2012 U.S. Beach Volleyball National Team Yearbook

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The 2012 U.S. Olympic Beach Volleyball Team Back row from left: Al Lau, Robert Alejo, Mike Dodd, Jeff Conover, Marcio Sicoli, Meiling Brownfield, Joel Carmichael, Jonpaul Roepke Front row from left: Jennifer Kessy, April Ross, Sean Rosenthal, Jake Gibb, Phil Dalhausser, Todd Rogers, Kerri Walsh Jennings, Misty May-Treanor

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................................................3 Fast Facts.......................................................................................................................................................................4 2012 Season Review....................................................................................................................................................5-8 2012 Male Player of the Year.......................................................................................................................................9-10 2012 Female Player of the Year......................................................................................................................................10 2012 Beach Team of the Year....................................................................................................................................11-12 2012 Official Olympic Statistics......................................................................................................................................13 Match Recaps for the 2012 Olympic Games...............................................................................................................14-37 Match Recaps for 2012 FIVB World Tour....................................................................................................................38-61 2012 NORCECA Beach Circuit Results.......................................................................................................................62-63 2012 Domestic Results.............................................................................................................................................64-65 U.S. Beach Volleyball Player Bios................................................................................................................................66-84 2012 USAV Beach Player Rankings.................................................................................................................................85 2012 FIVB World Tour Rankings......................................................................................................................................86 All-Time Olympic Results................................................................................................................................................87 USA Beach Volleyball Fact Sheet.....................................................................................................................................88

Credits: The 2012 USA Beach Volleyball Yearbook is a copyrighted publication produced by USA Volleyball.

Content and Design: B.J. Hoeptner Evans, USA Volleyball Commmunications Manager USA Beach Volleyball 200 Pier Ave., Ste. 134 Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 (310) 975-3930 E-Mail: info@usav.org

Web Site: www.usavolleyball.org

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Fast Facts 2012 International Beach Events (senior level) FIVB World Tour April 15-22 Brasilia Open April 25-29 Olympic Bay Sanya Open (women only) April 24-29 Silesia Open (men only) April 30-May 6 Shanghai Grand Slam May 7-3 Beijing Grand Slam May 22-27 Patria Direct Prague Open (men only) June 6-12 Moscow Grand Slam June 12-17 smart Grand Slam Rome July 2-8 1to1 Energy Grand Slam July 10-15 smart Grand Slam Berlin 2012 July 16-22 A1 Grand Slam July 28-Aug. 9 London Olympic Games Aug. 13-19 Mazury Orlen Grand Slam Aug. 28-Sept. 2 Paf Open (women only) Oct. 23-28 Bangsaen Thailand Open (women only)

Headquarters: 200 Pier Ave., Ste. 134 Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 Phone: (310) 975-3930 Fax: (310) 376-7300 Web site: USAVolleyball.org Managing Director, Beach Programs: Dave Williams Director, Beach Programs: Ali Wood-Lamberson Manager, Beach Events: Jonpaul Roepke Coordinator, Beach Programs: Amber Scott Coordinator, Beach High Performance: Patricia Daugherty Media Inquiries: B.J. Hoeptner Evans Phone: (719) 228-6800 E-mail: BJ.Evans@USAV.org

NORCECA Beach Circuit March 24-26 Cayman Islands March 28-April 2 Guatemala April 4-9 Dominican Republic May 16-21 Chiapas, Mexico May 23-29 Toluca, Mexico June 6-11 Varadero, Cuba Aug. 22-27 Puerto Rico Sept. 28-30 Chula Vista, Calif.

Oct. 26-28 St. Lucia Nov. 14-19 Trinidad & Tobago Nov. 28-Dec. 3 Aruba

USA Volleyball Fast Facts CEO: Doug Beal National Office: 4065 Sinton Road, Suite 200 Colorado Springs, CO 80907 Phone: (719) 228-6800 Fax: (719) 228-6899 International Federation: The FIVB (Federation Internationale de Volleyball — fivb.org) Regional Confederation: NORCECA (North, Central America and Caribbean — norceca.net)

Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series May 25-27 Florida Open June 22-24 Belmar Open June 13-15 Chicago Open July 20-22 Hermosa Beach Open Aug. 3-5 Milwaukee Shootout Aug. 24-26 Manhattan Beach Open Sept. 21-13 Huntington Beach National Championship

Founded in 1928, USA Volleyball is a Colorado incorporated non-profit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) as the National Governing Body for the sport of Volleyball in the United States.

USAV is responsible for both the Olympic disciplines of indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. USAV has more than 262,000 registered members, 12,000 teams and 5,300 clubs nationwide. With an annual budget in excess of $18 million dollars, USA Volleyball supports the USA men’s and women’s senior national team programs, youth and junior national teams, national championship events, coaching education and certification programs, grassroots development, and programs for the disabled and Paralympic Teams. USA Volleyball has a rich tradition of success.

May 17-19 Sept. 13-15

NVL NVL Preakness (Baltimore, Md.) NVL Best of the Beach (Las Vegas)

AVP Aug. 30-Sept. 2 Cincinnati Open Sept. 7-9 AVP Championships (Santa Barbara, Calif.)

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2012 Season Review The 2012 beach volleyball season saw strong performances from a variety of U.S. teams and players. From Olympic gold and silver medals to an FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Championship to domestic dominance, U.S. teams made themselves known.

bringer and Lucena lost both their first round match and their consolation match to finish 25th. Gibb and Rosenthal took a 40-point lead and increased it the next weekend at the Grand Slam event in Moscow where they finished fifth while Fuerbringer and Lucena placed ninth.

FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD TOUR

The slot would be decided in the final week of qualifying on June 13-17 in Rome. Gibb and Rosenthal went into the tournament Going into the 2012 season, most of the qualification for the with a 200-point lead. Perhaps fittingly, they found themselves 2012 Olympic Games, which was based on finishes on the FIVB in the same pool with Fuerbringer and Lucena, whom they deWorld Tour, had been decided. The two gold medal-winning U.S. feated in the first pool play match, 21-16, 20-22, 15-10. teams from the 2008 Olympic Games – Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings along with Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rog- Gibb and Rosenthal secured the Olympic berth with a third vicers – had essentially already qualified for London. tory over Latvia’s Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Ruslans Sorokins, 21-16, 18-21, 16-14, that also propelled the U.S. pair into the Jennifer Kessy and April Ross were also very close to locking up semifinals. the second women’s Olympic slot and clinched it during their second FIVB World Tour tournament of the season in Shanghai, “It has been a great week and a pretty good year,” Rosenthal China. said immediately after qualifying for the Olympic Games. “It has been a huge year and an emotional year.”

But the second men’s slot was still very much up in the air heading into the season as Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena To put an exclamation point on their success, Gibb and Rosenheld a lead of just 60 points over 2008 Olympians Jake Gibb thal went on to win the tournament, defeating Brazil’s top-seedand Sean Rosenthal. Fuerbringer and Lucena took the silver ed Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego, 21-13, 21-12 in the final. medal at the first FIVB World Tour event of the 2012 season in Brasilia, Brazil, to increase their lead to 400 points as Gibb and With the pressure off, Gibb and Rosenthal won the next FIVB World Tour Grand Slam event in Gstaad, Switzerland, finished Rosenthal finished tied for ninth. second in the Berlin Grand Slam and finished third in KlagenHowever Gibb and Rosenthal took a fifth and a second at the furt, Austria. Although they did not reach the podium again, they next two events in Myslowice, Poland, and Shanghai, while finished the season as the FIVB World Tour champions.

Fuerbringer and Lucena placed seventh and fifth, which cut Fuerbringer and Lucena did not reach a World Tour podium their lead to 100 points. again after Brazil.

At the first Grand Slam “Being ranked No. 1 in event of the season the world is something in Beijing, Fuerbringer I never even put on my and Lucena tied for radar,” Gibb said. “I fifth place while Gibb didn’t set it as a goal and Rosenthal finished because I like to set refourth, tying the two alistic goals.” teams in Olympic qualifying points at 4,920 Dalhausser and Rogers apiece. started the international The Prague Open in Czech Republic on May 22-27 proved to be a turning point in the race as Gibb and Rosenthal placed ninth, but Fuer-

Sean Rosenthal, left, and Jake Gibb play against Brazil in Rome. FIVB photo

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season strong, winning the first two World Tour events in Brazil and Shanghai, China. But they finished 17th at the next event in Beijing, losing in the first round

2012 Season Review to Italy’s Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai, the team that would also eliminate Dalhausser and Rogers from the Olympic Games. They came back to win the bronze medal at the Prague Open, but then took a break from the tour for the month of June. It was later revealed that Dalhausser had been hospitalized during that time with blood clots in his shoulder and arm.

Dalhausser and Rogers won their final FIVB World Tour medal as a team at the Mazuri Orlen Grand Slam in Poland where they finished third. They finished the season ranked third on the Tour. After the season, Dalhausser announced that he would be competing with Rosenthal in 2013.

On the women’s side, May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings reached the podium twice prior to London, taking a second in Moscow and the gold in Gstaad.

Phil Dalhausser attacks againt the Czech Republic at the Olympic Games. FIVB photo

nament.

