Lausanne, Switzerland, June 8, 2017 — The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) held the eighth event overall on the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar last week, returning to Russia. It was the seventh event for each gender.
Last week in Moscow, Russia, teams from Brazil and the United States captured the men’s and the women’s gold medals at the FIVB Moscow 3-Star tournament. Russia has now hosted 38 total FIVB World Tour events. There have been a total of 20 tournaments for men and 18 for women. Moscow has now hosted 22 total FIVB World Tour events, 12 for men and 10 for women.
After a one-week respite, the FIVB World Tour resumes with three events scheduled for next week, one in the Netherlands, one in China and one in the Principality of Monaco. On June 14-18, the double-gender FIVB The Hague 3-Star tournament will be held while in China will be the women’s only Nanjing 2-Star event (June 16-18) and the women’s only FIVB Monaco 1-Star event will be held June 17-18.
FIVB STAR SYSTEM
Officially debuting this season, the format for the new FIVB Star System has the 1-Star to 4-Star events playing single-elimination tournaments after qualification rounds (as needed) for the final main-draw spots. The FIVB 5-Star events still have 32-team qualifying tournaments followed by 32-team main draws, pool play and then single elimination for the top 24 teams from pool play.
FIVB MOSCOW MEN
Winning the men’s gold medal at the FIVB Moscow 3-Star event with a perfect 6-0 match record was USA’s fourth-seeded Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena who held off Russia’s eighth-seeded home-country duo of Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Nikita Liamin in three sets, 21-17, 22-24 and 18-16 in 52 minutes. It was the 35th career FIVB World Tour gold medal for Dalhausser, sixth for Lucena and the sixth for Dalhausser and Lucena as a team.
Earning the men’s bronze medal in Moscow was Russia’s 15th-seeded Oleg Stoyanovskiy/Artem Yarzutkin who came from behind in three sets to win against Latvia’s top-seeded Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins, 18-21, 21-14 and 15-8 in 41 minutes to give Russia two spots on the men’s podium.
In the Moscow men’s semifinals, USA’s Dalhausser/Lucena stopped Russia’s Stoyanovskiy/Yartutkin in straight sets, 21-14, 21-17 in just 31 minutes and Russia’s Krasilnikov/Liamin advanced to the gold medal match by defeating Latvia’s Samoilovs/Smedins in two sets, 21-14, 21-17 in only 33 minutes.
Russia’s Viacheslav Krasilnikov was selected as the men’s most outstanding player of the FIVB Moscow 3-Star tournament.
FIVB MOSCOW WOMEN
Winning the women’s gold medal at the FIVB Moscow 3-Star event with an unblemished 6-0 match record was Brazil’s top-seeded Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca who beat USA’s surprising 11th-seeded Summer Ross/Brooke Sweat in two sets 21-16, 21-14 in only 30 minutes. It was the 33rd career FIVB gold medal for Talita, the 61st for Larissa and the 15th FIVB gold medal for Talita/Larissa as a team.
Earning the women’s bronze medal in Moscow was Brazil’s fourth-seeded Agatha Bednarczuk/Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa who won over Germany’s 19th-seeded Victoria Bieneck/Isabel Schneider who retired at the 26-minute mark in the match with Brazil leading 21-14, 13-8.
To reach the women’s gold medal match in Moscow from their respective semifinals, Brazil’s Talita/Larissa held off the determined compatriots in Brazil’s Agatha/Duda in three sets, 23-21, 18-21 and 15-10 in 43 minutes while USA’s S. Ross/Sweat went to overtime in the tiebreaker set to defeat Germany’s Bieneck/Schneider in three sets, 21-15, 19-21 and 17-15 in 44 minutes.
Brazil’s Larissa Franca was selected as the women’s most outstanding player of the FIVB Moscow 3-Star tournament.
NEW FIVB WORLD RANKING SYSTEM
Part of the latest edition of the FIVB Sports Regulations for beach volleyball, the new FIVB World Ranking system has been established based on the FIVB Beach Volleyball Ranking Points earned at the eight best performances as a team in all FIVB sanctioned or homologated Beach Volleyball Events over a 365-days period. The FIVB World Ranking is updated every Monday after an FIVB sanctioned or homologated event granting FIVB Beach Volleyball Ranking Points.
