVB World Tour.
The Brazilian men's teams will include 2008 Olympic silver medalists Fábio Luiz Magalhaes and Márcio Aruajo along with Harley Marques/Alison Cerutti (five FIVB '09 finals appearances, two wins,) Benjamin Insafran/Pedro Salgado and Athens gold medalists and Beijing bronze medalists Ricardo Santos/Emanuel Rego (three '09 finals appearances, one win.)
The Brazilian women competing are Larissa Franca/Juliana Felisberta Silva (eight 1st place FIVB '09 finishes,) Talita Antunes/Maria Elisa Antonelli (four first place '09 finishes,) Ana Paula Connelly/Shelda Bede (Athens and Sydney silver medalist) and Maria-Clara Salgado/Carolina Salgado.
In other words, it is sort of the Olympics that could never be due to the restrictions on the amount of teams that are able to qualify from each nation. But it will likely give some bragging rights to the country is crowned the champion once and for all.
Comments