The six USA Volleyball teams competing at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Alanya Challenge couldn’t have gotten off to a better start on Thursday, the first day of main draw.
All but one pair has advanced into the playoff rounds, and the other, Hagen Smith and Logan Webber, still have a crack at it on Friday.
The success is headlined by No. 13 seed Deahna Kraft and Xolani Hodel, who won both of their matches, against Germany’s Louisa Lippmann and Linda Bock (21-18, 15-21, 15-8) and the Czech Republic’s Anna Pavelkova and Katerina Pavelkova (21-18, 21-19). The wins earned them a bye into the ninth-place rounds, where they’ll see the winner of No. 16 Brecht Piersma and Noa Sonneville of the Netherlands and No. 26 Malgorzata Ciezkowska and Urszula Lunio of Poland. Already, it matches their best finish of the season, a ninth at the Xiamen Challenge in April. They are coming off an Elite main draw appearance in Ostrava two weeks ago.
Beginning in the first round of the playoffs will be Hailey Harward and Molly Phillipps, who will meet Spain’s Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno, the No. 5 seed fresh off an NCAA Championship for TCU. Savvy Simo and Abby Van Winkle, a day after qualifying despite having no bags make it to Alanya, will play Canadian Olympians Heather Bansley and Sophie Bukovec. Kim Hildreth and Teegan Van Gunst match up with the Czech Republic’s Marie-Sara Stochlova and Marketa Svozilova.
Chase Budinger, Miles Evans Start Alanya Challenge Hot
Chase Budinger and Miles Evans continued their winning ways on the Beach Pro Tour, upsetting Portugal’s Joao Pessoa and Hugo Campos, 21-18, 21-17. They’ll play Germany’s Paul Henning and Lui Wust for the top spot in pool, and a bye into the ninth-place rounds, on Friday morning.
Smith and Webber, meanwhile, lost a tight one to Austria’s Chris Dressler and Philipp Waller (18-21, 21-19, 13-15) and are in a must-win situation against another Austrian pair in Julian Horl and Moritz Pristauz.