“We got really lucky on that one I think,” Kessy said. “I think Spain’s going to be bummed that they let that one go.”

Kessy and Ross won a bronze medal in Rome prior to winning the silver medal in London. They took their only international gold medal of the season in the final event in Thailand. Kessy and Ross finished the season ranked fourth on the tour while May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings finished 11th.

In the men’s tournament, No. 2 seeded Dalhausser and Rogers won all their pool play matches, surviving a three-set battle against Spain’s No. 11 Pablo Herrera Allepuz and Adrián Gavira Collado, 19-21, 21-16, 15-13 in 58 minutes in their second match on July 31.

2012 OLYMPIC GAMES With The London Eye in the background and the chimes of Big Ben across the street, the beach volleyball tournament at the 2012 Olympic Games in London began July 28, the day after the Opening Ceremony, at Horse Guards Parade.

Unfortunately, in the first round, Dalhausser and Rogers ran into Italy’s No. 13 Nicolai and Lupo, who had won a “lucky losers” match over Canada to advance. The Italians prevailed, winning 21-17, 21-19 in 40 minutes.

May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings sailed through pool play, with the only hiccup being a three-set match against 15th-ranked Austrian sisters Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger in their final pool play match on Aug. 1. Although the U.S. team, seeded third, won the match, 17-21, 21-8, 15-10 in 47 minutes, the first-set loss was the first they had in any of three Olympics. They had won 32 straight Olympic sets going into the match.

“People say they’re the young Phil and Todd,” Rogers said of the Italian team. “They ‘Phil and Todded us to death,’ I guess you could say. They made a few critical plays when we had opportunities and that was all the difference.”

Gibb and Rosenthal, seeded fourth, went 2-1 in pool play, beating Grant Goldschmidt and Freedom Chiya of South Africa and Latvia’s Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Ruslans Sorokins advanced to the first round of single elimination.

“Obviously we wanted to win in two straight sets,” May-Treanor said. “But a victory is a victory and I’m proud with how we came out that second set and carried on.”

Gibb and Rosenthal won their first-round match over Russia’s No. 22 Konstantin Semenov and Serguei Prokopiev, 21-14, 2220. But they were shocked in the second round by Latvia’s No. 17 Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins, 19-21, 21-18, 15-11 in 57 minutes.

Kessy and Ross, seeded fourth, also won all three of their pool play matches, but their toughest match was their final match against Spain’s 16th-seeded Liliana Fernández Steiner and Elsa Baquerizo McMillan. After fighting off three match points, Kessy and Ross won the match, 21-19, 19-21, 19-17 in 1 hour, 6 minutes; one of the three longest matches of the women’s tour-

“I felt the whole way through like we were going to pull it off,”

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2012 Season Review Gibb said. “I felt like we were going to come back when we were down 7-3. I don’t know what happened.”

Kerri Walsh Jennings, left, blocks against Jennifer Kessy at the Olympic Games. FIVB photo

In the women’s tournament, both May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings along with Kessy and Ross won their second- and third-round matches and took only two sets for each.

However, both teams had to battle in the semifinals. May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings played first and defeated No. 2 Chen Xue and Xi Zhang, 22-20, 22-20 in 44 minutes.

May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings had to fight their way back from a six-point deficit in the first set. In the second set, the U.S. team fought off set point at 20-19 to win the match. came it. This was a super challenging match and we overcame “It was amazing. I feel like we eked it out and we eked it out it. with a lot of heart,” Walsh Jennings said. “We didn’t play that great because they made us so uncomfortable. They’re just big, “I’m just really happy that we can be a part of this. I think this is physical athletes.” awesome for beach volleyball in the United States.”

May-Treanor added, “I am very, very proud of how we really stuck together, stayed patient and adjusted.”

After the semifinals, the gold medal match was almost anticlimactic as May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings defeated Kessy and Ross, 21-16, 21-16 in 36 minutes. May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings finished the tournament at 7-0 (21-0 in Olympic matches going back to Athens and 42-1 in Olympic sets).

Kessy and Ross finished their first Olympic Games with the silver medal and a 6-1 record.

The second semifinal was even more competitive as Kessy and Ross upset top-seeded Larissa França and Juliana Felisberta Da Silva, 15-21, 21-19, 15-12, setting up an all-American gold medal match. França and Da Silva had defeated Kessy and Ross the last nine times the two teams had played.

“A big reason Misty and I are gold medalists is because of those two girls,” Walsh Jennings said of Kessy and Ross. “They are one of my favorite teams to beat because they are so good. It’s an honor to share the podium with them. They drive me crazy on the court.”

“It hasn’t sunk in,” Ross said. “I obviously understand that I’m going to be playing in that match tomorrow. I’m just so proud that we were able to do this for USA Beach Volleyball. Misty and Kerri had a big challenge against the Chinese and they over-

NORCECA BEACH CIRCUIT The 2012 NORCECA Beach Circuit provided international experience to many U.S. beach volleyball teams, who collectively won both the men’s and women’s NORCECA tour championships.

The U.S. women’s beach teams that won medals were: Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik (gold in Guatemala on March 29-April 1) Michelle Moriarty and Traci Weamer (silver in Chiapas, Mexico on May 18-20)

Medalists at the NORCECA event in Chula Vista, Calif. NORCECA photo

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2012 Season Review Sweat and Jennifer Fopma won the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series Milwaukee Shootout, which included four invited women’s teams.

On the men’s side, John Hyden and Sean Scott won five of the six open events, including their second straight Manhattan Beach Open and the Huntington Beach National Championship. They also won the Milwaukee Shootout. Ryan Doherty and Casey Patterson won the Belmar Open in New Jersey.

Whitney Pavlik attacks during the Manhattan Beach Open. IMG photo

Emily Day and Heather Hughes (gold in Chula Vista, Calif., on Sept. 28-30) Morgan Beck and Summer Ross (silver in Chula Vista, Calif., on Sept. 28-30) Kathryn Babcock and Weamer (gold in St. Lucia on Oct. 2628) Day and Ross (gold in Trinidad & Tobago on Nov. 16-18) Tealle Hunkus and Weamer (silver in Trinidad & Tobago on Nov. 16-18) Hunkus and Ross (gold in Aruba on Nov. 30-Dec. 2)

Sean Scott, left, and John Hyden celebrate their victory at Manhattan Beach. IMG photo

The U.S. men’s beach teams that won medals were:

The National Volleyball League (NVL) held two pro events in 2012. Doherty and Patterson won the men’s event held in Baltimore in conjunction with the Preakness horse race, defeating Dalhausser and Rogers in the final. Jennifer Kessy and April Ross won the women’s title in Baltimore, defeating Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik in the final. At the Best of the Beach event held in Las Vegas, Jake Gibb won the men’s title and April Ross took the women’s crown.

Tony Pray and John Heagy (silver in Guatemala on March 29-April 1) Tri Bourne and Will Montgomery (silver in Chula Vista, Calif., on Sept. 28-30) Jonathan Mesko and Montgomery (gold in St. Lucia on Oct. 26-28) Jeff Carlson and Tony Ciarelli (silver in St. Lucia on Oct. 26-28) Ciarelli and Montgomery (gold in Trinidad & Tobago on Nov. 16-18) Avery Drost and Montgomery (silver in Aruba on Nov. 30-Dec. 2)

The Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), under new ownership, also held two events in 2012; in Cincinnati and Santa Barbara. Hyden and Scott won the men’s event in Cincinnati, defeating Dalhausser and Rogers and also Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena along the way. Kessy and Ross won the women’s title, beating Kropp and Pavlik in the semifinals and Nicole Branagh and Kerri Walsh Jennings in the final.

DOMESTIC EVENTS The Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series, NVL and AVP all held pro beach volleyball events in 2012. All were highlighted by some great athletic performances.

Gibb and Rosenthal won the event in Santa Barbara, defeating Dalhausser and Rogers and also Hyden and Scott to reach the final were they beat Brad Keenan and John Mayer. Kessy and Ross won the women’s title, again defeating Kropp and Pavlik in the semifinals and Branagh and Walsh in the final.

On the Pro Beach Series, the women’s team of Kenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik dominated, winning all six open events, including their second Manhattan Beach Open trophy in a row and the Huntington Beach National Championship. Brooke

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2012 Male Player of the Year Jake Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) has been named the USA Volleyball Male Athlete of the Year for beach volleyball.

FIVB

Gibb, 36, and partner Sean Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.) finished the 2012 season as the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Champions. They also qualified for their second-straight Olympic Games, where they finished fifth, and won the AVP Pro Beach Tour event in Santa Barbara, Calif.

“I am very honored and very excited about the award,” Gibb said. “Absolutely this has been my best year ever. It’s crazy that I’m 36 years old and just had my best year.”

Gibb was especially proud of having his best year in 2012 after having one of his worst in 2011 when he and Rosenthal won one silver medal and one bronze in international competition. That season came after Gibb was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2010. The cancer was removed via surgery and no further treatment was necessary, allowing him to continue his training and competing.

“The impressive thing was just getting through that year (2011).

In 2012, I regrouped and that is a testament to good coaching medal after going in with four straight podium appearances in and support.”

