USA, Japan pairs continue dominance at Guam Beach Cup
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Three of the four final pairs, two from Japan and one from the USA, are still unbeaten in the competition.
Sarah Schermerhorn/Kimberley Hildreth of the USA, Kaho Sakaguchi/Reika Murakami of Japan, Franziska Friedl/Eva Pfeffer of Austria and Ida Sinisalo/Anna Rantala made it into the quarterfinals after winning their matches in the round of 12.
They met the top seeds from Pools A, B, C and D in the quarterfinals. Only Schermerhorn/Hildreth survived into the semifinals after defeating Akiko Hasewa/Azusa Futami, 21-18 and 21-19.
The second pair to guarantee its place in the final four was Delaynie Maple/Megan Kraft of the USA, who continue to surprise in the tournament. The 17-year-old duo beat Japan’s Kaho/Reika, the winners of the one-star in Tel Aviv in 2019, in three sets.
Maple/Kraft will meet Schermerhorn/Hildreth, a team they’ve already beaten earlier in this competition’s Pool D matches, in the semis.
The second semifinal will be contested by Japanese pairs Ayumi Kusano/Suzuka Hasimoto and Yurika Sakaguchi/Chiyo Suzuki.
Kusano/Hasimoto defeated Friedl/Pfeffer in a three-set quarterfinal. The Japanese team won the first set, 21-10, but then the Austrians fought back and won the second set, 21-18. Kusano/Hasimoto took the third, 15-8.
Sakaguchi/Chiyo beat Sinisalo/Rantala in three as well. Sakaguchi/Chiyo lost the first set by three points, 18-21, but then recovered to take the win after two more sets, 24-22 and 15-5.
With the semifinals set, a USA versus Japan final is guaranteed.
In gold medal matches on the FIVB Volleyball World Tour, the USA has a 1-0 win record against Japanese women. That dates back to 1996 in Pusan, Korea, when Lisa Arce/Holly McPeak defeated Yukiko Ishizaka/Yukiko Takahashi.
Since the start of the FIVB star system in 2017, women’s pairs from the USA have won nine one-star titles. Japan is second with seven, the Netherlands third with five.
The inaugural women’s Guam Beach Cup has a US$5,000 prize fund, with the winning team sharing US$1,000.
Quick links:
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour – Guam
FIVB.com – Beach volleyball
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Semifinals and finals of the inaugural women’s Guam Beach Cup 2020 take place tomorrow, Sunday, March 8.
Source: Volley - fivb.org
