Kloth-Nuss, Sponcil-Cannon get through in Latvia, FIVB World pools announced

Americans are playing beach volleyball this weekend in Latvia and Lithuania and Volleyball World announced on Wednesday the 12 pools per gender for the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships Rome 2022.

LATVIA — Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss and Olympian Sarah Sponcil and Terese Cannon made it through Wednesday’s qualifier in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Jurmala Elite 16.

Nuss and Kloth beat Latvians Varvara Brailko and Deniela Konstantinova in two and then Mexicans Atenas Guitierrez and Maria Quintero in two. They are now seeded 14th and opened pool play Thursday with a 21-14-21-19 victory sixth-seeded Brazilians Hegeile Almeida and Taiana Lima. Next up they’ll face 11th-seeded Swiss Olympians Joana Heidrich and Anouk Verge-Depre before finishing with their USA rivals Kelly Cheng and Betsi Flint.

Cheng and Flint, seeded No. 3, beat Kloth and Nuss in last Sunday AVP New Orleans final. They opened pool play with a loss to the Swiss 22-20, 21-19.

Also in the women’s field are Sara Hughes and Kelley Kolinske, who are in the same pool with Sponcil and Cannon.

Hughes and Kolinski are the No. 4 seed and opened with a 21-13, 21-6 win over 12th-seeded Latvians Marta Ozolina and Luize Skrastina. They’ll also play fifth-seeded Brazilians Talita Antunes and Rebecca Cavalcanti and then Sponcil and Cannon.

Sponcil and Cannon, who beat a pair from Finland in the qualifier, opened pool play with a 21-11, 21-17 loss to the Brazilians.

On the men’s side, Olympians Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb failed to get through the qualifier. After defeating Latvians Kristians Fokerots and Edgars Tocs, they lost in two to Germans Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler.

That leaves only seventh-seeded Americans Theo Brunner and Chaim Schalk in the men’s field. They opened with a 21-18, 21-9 win over Ehlers and Wickler and then play second-seeded Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands and 10th-seeded Australians Paul Burnett and Christopher MdHugh.

Click here for the women’s results and schedule, courtesy of BVBinfo.com, and here for the men’s.

LITHUANIA — Three USA women’s pairs entered the Volleyball World Pro Tour Futures Klaipeda but at most only two will get through. 

Tiffany Creamer and Jade Race won their first-round qualifier match and set up an elimination match against fellow Americans Jessica Gaffney and Molly Turner. Americans Tambre Nobles and Melissa Powell were set to play France’s Elsa Descamps and Marine Kinna. 

The top seeded pair are hometown favorites Tina Graudina, the USC champion, and Anastasija Kravcenoka, who finished fourth in last summer’s Olympics.

Click here for the women’s results and schedule, courtesy of BVBinfo.com. There are no USA men in the tournament.

WORLD POOLS — The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships Rome 2022 are June 10-19 and include USA pairs fifth-seeded Cheng and Flint, sixth-seeded Hughes and Kolinske, 17th-seeded Sponcil and Cannon, and 18th-seeded Emily Day and Emily Stockman.

On the men’s side, Schalk and Brunner are seeded 19th and the field also includes 28th-seeded Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander.

Click here for the Volleyball World story and list of pools. 

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VBM Staff