FIVB Grand Slams.

Gibb credits coach Mike Dodd and trainer Tim Pelot for helping him improve in 2012.

“We went in with that mindset,” he said. “I just felt like all the stars were aligned. We were playing really well. That was a really hard time.”

“Mike changed up some very key things in my game,” Gibb said. “Tim, my strength trainer, helped me put on 10 pounds of At the Olympics, Gibb finished 19th among all Olympic men’s muscle. He helped my energy output.” beach volleyball players (second among Americans behind Rosenthal) with 75 points on 62 kills, 12 blocks and one ace in Gibb called winning the World Tour Championships the high five matches (11 sets). point of his 2012 season.

On the domestic side, Gibb and Rosenthal won a hard-fought “Being ranked No. 1 in the world is something I never even put victory at the AVP Championships in September in Santa Baron my radar,” he said. “I didn’t set it as a goal because I like to bara. The pair lost to John Hyden (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and set realistic goals.”

Sean Scott (Kailua, Hawaii) in pool play, but advanced to defeat 2008 Olympic gold medalists Phil Dalhausser (Ormond Beach, Gibb and Rosenthal won two FIVB Grand Slam tournaments Fla.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and then defeated (Rome and Gstaad, Switzerland) for the first time. They also took Hyden and Scott in the semifinals. They defeated Brad Keenan the silver medal at the Berlin Grand Slam and the bronze at the (Westminster, Calif.) and John Mayer (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)

Grand Slam in Klagenfurt, Austria. Gibb and Rosenthal placed in the final. fourth in three other FIVB events in 2012.

The next weekend, Gibb won the NVL Best of the Beach tournaWhile Gibb and Rosenthal qualified for their second straight ment in Las Vegas. He paired with Nick Lucena (St. Petersburg, Olympics, Gibb called their fifth-place finish in London the low Fla.) to defeat Matt Fuerbringer (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Dalpoint of his season. The team had expected to compete for a hausser in the final.

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2012 Male Player of the Year

Rosenthal, who will be playing with Dalhausser. Gibb and Patterson’s first tournament together is scheduled to be the FIVB World Cup event, currently planned for January in Brazil, although the site and date have not been confirmed.

He and Patterson are planning to compete wherever “the biggest tournament is.

“There will be some travel, both international and domestic with Casey. I hope I get to stay home (in Costa Mesa, Calif.) more than in 2012.”

FIVB

Gibb wants to see more of Jane, his wife of 12 years, and The future will bring big changes for Gibb, who will be partner- son Crosby, who was born in 2011 while Gibb was on the road ing with Casey Patterson (Van Nuys, Calif.) after six years with competing.

2012 Female Player of the Year Misty May-Treanor (Santa Monica, Calif.) has been named the anor and Walsh USA Volleyball Female Athlete of the Year for beach volleyball. credit sports psychologist May-Treanor, 35, and partner Kerri Walsh Jennings (Saratoga, Michael GerCalif.) won their third straight Olympic gold medal in London in vais with help2012, making it through the competition with only one lost set. ing them get In the final, they defeated compatriots Jennifer Kessy (San Juan back in sync.

Capistrano, Calif.) and April Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.), 21-16, 21-16 in 36 minutes at Horse Guards Parade.

"It's important that we're all on “I still feel like somebody pinch me that this just happened,” the same page.

May-Treanor said immediately following the gold medal victory. It's been a pro“We’ve been walking around the stadium saying it feels like an cess," May-Treout-of-body experience. anor said.

FIVB

“This was about the experience, the friendship, the journey and volleyball was just a small part of it.”

The FIVB named MayTreanor its May-Treanor led all Olympic beach volleyball players in digs in Most InspiraLondon with 107 on 225 attempts (15 sets) for a .48 success tional Player of percentage. She was second among all players in scoring with 2012, an honor 125 points on 120 kills, one block and four aces she shared with Walsh Jennings.

May-Treanor and Walsh also won one 2012 FIVB Grand Slam in Gstaad, Switzerland and finished second at the FIVB Grand May-Treanor did not compete domestically in 2012. She is Slam in Moscow. ranked fourth in the USA Volleyball beach rankings.

The team finished the season ranked 11th on the FIVB World May-Treanor, who is married to pro baseball player Matt TreTour after struggling in some of the early tournaments of 2012, anor, has not competed in beach volleyball since the Olympic including ninth-place finishes in Beijing and Shanghai. May-Tre- Games and has said in interviews that she is retiring to coach 10

2012 Beach Team of the Year In a season of standout performances from several U.S. wom- “I thought we were going to be a bigger presence on the podium en’s beach volleyball teams, Jennifer Kessy and April Ross have going into the Olympics,” Ross said. “I can remember being been named the USA Volleyball Beach Team of the Year. upset about it. Maybe it helped us in the end. I wasn’t overconfident going into London.”

Kessy (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and Ross (Costa Mesa, Calif.) won the title for their success both internationally, where Jeff Conover (Bellflower, Calif.), who has coached Kessy and they were ranked fourth on the FIVB World Tour, and domesti- Ross since 2009, was concerned about the finishes, but kept his cally, where they were the top-ranked players in the USA Vol- team focused on its goal. leyball Beach Rankings.

“I was a little nervous. We usually win three or four gold medals The 2012 season also saw outstanding performances by Misty per year,” Conover said. “We wanted to do well every tournaMay-Treanor (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Kerri Walsh Jennings ment. But in the end, it was always going to be about being (Saratoga, Calif.), who won their third-straight Olympic gold ready for London.” medal along with a gold medal in Gstaad, Switzerland and a silver medal in Moscow, and Jenny Kropp (Grand Island, Neb.) London was the highlight of the season for Ross, particularly and Whitney Pavlik (Laguna Beach, Calif.), who dominated the her team’s 15-21, 21-19, 15-12 victory in the semifinals over Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Tour with six victories.

Brazil’s No. 1-seeded Larissa França and Juliana Felisberta Da Silva, a team that had defeated the Americans in their previous On the FIVB World Tour, Kessy, 35, and Ross, 30, won a bronze nine meetings. medal in Rome and a gold medal in Thailand to go with the silver they won at the 2012 Olympic Games. They also had six “That was the most fun and meaningful match I’ve played in my fifth-place finishes on the Tour. entire life,” Ross said. “I’ve played in the world championships and the NCAA championships. That match was by far the best In the United States, Kessy and Ross won the women’s titles at thing in my career.” the AVP tournaments in Cincinnati and Santa Barbara and the NVL event in Baltimore.

Conover agreed that the match was a high point.

For Kessy, the highlights of the season were qualifying for the Olympic Games, reaching the podium in London, and winning the gold medal in Thailand. The toughest part of the season was not reaching the podium in some of the early FIVB World Tour events.

“We played Brazil three or four times last year before the Olympics,” Conover said. “There were two matches that were identical (to the Olympic semifinal) where we got to 10-all in the third set and then gave points away. For us to come out on the winning end in the same situation was validating for them.”

“We didn’t have our best year leading into the Olympics,” Kessy said. “In Rome we got on the podium (with a bronze). You want to win every tournament. But the main goal was winning at the Olympics.”

The finishes off the podium were difficult for Ross as well.

Kessy and Ross fell to compatriots May-Treanor and Walsh Jennings, 2116, 21-16 in the Olympic gold medal match the day after the semifinals.

From left, April Ross, Jeff Conover and Jennifer Kessy in London. USAV photo

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Conover said that if Kessy and Ross had another day to prepare, they would have at least given May-

2012 Beach Team of the Year Treanor and Walsh Jennings a tougher match.

yet to be announced).

They have their sights set on winning the 2013 FIVB Beach World Championship in Stare Jablonki, Poland.

Following the Olympics, Kessy and Ross took another fifth place at the Mazuri Orlen Grand Slam in Poland before finally winning their only FIVB gold medal of the season in Thailand.

Kessy and Ross stayed in Thailand following the tournament to help children who had been orphaned by the 2004 tsunami.

Kessy has talked about retiring after 2013 while Ross is looking toward the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“I want to focus on being the best volleyball player I can be,” Ross said.

From left, April Ross and Jennifer Kessy celebrate their win in Thailand. FIVB photo

“Going forward, I don’t Kessy and Ross were introduced to the children two years ago know what is going to happen. I believe in being prepared for

by Bob Selznick (son of the late beach volleyball player and anything.” coach Gene Selznick), who had brought a team to compete in a junior tournament that was held in conjunction to the FIVB “Domestically, we would love to bring more popularity to the tournament in Thailand. sport,” Kessy added. “We really want it to get back on TV.” “Bob Selznick lives over there,” Kessy explained. “Two years ago, he brought a team from the SOS Children’s Village. The players had been orphaned by the tsunami. They won the tournament over players who were luckier in life. We were really intrigued.”

Ross on what makes Jennifer Kessy special: “I think as a player, if I have to narrow it down, it’s her competitiveness. It probably exceeds anyone I’ve ever known. It really does get us through matches sometimes. I think in our partnership, we have a lot of balance. Having fun and enjoying what you do is important to your success.”

