Beach volleyball duos from Canada, who benefit from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme, were among the medallists at last week’s continental events in Juan Dolio, the Dominican Republic; the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Finals and the NORCECA U23 Beach Volleyball Championships. Pairs from Cuba, the United States and Puerto Rico also reached the podiums.
Canada, whose men’s beach volleyball programme has received CHF 72,000 worth of coach support from Volleyball Empowerment, medalled at both competitions under the guidance of Josh Nichol.
NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Finals
Canada’s Samuel Schachter and Daniel Dearing (pictured in the main photo) reached the final of the tournament after an impressive 2-0 (21-16, 21-19) semifinal win over the number four team in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Rankings, the USA’s Miles Partain and Andrew Benesh. Schachter and Dearing put up a great fight in the final against Cuba’s Noslen Diaz and Jorge Alayo, but lost both sets by the narrowest of margins in the overtime, 2-0 (24-22, 22-20). Partain and Benesh settled for bronze with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-9) sweep of the third-place match against Nicaragua’s Ruben Mora and Jefferson Cascante.
In a high-calibre women’s gold medal match, Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft from the United States of America celebrated a 2-1 (21-16, 14-21, 15-11) victory over Canada’s Sarah Pavan and Molly McBain. Puerto Rico’s Allanis Navas and Maria Gonzalez mastered an emphatic 2-0 (21-6, 21-10) sweep of the bronze medal game against Costa Rica’s Laura Molina and Kianny Quesada.
NORCECA U23 Beach Volleyball Championships
Canada claimed the men’s bronze at the NORCECA U23 Beach Volleyball Championships, held in Juan Dolio before the senior Finals. Tynan Gannett and Steven Abrams made it to the podium after a convincing 2-0 (21-18, 21-14) victory over the USA’s Kyle Paulson and Sebastian Rodriguez in the third-place game. Before that, in the semifinals, the Canadians met the same Cuban duo that eventually won both the U23 and the senior events, Diaz and Alayo, and lost by a tight 2-0 (21-18, 21-19). The Cubans took the U23 continental trophy after mastering an emphatic 2-0 (21-15, 21-13) victory over the USA’s Tate Calles and Brendan Onishchenko in the final.
A Cuban pair snatched the women’s U23 gold too. Amanda Armenteros and Maykelin Drik delivered a 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) victory over the USA’s Sierra Caffo and Ella Larkin in the final. Another American duo, Delayne Maple and Xolani Hodel, completed the podium after a 2-0 (21-11, 21-17) win over Canada’s Katarina Pantovic and Erika Vermette for the bronze.
