Cheng-Hughes into semifinals as lone USA survivors at Doha Elite16

It was happening again.

Four times did the strangest of fits befall upon Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes in quarterfinal matches in 2023. Four times did they begin Elite16 tournaments in dominant fashion, winning pool, earning a coveted bye into the quarterfinals, only to slip into a malaise, one perhaps due to the bye, and settle for fifth.

Now here they were, at the season-opening event of the 2024 season, riding another 3-0 performance into a quarterfinal bye — and getting subsequently smoked.

Nina Brunner and Tanja Huberli, tremendous rivals from Switzerland and one of the best defensive teams the world has to offer, walked over Cheng and Hughes for a 21-13 opening set win. The dominant sideout — 68 percent for Hughes, 71 percent for Cheng — that had led America’s No. 2 team into the quarterfinals had betrayed them for the first time all tournament. Hughes finished the set without a kill, while Brunner and Huberli hit a whopping 14 of 20 as a team to go along with two blocks and two aces.

Switzerland’s top pair was positioned to knock out both of the USA’s presumptive Olympic teams, after surviving the tournament’s wildest match against Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth earlier that morning (23-21, 19-21, 25-23).

But this wasn’t unfamiliar ground for Cheng and Hughes. Not really. They’d done this before, a little less than a year ago in Uberlandia, Brazil. Then, as they did Friday in Doha, they earned a bye into the quarterfinals and were summarily dismissed in the first set by Brunner and Huberli, 21-15. Then, as they did Friday in Doha, they rediscovered their World Championship winning form, taking the second, 21-13. Hughes’ sideout and transition efficiency returned, killing four of seven attempts. Cheng continued her torrid streak that has her ranking tops in the world in hitting. The Swiss, perhaps fatigued by the 63-minute marathon against Nuss and Kloth earlier, gifted the USA seven errors and faded in side out, hitting just 39 percent, a number the Americans nearly doubled.

To three they went, as has become the norm between these teams. In five meetings now, they’ve gone the distance in four of them. Both resumed the top form that got them into the quarterfinals in the first place. With errors being limited, it would come down to which team would engineer the extra play or two.

As they did in Uberlandia, it was Cheng and Hughes who engineered that play. At 14-13, a Cheng soft-block led to a Hughes scramble to the line, the difficulty of which made it an impossible ball to set. Hughes made the safe play, pushing it back into the platform of Cheng, rather than attempt to make a heroic, diving set. But she’s a wizard with her platform, Cheng. Seeing Huberli and Brunner drift into the back half of the court, awaiting what appeared to be the inevitable free ball to come, Cheng bumped a cut shot into Huberli’s short corner, a shot too perfect for the 6-foot-3 blocker to make a play.

Once more, as they did in Uberlandia, Cheng and Hughes found a way to exorcise the demons of the quarterfinal bye, winning 13-21, 21-13, 15-13 to advance into the semifinals.

It should come as no surprise, really, that an American female team is into the medal rounds in an event in Doha. Two of the last three tournaments held in Qatar — the 2023 Beach Pro Tour Finals, 2022 Beach Pro Tour Finals — have been won by either Cheng and Hughes or Nuss and Kloth. April Ross and Alix Klineman won the first female event ever hosted in Doha, a four-star event in 2021.

Now Cheng and Hughes are the last Americans standing, back in the medal rounds, where they will meet Brazilians Barbara Seixas and Carol Salgado in the semifinals.

In the other semifinal awaits Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova, who came out of Tuesday’s qualifier and remain undefeated, and Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, who logged their first career victory over top-ranked Ana Patricia Silva and Duda Lisboa.

Neither of the American men’s teams in the main draw — Chase Budinger and Miles Evans, Theo Brunner and Trevor Crabb — made it past the first round. Budinger and Evans, who qualified by beating Tri Bourne and Chaim Schalk, went winless in pool play, though the 0-3 record belies how well they played. Brunner and Crabb fell to the Netherlands’ Steven Van de Velde and Matthew Immers (16-21, 21-18, 10-15) to settle for ninth.

Despite the lack of a podium, the event is a win overall for Brunner and Crabb, who extended their lead for the second spot in the American Olympic race, adding 300 points to their total. Budinger and Evans tacked on 220. Bourne and Schalk picked up only 100, falling further behind.

Remaining in the men’s semifinals are David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden, who will play Germany’s Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler for the second time in the tournament. On the other side of the bracket is Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum and Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot of the Netherlands, who are also playing for the second time this tournament.

Last year’s Elite16 in Doha featured Sweden and Norway in the gold medal match, as did the 2023 Beach Pro Tour Finals, a series that was split, 1-1 each.

All matches of the Doha Elite16 are streamed at Volleyball TV. Use the code SANDCAST20 to get 20 percent off.