New pairings will appear for the U.S. women resulting from injury that has forced a shift in previous duos. Misty May-Treanor’s (Santa Monica, Calif.) left knee injury still needs time to heal, splitting her from two-time Olympic gold medalist partner Kerri Walsh (San Jose, Calif.). May-Treanor and Walsh were forced to forfeit the medal match at the Olympic Bay Sanya Open on April 30.
Walsh will now pair up with Brittany Hochevar (Fowler, Colo.) for the fourth event of 15-total stops on the FIVB World Tour. Walsh and Hochevar will first compete in the qualification round, the only U.S. team to compete in this round. Hochevar has partnered with Jen Fopma (Bellflower, Calif.) in the past three FIVB events.
Angie Akers (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Nicole Branagh (Orinda, Calif.) most recently finished tied for 13th in the Shanghai Open after losing to Italy’s Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti in the consolation bracket.
The U.S. team of Jennifer Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) head to the Myslowice Open fresh off a silver-medal finish in Shanghai. The pair lost in the second round and was forced to work their way through the consolation bracket to make it to the semifinals. After downing compatriots Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Brooke Hanson (Woodland Hills, Calif.) in the semifinals, Kessy and Ross lost a tough three-set match to the Netherlands’ Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel in the gold-medal match. Kessy and Ross also earned the bronze medal at the Brasilia Open in Brazil to open the 2011 FIVB World Tour.
Also competing for the U.S. in the main draw is the pairing of Fendrick and Hanson. The pair has two fourth-place finishes (Brasilia Open and Shanghai Jinshan Open) on the 2011 FIVB World Tour. Complete information about the FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour Myslowice Open is available on the http://www.fivb.org/EN/BeachVolleyball/Competitions/WorldTour/2011/Event/index.asp?TournCode=WMYS2011
Becky Murdy – Assistant, Media Relations and Publications
www.usavolleyballorg.com ; Photo courtesy of FIVB: Jennifer Kessy and April Ross.