Vienna, Austria, July 25, 2017 - Due to a right shoulder injury suffered this past Saturday at the FIVB World Tour stop in Poland, three-time Olympic and world champion Kerri Walsh Jennings has withdrawn from the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships 2017 presented by A1 with American Nicole Branagh now playing with Emily Day.
The new American team will compete in Pool A at the 2017 FIVB World Championships along with pairs from Brazil (Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca), Germany (Victoria Bieneck/Isabel Schneider) and host Austria (Katharina Holzer/Teresa Strauss).
Quick links - Beach volleyball:FIVB.com - Beach VolleyballLatest VideosFacebookTwitterInstagramMedia GuidesDay will be competing in her third World Championship after placing 17th in both the 2013 and 2015 editions with Summer Ross (2013 in Stare Jablonki, Poland) and Jen Kessy (2015 in The Netherlands). Branagh is competing in her fourth World Championships highlighted by fifths with Elaine Youngs in 2007 and 2009, and a 17th with Angie Akers in 2011.
Nicole Branagh will compete alongside Emily Day (above)Walsh Jennings, who has had five right shoulder surgeries in her career, was injured at the end of a FIVB World Tour semifinal match in Olsztyn as she and Branagh had come back to tie the third and deciding set at 14-14 against Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan.
After a five-minute injury time-out, Walsh Jennings returned to the court with Humana-Paredes and Pavan scoring the final two points to advance to the Olsztyn gold medal match where the Canadians were defeated the next day by Talita and Larissa. Walsh Jennings and Branagh forfeited the Olsztyn bronze medal match to Agatha Bednarczuk and Eduarda “Duda” Lisboa of Brazil.
Video: Kerri Walsh Jennings comments on her injury after the semifinals in Olsztyn on Saturday.