Kessy and Ross have donated clothing and equipment to the village, but now with the help of their sponsor, 4POINT4, a phil- Kessy on what makes April Ross special: “April would not cananthropic brand of sports apparel and gear that donates sports cel practice if it was snowing out there. Sometimes she hurts equipment to developing nations, they will be able to do more. her neck and can barely move and I have to force her to leave.

She’s so motivated and she wants to be at practice and does not “I’m such a believer that kids need to play sports growing up,” want to miss a workout. She always works as hard as she can Ross said. “It gives you advantages and teaches you to be con- the entire time. Sometimes I’m not feeling it at the gym; it really fident. Especially these girls who are orphaned and like to play pushes me to snap out of it.” beach volleyball, they don’t have all the advantages. I think that’s a worthy cause.”

Conover on what makes the team of Kessy and Ross special: “Kessy is the one that is going to make the awesome gameThe future is somewhat uncertain for Kessy and Ross. They are changing play. Ross is the steady one who consistently does currently training for the 2013 FIVB World Cup tournament that amazing things. It’s the perfect combination. They just balance is scheduled for Brazil early in the season (the date and city have each other out really well.”

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2012 Official Olympic Statistics Women’s Statistics Team Rankings by Skill Rk 1 2 10

Team - NOC Zhang Xi/Xue - CHN Kessy/Ross - USA May-Treanor/Walsh - USA

Attacks Matches Attempts 7 366 7 359 7 367

Men’s Statistics Team Rankings by Skill

Success 214 209 189

Percentage 58 58 51

Blocks RK Team - NOC Matches Success 1 May-Treanor/Walsh - USA 7 25 5 Kessy/Ross - USA 7 17 Rk 1 2 11

Service Aces Team - NOC Matches Attempts Zhang Xi/Xue - CHN 7 312 Kessy/Ross - USA 7 315 May-Treanor/Walsh - USA 7 302

Rk 1 6

Team - NOC May-Treanor/Walsh - USA Kessy/Ross - USA

Aces 8 23 15

Digs Matches Attempts Success Percentage 7 302 151 50 7 256 110 43

Rk 1 9 11

Attacks Team - NOC Matches Attempts Cunha/Ricardo - BRA 5 216 Rogers/Dalhausser - USA 4 192 Gibb/Rosenthal - USA 5 257

Rk 1 8 11

Blocks Team - NOC Matches Success Emanuel/Alison - BRA 7 38 Rogers/Dalhausser - USA 4 20 Gibb/Rosenthal - USA 5 15

Rk 1 3 21

Service Aces Team - NOC Matches Attempts Brink/Reckermann - GER 7 307 Rogers/Dalhausser - USA 4 173 Gibb/Rosenthal - USA 5 208

Rk 1 5 11

Team - NOC Matches Plavins/Smedins - LAT 7 Gibb/Rosenthal - USA 5 Rogers/Dalhausser - USA 4

Player Rankings by Skill Rk 1 2 2 5 8

Scoring Name - NOC Matches Sets Atk Blk Zhang Xi - CHN 7 17 132 May-Trenor - USA 7 15 120 1 Ross - USA 7 17 106 5 Kessy - USA 7 17 103 12 Walsh - USA 7 15 69 24

Rk 1 10 13 29

Name - NOC Matches Ross - USA 7 Walsh - USA 7 Kessy - USA 7 May-Treanor - USA 7

Attack Attempts 171 123 188 244

Rk 1 10 19 26

Name - NOC Matches Walsh - USA 7 Kessy - USA 7 Ross - USA 7 May-Treanor - USA 7

Block Success 24 12 5 1

Rk 1 2 7 13 34

Name - NOC Matches Xue Chen - CHN 7 Ross - USA 7 Walsh - USA 7 Kessy - USA 7 May-Treanor - USA 7

Rk `1 10 15 47

Name - NOC Ross - USA Kessy - USA Walsh - USA May-Treanor - USA

Rk 1 9 14 18

Name - NOC Matches May-Treanor - USA 7 Ross - USA 7 Kessy - USA 7 Walsh - USA 7

Serve 7 4 14 9 11

Aces 23 12 4 Success 139 95 67

Percentage 45 53 48

Total Av/Set 139 8 125 8 125 7 124 7 104 7

Rk 1 16 19 23 26

Name - NOC Matches Reckermann - GER 7 Rosenthal - USA 5 Gibb - USA 5 Dalhausser - USA 4 Rogers - USA 4

Scoring Sets Attack Block Serve 16 104 31 13 11 75 3 3 11 62 12 1 9 42 19 9 9 62 1 3

Total 148 81 75 70 66

Percentage 62 56 55 49

Rk 1 1 14 25 36

Name - NOC Matches Dalhausser - USA 4 Semenov - RUS 4 Gibb - USA 5 Rosenthal - USA 5 Rogers - USA 4

Attacks Attempts 64 64 110 147 128

Percentage 66 66 56 51 48

Rk 1 8 12 25 29

Name - NOC Matches Alison - USA 7 Dalhausser - USA 4 Gibb - USA 5 Rosenthal - USA 5 Rogers - USA 4

Block Sets Success 17 37 9 19 11 12 11 3 9 1

Rk 1 3 24 24 37

Name - NOC Matches Reckermann - GER 7 Dalhausser - USA 4 Rogers - USA 4 Rosenthal - USA 5 Gibb - USA 5

Rk 1 13 13 22 47

Name - NOC Sorokins - LAT Dalhausser - USA Gibb - USA Rosenthal - USA Rogers - USA

Rk 1 6 8 27 42

Name - NOC Matches Plavins - LAT 7 Rosenthal - USA 5 Rogers - USA 4 Gibb - USA 5 Dalhausser - USA 4

Fastest Serve (km/hr) 63 81 69 71 54

Fastest Serve km/hr 81 71 69 54 Dig Attempts 225 140 116 77

Percentage 59 54 53

Player Rankings by Skill

Success 106 69 103 120

Service Aces Attempts Aces 160 21 175 14 154 11 140 9 148 4

Digs Attempts 308 180 140

Success 128 104 137

Success 107 59 51 44

Percentage 48 42 44 57

13

Success 42 42 62 75 62

Service Aces Attempts Aces 151 13 81 9 92 3 89 3 119 1 Fastest Serve km/hr 99 87 87 84 55 Dig Attempts 251 145 112 35 28

Av/Set 9.25 7.36 6.18 7.78 7.33

Av/Set 2.18 2.11 1.09 0.27 0.11 Fastest Serve (km/hr) 85 87 55 84 87

Success 107 70 56 25 11

Percentage 43 48 50 71 39

May-Treanor, Walsh Sail Past Australia LONDON (July 28, 2012) – Late-night beach volleyball proved to be no problem for the U.S. team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh on Saturday as they opened pool play with a 21-18, 21-19 victory over the Australian duo of Natalie “Nat” Cook and Tamsin Hinchley at Horse Guards Parade.

May-Treanor and Walsh, seeded No. 3, are the two-time defending Olympic gold medalists and are now 1-0 in Pool B.

Kerri Walsh gets ready for the serve. (FIVB photo)

Cook is competing in her fifth Olympic Games.

Cook and Hinchley held leads in both sets of the women’s match, including leads of 13-9 and 16-14 in the second set. But May-Treanor and Walsh maintained their composure and took advantage of Australia’s mistakes.

“I think every single match is going to be a challenge,” Walsh said. “The parity and depth on the women’s side is awesome.”

May-Treanor and Walsh are playing all their pool play matches at 11 p.m. in London, which concerned Walsh before she arrived. But the team has been training late at night to prepare.

Sean Rosenthal dives to keep the ball alive. (FIVB photo)

Gibb, Rosenthal Open with Victory LONDON (July 28, 2012) – Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal opened the 2012 Olympic Games in London with a pool play victory over Grant Goldschmidt and Freedom Chiya of South Africa, 21-10, 21-11 in 33 minutes at the Horse Guards Parade venue.

Gibb and Rosenthal, who are seeded No. 4 in the tournament and are competing in their second Olympic Games after finishing fifth in Beijing, are now 1-0 in Pool D. Gibb and Rosenthal never trailed the No. 21 South Africans.

“This is what we live for,” Gibb said when asked if he was nervous during the opening match of the Olympic Games. “Once you get the nerves out of the way, it’s fine. I could go back out there right now.”

The U.S. team led in attacks (24-13), blocks (3-1) and digs (23-10). It also scored on 15 errors by South Africa while committing six.

Gibb had 15 attacks and all three blocks. Rosenthal finished with 19 digs.

Chiya scored on eight kills and the match’s only ace. Goldschmidt added at block and each player had five digs.

In the first set the U.S. was leading 14-10 when Gibb scored on a kill and then served for the final six points. The score was tied 7-7 in the second set when Gibb scored on two straight attacks to pull ahead.

Later, with the U.S. leading 14-11, the pair scored on South Africa’s error and Gibb then served for the final six points.

Misty May-Treanor receives the ball against Australia. (FIVB photo)

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Jake Gibb attacks against South Africa (FIVB photo)

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Kessy, Ross Win First Olympic Match LONDON (July 29, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Jennifer Kessy and April Ross, seeded No. 4, won their first Olympic volleyball match, 21-11, 21-18 in 33 minutes against No. 21 Ana Gallay and Maria Virginia Zonta of Argentina on Sunday at the Horse Guards Parade venue.

