Moscow,
Russia, June 3, 2017 - For the first-time in 12 FIVB World Tour visits to the Russian
capital, two host country teams have advanced to the “final four” of the
international Beach Volleyball event as Youth Olympic champions Oleg
Stoyanovskiy/Artem Yarzutkin joined compatriots Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Nikita
Liamin in winning quarter-final matches here Saturday afternoon.
Seeded 15th in the Moscow FIVB World Tour stop, Stoyanovskiy and Yarzutkin posted a 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) win in 32 minutes over 10th-seeded and 2015 Moscow winners Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira of Spain to gain a semi-final spot opposite of fourth-seeded Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena of the United States.Dalhausser and Lucena advanced to the semi-finals after eliminating 14th-seeded Michal Bryl/Grzegorz Fijalek of Poland 2-0 (21-19, 18-21, 15-9) in 50 minutes. The Americans have a 1-0 FIVB record against Stoyanovskiy and Yarzutkin after defeating the young Russians 2-0 (21-19, 21-15) in a 33-minute pool match February 9 at the Fort Lauderdale Major in the United States.
Phil Dalhausser (right) of the United States blocks against Poland's Grzegorz Fijalek Earlier Saturday, the eighth-seeded Krasilnikov and Liamin posted a 2-0 (21-18, 21-15) quarter-final win in 35 minutes to eliminate 24th-seeded Maciej Rudol and Jakub Szalankiewicz of Poland. The Russian pair will play top-seeded Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins after the Latvians ousted third-seeded Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt of Brazil 2-1 (18-21, 22-20, 15-12) in 50 minutes.It was the ninth FIVB World Tour meeting between the two teams with Alison and Bruno, the reigning Olympic and FIVB world champions, now hold a 5-4 edge in the series between the two teams. Samoilovs and Smedins are competing in their fifth Moscow FIVB event and captured the gold medal in 2013.