MEN’S RANKINGS/EARNINGS
After seven men’s events on the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, Latvia’s Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Janis Smedins tandem leads this week’s FIVB World Rankings with 4,4200 points while USA’s Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena is second with 4,040 points. Third is Brazil’s Olympic champions Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt with 3,980 points, fourth is Spain’s Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera with 3,080 points and fifth is Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen with 3,040 points.
In the 2017 FIVB World Tour men’s earnings after seven events, Brazil’s Saymon Barbosa/Alvaro Filho duo is still on top of the money list with $48,000 in three events with one gold medal. Second is Brazil’s Evandro Goncalves/Andre Loyola with $37,500 in three events, third is Brazil’s Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt with $35,000 in three events with one gold medal, fourth is Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak with $33,000 in four events and fifth is Russia’s Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Nikita Liamin with $32,100 in five events with one gold medal. Sixth is USA’s Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena with $30,000 in two events with one gold medal and seventh is Italy’s Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai with $29,500 in four events.
WOMEN’S RANKINGS/EARNINGS
For the women after seven events on the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, Brazil’s Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca duo is at the top of the current women’s FIVB World Rankings with 5,120 points and second is Germany’s Olympic champions Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst with 4,120 points. In third with 4,000 points is Gemany’s Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude, fourth is Spain’s Elsa Baquerizo/Liliana Fernandez with 2,880 points and fifth is Czech Republic’s Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova.
In the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour women’s earnings after seven events, Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk/Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa duo is in the top spot with $57,000 in earnings in three events with one gold medal, second is Brazil’s Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca with $56,000 in three events with two gold medals, third is Brazil’s Fernanda Alves/Barbara Seixas with $29,500 in four events with one gold medal, fourth is Germany’s Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude with $29,000 in three events and fifth is USA’s Summer Ross/Brooke Sweat with $24,000 in two events. Sixth is Czech Republic’s Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova with $20,000 in three events and seventh is Brazil’s Josemari Alves/Liliane Maestrini with $18,100 in four events.
MEN’S FINAL FOURS
After seven men’s tournaments on the 2017 FIVB World Tour regular season schedule, 14 countries have at least one final four placement. Leading with five final four placements is the United States (one gold medal, one bronze medal, three fourth place finishes) second with four placements is Russia (one gold medal, one silver medal, two bronze medals) and tied for third with three each are Brazil (two gold medals, one silver medal) and Poland (two silver medals, one bronze medal). Tied for fifth with two final four placements each are Australia (one gold medal, one silver medal), Germany (two fourth place finishes) and Italy (one silver medal, one bronze medal). Tied for ninth with one final four placement each are Austria (one silver medal), Cuba (one gold medal), Estonia (one bronze medal), Latvia (one fourth place finish), Netherlands (one gold medal), New Zealand (one bronze medal), and Serbia (one fourth place finish).
WOMEN’S FINAL FOURS
After seven women’s FIVB World Tour events to date on the 2017 calendar, eight countries have earned at least one final four finish. Leader in final four placements with eight is Brazil (four gold medals, one silver medal, one bronze medal, two fourth place finishes) and second with six is Germany (one silver medal, two bronze medals, three fourth place finishes). Tied for third with three each are Australia (one silver medal, two bronze medals), Canada (two gold medals, one silver medal) and the United States (one gold medal, one silver medal, one fourth place finish), and tied for sixth with two each are Austria (one bronze medal, one fourth place finish), the Czech Republic (one silver medal, one bronze medal). Eighth with one final four placement is China (one silver medal).
MEN’S WINNING PERCENTAGE/MATCH WINS
Based on percentage, statistically, in men’s action after seven events on the 2017 FIVB World Tour calendar with a minimum of seven matches played, the leading at 92.3% is USA’s Phil Dalhausser/Nick Lucena (12-1) tied for second at 81.3% each are Brazil’s Saymon Barbosa/Alvaro Filho (13-3) and Brazil’s Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt (13-3), fourth at 76.9% is Netherlands’ Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen (10-3) and fifth at 75.0% is Australia’s Cole Durant/Zachery Schubert (6-2). Sixth at 73.7% is Italy’s Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai (14-5) and tied for seventh at 66.7% each are Russia’s Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Nikita Liamin (14-7), Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak (12-6), Spain’s Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera (8-4) and Brazil’s Gustavo ‘Guto’ Carvalhaes/Pedro Solberg (8-4).
