Prior to Thursday afternoon in Rio de Janeiro, the closest Miles Evans and Chase Budinger had been in a single set against Anders Mol and Christian Sorum was 21-16. After the first set between the two in the final round of pool play at the Rio Elite, that trend stayed true — only this time, it was Budinger and Evans landing the 21-16 win.
It was a first-set victory they’d sustain, winning the next, 24-22, in a landmark win for the partnership and adding another W on the ledger to a strong start for a USA Volleyball.
It’s the first time Budinger and Evans have met Norway since the Paris Olympic Games, where they fell, 21-16, 21-14 to the eventual bronze medalists. The only other match between the two came in Montreal of 2023.
The win continues a trend of strong play from Budinger and Evans, who took fourth at the Baden Challenge and followed that up with a win the Manhattan Beach Open in August, Evans’ first on the AVP and both of their first in Manhattan. Add onto that a bronze at the Hermosa Open and two sweeps at the Rio Elite, one of which against the best team on the planet, and there’s a firm case to be made that they are playing the finest beach volleyball of their partnership.
They have put themselves in excellent position to win their first medal since taking bronze at the Chiang Mai Challenge in November of 2023, and their first medal in an Elite ever. The road to get there is long yet, but a bye, with a huge point differential should they need it in the round of 12, is an excellent place to start.
Budinger and Evans’ win was the highlight of a huge day for USA Volleyball as a whole. Corinne Quiggle and Chloe Loreen, who emerged from Wednesday’s qualifier upset Brazil’s Talita Antunes and Taiana Lima, 21-19, 16-21, 15-11, setting the tone for the day. They were followed by wins from Julia Donlin and Lexy Denaburg, over Brazil’s Carol and Rebecca (17-21, 23-21, 20-18); Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft, over the Czech Republic’s Marketa Svozilova and Marie-Sara Stochlova (21-13, 21-13); Joao Pessoa champs Kelly Cheng and Molly Shaw, over Brazil’s Hegeile and Vitoria (21-12, 20-22, 15-13), and Budinger and Evans over Norway.
This story will be updated after Andy Benesh and Miles Partain play Chile’s Vicente Droguett and Fernando Quintero, and Chaim Schalk and James Shaw match up with Alex Brouwer and Steven van De Velde.