The team is the only one of the four U.S. pairs making their Olympic debut.

Kessy finished with 16 kills, one block and two aces while Ross had nine attacks, one block and three aces. Kessy had eight digs and Ross was credited with four. The U.S. pair took advantage of 10 Argentina errors while committing seven.

“I was a little bit nervous today during the day,” Kessy said. “But then once I got out I ran out of the tunnel and saw every U.S. fan – I don’t know how many are out there – but I said, ‘OK, I’m at home.’ It was amazing.

“We are used to family and friends cheering for us, but not the whole nation.”

April Ross dives for the ball against Argentina. (FIVB photo)

Despite the victory, Ross came away seeing room for improvement.

“Maybe I’m not so happy with some of the things I did out there, but it’s good to see what happened and be able to prepare for last time,” she said.

Dalhausser, Rogers Get Jump on Japan LONDON (July 29, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers opened pool play at the 2012 Olympic Games on Sunday with a 21-15, 21-16 win in 40 minutes over Japan’s Kentaro Asahi and Katsuhiro Shiratori (seeded No. 23) at the Horse Guards Parade venue.

Dalhausser and Rogers are the defending Olympic champions and seeded No. 2 in the tournament. Dalhausser finished the match with 11 attacks, nine blocks and three aces along with four digs. Rogers was credited with 11 kills and 11 digs. Japan’s Kentaro Asahi led in attacks with 15 and his partner Katsuhiro Shiratori had 13 digs.

Phil Dalhausser, right, attacks against Japan. (FIVB photo)

Dalhausser was impressed by the crowd, estimated at 10,639.

“The crowd is crazy. It sounds like they’re having a lot of fun,” Dalhausser said. “We’re definitely feeding off that energy a little bit.”

Rogers said the team’s first-match loss in 2008 in Beijing played a part in the pre-match planning.

“We thought that way in terms of our preparation and attitude going out on the court,” Rogers said. “Coming out on the court and having fun, understanding that it’s the Olympics and we’re under pressure… Just go out and enjoy yourself and that’s kind of what we did.”

The teams were tied 9-9 in the first set when Dalhausser scored with a kill and two straight blocks to give his team a 12-9 lead that Japan never threatened.

Jennifer Kessy, left, high-fives April Ross during their match. (FIVB photo)

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Todd Rogers receives the ball against Japan. (FIVB photo)

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Gibb, Rosenthal Suffer First Olympic Loss LONDON (July 30, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal lost their first pool play match of the 2012 Olympic Games on Monday with a 21-17, 21-18 loss to Poland’s No. 9 Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel at the Horse Guards Parade venue.

Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.), who are seeded No. 4 in the tournament and are competing in their second Olympic Games after finishing fifth in Beijing, are now 1-1 in Pool D. Fijalek and Prudel are also 1-1.

“They served really well, they blocked really well; they’re a tough team one of the best in the world,” Rosenthal said. “They played really well and our ball control was a little off. I was passing a little inside, outside and didn’t see the court very well.”

Poland put up a balanced attack with Mariusz Prudel finishing with 14 kills and Grzegorz Fijalek adding 13. Rosenthal led all players in attacks with 20, but Gibb had only five. Poland led in blocking, 6-4, with all six blocks coming from Prudel. Gibb had three blocks for the U.S. while Rosenthal had one.

Rosenthal had the only ace of the match.

Sean Rosenthal prepares for a perfect pass against Poland (FIVB photo)

Poland also took advantage of nine U.S. team errors while committing only five.

“We’ve won pools maybe 10 times in our careers,” Gibb said. “This isn’t the craziest thing that has ever happened to us. We’re going to be fine.”

May-Treanor, Walsh Defeat Czech Republic LONDON (July 30, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, seeded No. 3, continued Olympic pool play action on Monday as they defeated No. 10 Marketa Slukova and Kristyna Kolocova of Czech Republic, 21-14, 21-19 in 37 minutes at the Horse Guards Parade venue.

May-Treanor (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Walsh (San Jose, Calif.) are the twotime defending Olympic gold medalists and are now 2-0 in Pool B. They are guaranteed to advance to the first round of single-elimination play, which begins Friday. Slukova and Kolocova are 1-1.

Kerri Walsh celebrates a great play against Czech Republic. (FIVB photo)

“It’s great to come out the way we have been and to get a win against that Czech team,” said May-Treanor, who celebrated her birthday on Monday.

“They’re a very good, scrappy team. They’ve taken down a lot of team throughout the year. I’m very proud about the way we played together.”

The Czech team led in attacks 24-21, paced by Slukova with 15. MayTreanor had 14 for the U.S. pair. However May-Treanor and Walsh blocks (3-2), aces (4-1) and in digs (19-12). May-Treanor and Walsh also took advantage of 14 errors committed by the Czechs while committing only six.

“Those girls are relentless. They move the ball around a lot,” Walsh added.

“They do a lot of funky stuff. They’re both on the smaller side, but looks can be deceiving. They’re good and they’re very creative.”

Sean Rosenthal passes the ball to Jake Gibb (left). (FIVB photo)

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Misty May-Treanor plays the net against Czech Republic.

(FIVB photo)

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Dalhausser, Rogers Guarantee Their Advance LONDON (July 31, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers guaranteed they would advance from their Olympic Games pool on Tuesday with a 19-21, 21-16, 15-13 win in 58 minutes over Spain’s No. 11 Pablo Herrera Allepuz and Adrián Gavira Collado at the Horse Guards Parade venue.

Dalhausser said the team could have played better in the first set.

“We really made it hard on ourselves tonight,” Dalhausser said. “We had a lot of opportunities in that first set to score points and we didn’t convert.

We couldn’t hang on to the darn lead. We’re really lucky to come out with a ‘W’ tonight.”

Dalhausser and Rogers led in attacks (37-31), in blocks (5-3) and in aces (3-1). Rogers led in attacks with 27 while Dalhausser had 10. Dalhausser added four blocks and two aces. Rogers was credited with 25 digs.

The match was not without controversy as Spain was presented with a yellow card for disputing a call near the end of the third set that gave Dalhausser and Rogers match point. Rogers contacted the ball once with his chest and then hit it over with his hand. The referee told Rogers that the first contact was a “spontaneous reaction.”

Todd Rogers puts a perfect pass in play. (FIVB photo)

“I would have thought that it was a double contact,” Rogers said. “I agreed with (the Spanish team). I talked to the ref; he said it was a ‘boom-boom’ play. I said ‘Hey, I appreciate your judgment that way.’”

Kessy, Ross Go 2-0 at Olympic Games LONDON (July 31, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Jen Kessy and April Ross guaranteed that they will advance from pool play when they defeated Netherlands’ No. 9 Marleen Van Iersel and Sanne Keizer, 21-15, 12-21, 15-8 at the Horse Guards Parade venue.

Kessy and Ross improved to 2-0 and will try to win the pool against No. 16 Liliana Fernández Steiner and Elsa Baquerizo McMillan of Spain (2-0).

U.S. fans cheer for Jennifer Kessy and April Ross. (FIVB photo)

Kessy and Ross won the first set. But then a difficult second set was made worse when Kessy had to take an injury timeout to warm up her feet.

“It just got to the point where I couldn’t feel my feet at all,” Kessy said. “I just needed to heat them up. I started tripping over my toes, but I got some warm water and that really warmed them up.”

Kessy and Ross came back to win the tie-breaker.

“Honestly, I don’t think we did anything that different (in the third set),“ Ross said. “Maybe we calmed down and focused on more important stuff.”

Kessy and Ross led the Netherlands team in attacks (29-23), blocks (3-2) and aces (4-3). Their scoring was balanced as Kessy finished with 14 kills, two blocks and one ace and Ross finished with 15 kills, two blocks and two aces. Ross finished with 12 digs and Kessy totaled seven.

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Todd Rogers, left, and Phil Dalhausser celebrate. (FIVB photo)

Jennifer Kessy serves against Netherlands. (FIVB photo)

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May-Treanor, Walsh Win in Three LONDON (Aug. 1, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, seeded No. 3, lost their first Olympic set as a team, but still closed out pool play with a 17-21, 21-8, 15-10 win over Austria’s No. 15 Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger (0-2) on Wednesday at Horse Guards Parade.

May-Treanor and Walsh win Pool B with a 3-0 record. Including London, Beijing and Athens, they had won 32 straight sets in the Olympic Games before losing the first set on Wednesday.

“Obviously we wanted to win in two straight sets,” May-Treanor said. “But a victory is a victory and I’m proud with how we came out that second set and carried on.”

Kerri Walsh receives the ball as Misty May-Treanor gets ready. (FIVB photo)

May-Treanor and Walsh led Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger in attacks (3026) with May-Treanor totaling 19 kills. Doris Schwaiger led in kills with 21.

The U.S. team led in aces 4-3 with Walsh totaling three. Stefanie Schwaiger and Walsh each had four blocks.

The U.S. women led in dig, 31-26. May-Treanor had 24 digs.