With 14 match wins each this season through seven events on the 2017 FIVB World Tour, co-leading this category are Italy’s Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai (14-5) and Russia’s Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Nikita Liamin (14-7), while tied for third with 13 wins each are Brazil’s Saymon Barbosa/Alvaro Filho (13-3) and Brazil’s Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt (13-3) and tied for fifth with 12 wins each are USA’s Phil Dalhausser (12-1), Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartoz Losiak (12-6) and Russia’s Oleg Stoyanovskiy/Artem Yarzutkin (12-8).
WOMEN’S WINNING PERCENTAGE/MATCH WINS
Based on percentage, statistically, in women’s action after seven events on the 2017 FIVB World Tour calendar with a minimum of seven matches played, the leader at 88.2% is Brazil’s Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca (15-2), second at 84.2% is Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk/Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa (16-3), third at 77.8% is Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan (7-2), fourth at 76.9% is Czech Republic’s Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova (10-3) and fifth at 75.0% is Brazil’s Maria Antonelli/Carolina Salgado (6-2). sixth at 72.7% are Canada’s Julie Gordon/Camille Saxton (8-3) and tied for seventh at 71.4% each are Brazil’s Fernanda Alves/Barbara Seixas (15-6), USA’s Summer Ross/Brooke Sweat (10-4) and Germany’s Olympic champions Laura Ludwig/Kira Walkenhorst (5-2).
For the women in match wins following seven events on the 2017 FIVB calendar, the leader with 16 match wins is Brazil’s Agatha Bednarczuk/Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa (16-3), tied for second with 15 wins each are Brazil’s Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca (15-2) and Brazil’s Fernanda Alves/Barbara Seixas (15-6), fourth with 11 match wins is Germany’s Chantal Laboureur/Julia Sude (11-5) and tied for fifth with 10 match wins each are Czech Republic’s Barbora Hermannova/Marketa Slukova (10-3), USA’s Summer Ross/Brooke Sweat (10-4) Bictoria Bieneck/Isabel Schneider (10-7) and USA’s Emily Day/Brittany Hochevar (10-7).
ON THE HORIZON
Following the FIVB Moscow 3-Star event in Russia will be a very busy week with the double-gender FIVB The Hague 3-Star tournament in the Netherlands (June 14-18), the women’s only FIVB Nanjing 2-Star tournament in China (June 16-18) and the women’s only FIVB Monaco 1-Star event in the Principality of Monaco (June 17-18). On the heels of those three events next week will be the women’s only FIVB Nantong 2-Star event in China (June 23-25).
GROWING HISTORY
The double-gender FIVB The Hague 3-Star event will be the 360th men’s tournament since the FIVB began play in 1987 and the 321st FIVB women’s tournament since their competition started in 1992. The FIVB Nanjing 2-Star event will be the 322nd women’s tournament and the FIVB Monaco 1-Star event will be the 323rd FIVB women’s event. The FIVB Nantong 2-Star event will be the 324th FIVB women’s tournament.
FIVB 2017
Based in Lausanne, Switzerland as the international governing body for the Olympic sports of Beach Volleyball and Volleyball, the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball calendar features a purse of US$5.61 million with a season that extends from February to August, competing at 25 venues in 19 countries. The calendar involves a new star-rating system with three 5-Star events, all which are part of the FIVB Swatch Major Series portion of the schedule, three 4-Star events, six 3-Star events, four 2-Star events and seven 1-Star events and the special Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals in Hamburg, Germany (Aug. 22-27). The showcase event will be the $1,000,000 2017 FIVB World Championships in Vienna, Austria (July 28-Aug. 6).
There will also be the FIVB U21 World Championships in Nanjing, China (July 11-16).
The 2017 portion of the 2018 FIVB World Tour calendar will start in Qinzhou, China with a double-gender 3-Star event (Oct. 11-15).
FIVB EVENT FORMAT
The new format of all the FIVB Beach Volleyball international tournaments using the Star System from 1-5 has qualifying and a 32-team single-elimination tournament for 5-Star tournaments starting with qualifying followed by pool play and then single elimination knockout rounds. The 1-Star through 4-Star tournaments will modify as needed the basic format to accommodate the particular event with most having a single-elimination tournament. Country Quota playoffs returned as needed in 2015 to determine the final teams for the qualification tournament.