“We came out a little bit flat and you never want to come out flat in Olympic competition, or any competition,” Walsh said. “So that was all on us. I think we put ourselves in a good position to come back and win game 1. So we just didn’t seal the deal because we weren’t crisp in game 1.”

Gibb, Rosenthal Defeat Latvia in Quick Sets LONDON (Aug. 1, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal ensured they would advance to the next round of the 2012 Olympic Games with a 21-10, 21-16 victory in 37 minutes over Latvia’s No. 16 Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Ruslans Sorokins (2-0) at Horse Guards Parade.

Jake Gibb tries to go over Latvia’s block. (FIVB photo)

Gibb and Rosenthal won Pool D with a 2-1 record ahead of Poland’s No. 9 Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel (2-1) and also Samoilovs and Sorokins (2-1). All three teams had 2-1 records and five points. Gibb and Rosenthal won the tiebreaker, which is points ratio (1.337).

The team was relieved to be through to the next round after a loss to Fijalek and Prudel on Sunday.

“We’re feeling good. That was a big win for us,” Rosenthal said. “Poland played great the other night. We didn’t play our best game, but they played great so it made us not as good. It’s hard to sit there for two days and think about a loss and try to fix it.”

Gibb and Rosenthal scored 16 points on Latvia errors while committing only eight.

The U.S. team also led the match in kills (24-15), aces (2-1) and digs (107). Rosenthal had 14 attacks and nine digs for the U.S. Samoilovs and Sorokins led in blocks, 2-0, with Sorokins having both.

Misty May-Treanor dives to make the save. (FIVB photo)

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Sean Rosenthal hits against Ruslans Sorokins of Latvia (FIVB photo)

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Rogers, Dalhausser Win Out in Pool Play LONDON (Aug. 2, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers completed pool play at the 2012 Olympic Games on with a 21-13, 21-15 victory in 35 minutes over Petr Benes and Premysl Kubala of Czech Republic at Horse Guards Parade.

Benes and Kubala, seeded No. 14, finish third in the pool at 1-2.

Dalhausser and Rogers dominated the match, leading in attacks (24-19), blocks (5-1) and aces (3-0). The teams tied 9-9 in digs. Rogers had 13 kills, two aces and seven digs. Dalhausser had 11 kills and all five of his team’s blocks.

Jennifer Kessy, left, and April Ross go for the ball. (FIVB photo)

“We were just on. Everything seemed a little bit easier than the last few matches,” Rogers said.

“The last two matches just seemed like a struggle. This time we both were serving well; we both were passing, setting and siding out well. He blocked fantastically. When we’re like that we’re pretty tough to beat.”

Dalhausser added, “If we can keep playing like we did tonight I think we’ll do pretty well.”

Kessy, Ross Wrap Up Pool Play with Win LONDON (Aug. 2, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Jen Kessy and April Ross fought off three match points on Thursday as they completed Olympic pool play with a 21-19, 19-21, 19-17 victory in 1 hour, 7 minutes over Liliana Fernández Steiner and Elsa Baquerizo McMillan of Spain at the Horse Guards Parade venue.

No. 16 Fernández and Baquerizo finish Pool D in second place with a record of 2-1.

Todd Rogers dives to try and save the play. (FIVB photo)

After the teams split the first two sets, Fernández and Baquerizo held match point in the third-set tie-breaker at 14-12. Kessy and Ross took timeout.

Spain had errors in its next two attack attempts to tie the score at 14-14.

A successful kill by Baquerizo gave the Spaniards another match point, but Kessy answered with an attack. Kessy and Ross reached match point at 16-15 and 17-16 with Spain fighting them off each time. At 17-17, Ross scored on two straight attacks for the victory.

“We got really lucky on that one I think,” Kessy said. “I think Spain’s going to be bummed that they let that one go.”

Kessy and Ross led in kills (40-32) but Spain dominated in aces (8-0). Each team finished with two blocks and Kessy and Ross led in digs (20-16).

Kessy and Ross were charged with 15 team errors while Fernández and Baquerizo had 17.

“We’ve played in tournaments where we’ve breezed through pool play and it doesn’t do you any favors,” she said. “I think it’s good that we were tested like that today. We’re learning more about our team and we stuck together even more than in the Dutch game.”

April Ross attacks against Spain’s Liliana Fernández Steiner. (FIVB photo)

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Phil Dalhausser puts a wall up against the Czech Republic.

(FIVB photo)

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Dalhausser, Rogers End Olympic Run LONDON (Aug. 3, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers ended its run at a second straight Olympic Games gold medal on Friday as it fell to No. 15 Nicolai Paolo and Daniele Lupo, 21-17, 21-19 at Horse Guards Parade.

Dalhausser and Rogers, the defending Olympic champions and seeded No. 2 in the tournament, finished with a record of 3-1. Paolo and Lupo, who advanced to the single-elimination round via the “lucky losers” drawing, are 2-2 and will advance to the quarterfinals.

“People say they’re the young Phil and Todd,” Rogers said of the Italian team. “They ‘Phil and Todded us to death,’ I guess you could say. They made a few critical plays when we had opportunities and that was all the difference.”

Todd Rogers hits against Italy’s Nicolai Paolo. (FIVB photo)

Paolo and Lupo led the match in kills (24-21) and blocks (5-1). Dalhausser and Rogers held the edge in aces (3-2) and digs (15-13). Dalhausser and Rogers scored 15 points on Italy’s errors while committing 13.

Rogers had 11 kills and 13 digs. Dalhausser had 10 kills, one block and three aces.

“I’m bummed. Obviously I would have liked to have medaled here again,” Dalhausser said. “We were outplayed and on this tour, you have one bad match and you could be going home. We had a bad match and they played well.”

Rogers said the team will finish out the season, but wasn’t sure what the future would hold.

“We’re going to Poland in 14 days,” he said. “We’re probably going to play out the season and figure it out. I don’t plan on being in another Olympic match unless it’s as a coach or a spectator.”

Jennifer Kessy, right, jousts with Switzerland. (FIVB photo)

Kessy and Ross are Quarterfinals Bound LONDON (Aug. 3, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Jen Kessy and April Ross made it through the first round of single-elimination at the Olympic Games on Friday as they defeated Switzerland’s No. 13 Simone Kuhn and Nadine Zumkehr, 21-15, 21-19 at Horse Guards Parade.

Kessy and Ross, who are first time Olympians and seeded No. 4 in the tournament, advanced to the quarterfinals. Kuhn and Zumkehr finish their Olympic run with a 2-2 record. ”I would have liked to have sided out better in the first game, but we came back with a couple aces and that really helped me out,” Kessy said. “I was really happy with our second set.”

The U.S. pair led in attacks (26-15), in blocks (2-1) and in aces (6-2). It was also credited with 15 digs while Switzerland was credited with seven.

Switzerland scored on 16 errors by the U.S. while committing eight.

Phil Dalhausser is dejected after the loss to Italy. (FIVB photo)

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Jennifer Kessy receives the ball as April Ross watches during a first round match against Switzerland. (FIVB photo)

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May-Treanor, Walsh Dominate at Horse Guards Parade LONDON (Aug. 4, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, seeded No. 3, defeated No. 9 Marleen Van Iersel and Sanne Keizer of Netherlands, 21-13, 21-12 in 30 minutes on Saturday in the first round of elimination in the Olympic tournament at Horse Guards Parade.

May-Treanor and Walsh, the two-time defending Olympic gold medalists, advance with a record of 4-0. They will play Italy’s No. 7 Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti in the quarterfinals. Van Iersel and Keizer finish the Olympic Games at 1-3.

“It’s so nice to come in, go to work and get the heck out of here to rest and prepare for the next match,” Walsh said. “Misty was a rock star tonight.

I can’t wait to watch film because she was everywhere. It was like nine Mistys out there.”

Jake Gibb attacks against Russia as the official watches carefully. (FIVB photo)

May-Treanor and Walsh led in attacks (22-18) led by May-Treanor with 16.

The U.S. team led in blocks (4-0), with Walsh tallying four. The Netherlands had two aces while May-Treanor had one. May-Treanor had 11 of the team’s 14 digs. Netherlands had 13 digs.

May-Treanor and Walsh took advantage of 15 team errors by the Netherlands while committing only five.

“This is the Kerri and Misty that people come to see that we want to play like,” May-Treanor added. “We just keep elevating each match we’re out there.”

Gibb, Rosenthal Chart Win over Russia LONDON (Aug. 4, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal defeated No. 22 Konstantin Semenov and Serguei Prokopiev of Russia, 21-14, 22-20 on Saturday in the first round of single elimination in the Olympic tournament at Horse Guards Parade.

Misty May-Treanor hits against Netherlands. (FIVB photo)

Gibb and Rosenthal, seeded No. 4, will play Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins of Latvia (No. 17) in the quarterfinals. Gibb and Rosenthal improve their record to 3-1. Sememov and Prokopiev finish the Olympic Games at 2-2.

Gibb and Rosenthal led the match in kills (29-22) led by Gibb with 16. They also finished with a 4-3 led in blocks and 25-20 in digs.

Rosenthal said the team had trouble with Serguei Prokopiev, who is nearly 7 feet tall.

“We knew (Semenov) was big at the net and I really showed everybody that he was that big,” Rosenthal said.

Gibb said the team tried to play the net aggressively.

“We had a good game plan just coming out and being aggressive with our setting and I guess it paid off in the first set,” he said.

Sean Rosenthal celebrates the victory over Russia. (FIVB photo)

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Kerri Walsh attacks against Netherlands. (FIVB photo)

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Kessy, Ross Heading to Olympic Semifinals LONDON (Aug. 5, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Jen Kessy and April Ross qualified for the Olympic semifinals with a 25-23, 21-18 victory in 49 minutes over Czech Republic’s No. 10 Marketa Slukova and Kristyna Kolocova at Horse Guards Parade.

After battling to win the first set, Kessy and Ross, seeded No. 4, took an 1811 lead in the second, only to see the Czech team fight back.

A panorama view of the arena at Horse Guards Parade. (FIVB photo)

“For two-thirds of the match I thought I played really well,” Ross said. “I don’t know what happened there at the end. I maybe thought they were going to roll over, which is a terrible thought to have in the Olympics. I knew they weren’t going to. I really think I was trying as hard as I could to put the ball away and they just read me really well and made some good plays.”

Kessy and Ross led in attacks (29-21) and in aces (4-3). Ross had 20 attacks for the U.S. and two aces, which came two in a row at the beginning of the second set. She was clocked with the fastest serve at 80 kilometers per hour (49 miles per hour).

The teams tied in blocks (3-3) and Slukova and Kolocova held the edge in digs (19-18). The Czech team also took advantage of 14 U.S. errors while committing only 10.

April Ross receives the ball as Jennifer Kessy prepares to make a play against Czech Republic. (FIVB photo)

“We needed to win that first set. It was huge,” Kessy said. “I was really impressed by our composure, though not at the end.”

May-Treanor, Walsh Overwhelm Italy in Win LONDON (Aug. 5, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, seeded No. 3, overwhelmed No. 7 Greta Cicolari Marta Menegatti, 21-13, 21-13 in 33 minutes on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament at Horse Guards Parade.

The victory over the Italian team made up for a previous loss May-Treanor and Walsh had suffered to them at the Rome Grand Slam in June.

April Ross, left, and Misty May-Treanor cheer for joy. (FIVB photo)

“Prior to Rome was Moscow and we made it to our first final and got our butts kicked,” Walsh said. “We went to Rome and got our butts kicked again by that Italian team. We came home and we were so sick of losing that way.

“Misty and I have come together. We really looked deep at ourselves both individually and as a team and decided to take on this challenge.”

May-Treanor and Walsh credit both their coach, Marcio Sicoli, and their sport psychologist, Mike Gervais, with helping them turn their season around. They went on to win the gold medal at their next event, the Grand Slam in Gstaad, Switzerland.

May-Treanor and Walsh led the Italian team in attacks (33-22) and blocks (2-0). May-Treanor had 19 attacks for the United States while Walsh had both blocks. May-Treanor and Walsh also had 19 digs as opposed to 14 for the Italians, and scored on seven Italian errors while committing only three.

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Jennifer Kessy blocks with intensity against Hana Klapalova of Czech Republic. (FIVB photo)

Kerri Walsh celebrates as Italy’s Marta Menegatti picks herself up out of the sand. (FIVB photo) 31

Gibb, Rosenthal Finish Olympics in Fifth Place LONDON (Aug. 6, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal finished the 2012 Olympic Games in fifth place on Monday after falling to No. 17 Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins of Latvia, 19-21, 21-18, 15-11 in 58 minutes in the quarterfinals at Horse Guards Parade.

Gibb (Bountiful, Utah) and Rosenthal (Redondo Beach, Calif.), who were seeded No. 4 in the tournament, were competing in their second Olympic Games after finishing fifth in 2008 in Beijing. They complete the tournament with a 3-2 record.

“I felt the whole way through like we were going to pull it off,” Gibb said. “I felt like we were going to come back when we were down 7-3. I don’t know what happened.”

Gibb called the loss the “most disappointing loss of my career.”

Plavins and Smedins led the U.S. team in kills (37-35), aces (3-1) and digs (22-20). The teams tied in blocks (4-4).

“They took advantage of their breaks. The ball bounced their way off the block,” Rosenthal said of Latvia. “They’re a really good defensive team. They dig a lot of balls and keep a lot of rallies alive. They made plays when they had to.”

Sean Rosenthal goes to one knee to save the ball during a quarterfinal match against Latvia. (FIVB photo)

The teams battled back and forth to a 6-6 tie in the first set when the U.S. scored on Rosenthal’s kill and Gibb’s block. Plavins scored with a kill, but the U.S. scored two more points on a Gibb kill and Latvian hitting error to lead 10-7. The U.S. team extended the lead to five at 16-11 and 17-12 when Latvia mounted a comeback on two Smedins kills and a Plavins ace along with a U.S. error to pull to within one at 17-16. But the U.S. held them off with two quick points on kills to lead 19-16. The U.S. reached set point at 20-17, but Plavins scored twice on kills before the U.S. won the set on Plavins’ hitting error.

The teams again battled to a 6-6 tie in the second set, but this time Latvia scored twice on an attack and ace from Smedins to lead 8-6. Latvia led 10-8 when the U.S. tied the score on a Gibb kill and Rosenthal block. The teams continue to battle back and forth until the score was tied at 18-18.

Smedins carried Latvia to set point with a block and kill before Plavins won the set with a kill.

Jake Gibb blocks against Latvia’s Janis Smedins. (FIVB photo)

Latvia jumped to a 3-1 lead in the third set on two Plavins attacks and a U.S. error. The Latvians increased the lead to four at 6-2. With Latvia leading 7-3, the U.S. pulled to within two on a kill and block from Gibb. Latvia called timeout and came back to score on a Plavins attack. The teams battled back and forth until Latvia led 12-8. The U.S. scored twice on two Gibb kills to pull to within two at 12-10. But it was too little, too late. Latvia reached match point on Plavins’ kill and a U.S. error. Rosenthal scored with a final attack before Plavins won it with a kill.

Sean Rosenthal cheers for a great play. (FIVB photo)

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Jake Gibb sets the ball during his quarterfinal match against Latvia (FIVB photo)

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May-Treanor, Walsh to Play for Gold Again LONDON (Aug. 7, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, seeded No. 3, advanced to its third straight Olympic final after defeating China’s No. 2 Chen Xue and Xi Zhang, 22-20, 22-20 in 44 minutes on Tuesday in the semifinals at Horse Guards Parade.

May-Treanor and Walsh, the two-time defending Olympic gold medalists, improved to 6-0 (20-0 in Olympic matches going back to Athens and 40-1 in Olympic sets).

April Ross, left, and Misty May-Treanor reach for the ball. (FIVB photo)

May-Treanor and Walsh had to fight their way back from a six-point deficit in the first set. In the second set, the U.S. team fought off set point at 20-19 to win the match.

“It was amazing. I feel like we eked it out and we eked it out with a lot of heart,” Walsh said. “We didn’t play that great because they made us so uncomfortable. They’re just big, physical athletes.”

May-Treanor added, “I am very, very proud of how we really stuck together, stayed patient and adjusted.”

The play of the match, and perhaps the tournament, came in the second set with China leading 19-18. China’s Zhang attacked the ball and was caught by surprise when May-Treanor ran it down and passed it close to the net.

Walsh passed it over while sliding under the net and it landed short on China’s side as Xue and Zhang had moved to the back of the court.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh cheer for a great play. (FIVB photo)

Kessy, Ross to Play in All-American Final LONDON (Aug. 7, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Jen Kessy and April Ross set the stage for an all-American Olympic gold medal match on Wednesday by upsetting Brazil’s No. 1 Larissa França and Juliana Felisberta Da Silva, 15-21, 21-19, 15-12 in the semifinals at Horse Guards Parade.

“It hasn’t sunk in,” Ross said. “I obviously understand that I’m going to be playing in that match tomorrow. I’m just so proud that we were able to do this for USA Beach Volleyball.

“I’m just really happy that we can be a part of this. I think this is awesome for beach volleyball in the United States.”

Fans try to stay dry during the second Olympic semifinal. (FIVB photo)

Kessy and Ross endured a light but steady rain while coming back from a first-set loss to beat the Brazilians, who are the defending world champions. Kessy and Ross had lost to França and Silva the last nine times they have played and went into the match with a 4-19 overall record against the Brazilian side. Ross said the team went into Tuesday’s match with a different strategy.

“Our coach Jeff Conover did a lot of scouting and we watched every single video from here that they’ve played,” Ross said “We came up with the idea of serving Larissa more. From a strategy perspective I think that is different than before.”

Jennifer Kessy blocks against Brazil during the semifinals. (FIVB photo)

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April Ross, left, and Jennifer Kessy scream for joy after their victory over Brazil in the Olympic semifinals. (FIVB photo)

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Walsh and May-Treanor Pull Off Three-peat LONDON (Aug. 8, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won their third straight Olympic Games gold medal on Wednesday, defeating compatriots Jennifer Kessy and April Ross, 21-16, 21-16 in 36 minutes at Horse Guards Parade.

May-Treanor and Walsh, who won gold medals in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008 and were seeded No. 3 in London, finish the tournament at 7-0 (21-0 in Olympic matches going back to Athens and 42-1 in Olympic sets).

Kessy and Ross (No. 4) finish their first Olympic Games with a silver medal and a 6-1 record.

Misty May-Treanor passes the ball during the gold medal match. (FIVB photo)

“A big reason Misty and I are gold medalists is because of those two girls,” Walsh said of Kessy and Ross. “They are one of my favorite teams to beat because they are so good. It’s an honor to share the podium with them.

They drive me crazy on the court.”

“I still feel like, ‘somebody pinch me that this just happened,’” said MayTreanor, who has said she plans to retire after the Olympic Games. “We’ve been walking around the stadium saying it feels like an out-of-body experience.

“This was about the experience, the friendship, the journey and volleyball was just a small part of it.”

Kerri Walsh, left, blocks against Jennifer Kessy in the final. (FIVB photo)

With May-Treanor and Walsh’s victory, the United States continues its streak of having at least one gold medalist in beach volleyball since its introduction in 1996. The United States has earned at least one volleyball medal, either indoor or beach, in every Olympics since 1984.

May-Treanor and Walsh become the first women to win three Olympic medals in beach volleyball and the first players of either gender to win three beach volleyball gold medals On Wednesday, May-Treanor and Walsh led in attacks (27-22), blocks (179) and digs (17-9). The two teams tied in aces (2-2).

May-Treanor led in attacks with 16. Kessy had 14 for her team. Walsh had three blocks while Kessy had two. May-Treanor finished with 15 digs.

“We’re really proud of what we did here,” Ross said. “I’m so proud of how we fought. We just didn’t have that same opportunity in this match. They didn’t let us back in. Kudos to them.

Emotions run high for Jennifer Kessy, left, and Misty May-Treanor. (FIVB photo)

“We expected a battle and it wasn’t the battle we thought it was going to be.”

“They made us make great shots to go down; mediocre shots were not going to go down,” Kessy said. “They played really well. It was just a bummer to lose the last time we are ever going to play against them.”

The last time the U.S. had two teams in the Olympic beach finals was at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta where Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes advanced as did the U.S. team of Mike Dodd and Mike Whitmarsh.

Kiraly and Steffes went on to win the gold.

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Misty May-Treanor runs over to hug Kerri Walsh after the match. (FIVB photo)

From left, silver medalists Jennifer Kessy and April Ross, gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh and bronze medalists Larissa Franca and Juliana Felisberta of Brazil. (FIVB photo) 37

Dalhausser, Rogers Win All-U.S. Final in Brazil BRASILIA, Brazil (April 22, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers defeated compatriots Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena to win the gold medal.

The top-ranked Dalhausser and Rogers defeated Fuerbringer and Lucena, seeded fourth, 21-17, 21-18 in 44 minutes. Rogers and Dalhausser will split $30,000 while Fuerbringer and Lucena will share $21,000. It was the third straight Brasilia Open victory for Dalhausser and Rogers.

Phil Dalhausser passes the ball during the gold medal match against Matt Fuerbringer, left, and Nick Lucena. (FIVB photo)

“We love to play in Brazil. We love playing Americans and we love winning in Brazil and it certainly showed this week,” Rogers said in an FIVB release.

“We had a tough week, especially losing in the second round and having to come back in our first tournament of the year and me coming off a serious knee injury. In the second set I was tired and made a couple of mistakes and they got back in the game.

“We know Matt and Nick so well we have a lot more rallies than against most opponents, but I can say any questions I had about our off time from the tour are gone.”

It was the 13th time in the history of the FIVB SWATCH World Tour that two teams from the United States have met in the gold medal match.

Left: John Mayer attacks against compatriot Billy Strickland.

Right: April Ross blocks against Brazil. (FIVB photo)

In the women’s event, the top-seeded team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh finished tied for fifth after falling to Brazil’s No. 2 seeded Larissa França and Juliana Felisberta Da Silva.

Men’s Results April 17-22: Brasilia Open, Brazil 1. Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, USA 2. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena, USA 3. Ricardo Santos and Pedro Cunha, Brazil Other U.S. Results 9T. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal 25T. Brad Keenan and John Mayer CQ. Casey Jennings and Billy Strickland

Jake Gibb dives for the ball to make the save in Brazil. (FIVB photo)

Women’s Results April 15-20: Brasilia Open, Brazil 1. Chen Xue and Xi Zhang, China 2. Talita Da Rocha Antunes and Maria Antonelli, Brazil 3. Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti, Italy U.S. Results 5T. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh 9T. Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 17T. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Niles 25T. Angie Akers and Brittany Hochevar

Matt Fuerbringer passes the ball against Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser. (FIVB photo)

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From left, silver medalists Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena, gold medalists Phil Dalhausser and 39 Todd Rogers and bronzed medalists Ricardo Santos and Pedro Cunha. (FIVB photo)

U.S. Men’s Teams Bow Out in Poland MYSLOWICE, Poland (April 28, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball teams of Matt Fuerbringer/Nick Lucena and Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal both finished play at the Silesia Open.

The two teams are battling for the second U.S. men’s beach volleyball berth at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Both were playing in the consolation bracket on Saturday after losing main draw matches.

Jake Gibb thinks things over after a loss to Brazil. (FIVB photo)

Second-ranked Fuerbringer and Lucena fell to Spain’s third-seeded Pablo Herrera and Adrian Gavira, 21-14, 19-21, 15-11 in 50 minutes.

Fuerbringer and Lucena finished the tournament tied for seventh.

Herrera and Gavira moved on to play the 13th-seeded Gibb and Rosenthal and defeated the U.S. pair, 21-19, 21-11 in 32 minutes. Gibb and Rosenthal finished the tournament tied for fifth.

Fuerbringer and Lucena went into Poland leading Gibb and Rosenthal by 400 points in the race for the second spot on the U.S. Olympic beach volleyball team.

Nick Lucena, left, and Casey Jennings, right, both play at the net. (FIVB photo)

The U.S. team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers the defending Olympic champion, has already secured enough points to qualify and did not play in the tournament.

Two U.S. women’s teams competed on April 24-29 at the Sanya Open in China. Angie Akers and Brittany Hochevar finished 25th while Emily Day and Heather Hughes lost in qualifying.

Men’s Results April 24-29: Silesia Open, Myslowice, Poland 1. Ricardo Santos and Pedro Cunha, Brazil 2. Marcio Araujo and Pedro Salgado, Brazil 3. Pablo Herrera and Adrián Gavira, Spain U.S. Results 5T. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal 7T. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena 41T (QT). Casey Jennings and Billy Strickland

Nick Lucena, right, attacks against Spain’s Adrian Gavira. (FIVB photo)

Women’s Results April 24-29: Olympic Bay Sanya Open in China 1. Talita Da Rocha Antunes and Maria Antonelli, Brazil 2. Larissa Franca and Juliana Felisberta de Silva, Brazil 3. Chen Xue and Xi Zhang, China U.S. Results (No photos available) 25T. Angie Akers and Brittany Hochevar 41T (QT). Emily Day and Heather Hughes

Matt Fuerbringer, right, attacks against Spain’s Pablo Herrera. (FIVB photo)

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Matt Fuerbringer reaches for the ball. (FIVB photo) 41

Dalhausser, Rogers Win Second Gold of 2012 SHANGHAI, China (May 6, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers defeated compatriots Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal to win the gold medal at the Shanghai Grand Slam in China.

Dalhausser and Rogers, the tournament’s No. 1 seeds, defeated Gibb and Rosenthal, ranked 14th, 21-19, 22-24, 15-11 in 1 hour, 7 minutes.

“I thought we played really well,” Rogers said in an FIVB press release.

“Jake and Rosey played very well, but I was very pleased with how we handled them.”

Lauren Fendrick, left, goes up against the block by Spain. (FIVB photo)

The silver medal represents Gibb and Rosenthal’s best result on the FIVB SWATCH World Tour since they finished third at the 2011 Quebec Open. “(Dalhausser and Rogers) played great and they really just sided-out great,” Gibb said. “We can’t beat them if they side out that well. They played great and we can’t take anything away from them.”

To reach the final match Dalhausser and Rogers defeated Brazil’s 12thseeded Benjamin Insfrans and Bruno Schmidt when the Brazilian pair forfeited due to injury. Rogers and Dalhausser had won the first set, 35-33 before Insfrans was injured in the second set.

In the women’s bracket, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, seeded fourth, finished tied for ninth after losing in the second round. Fifth-ranked Jennifer Kessy and April Ross finished tied for fifth after losing in the third round.

Left: Angie Akers blocks against Greece. Left: Jake Gibb hits against Brazil. (FIVB photo)

Men’s Results May 1-6: Shanghai Grand Slam, China 1. Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, USA 2. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, USA 3. Marcio Araujo and Pedro Salgado, Brazil Other U.S. Results 5T. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena 17T. Brad Keenan and John Mayer

Jake Gibb, left, looks to get the ball past Phil Dalhausser. (FIVB photo)

Women’s Results April 30-May 5: Shanghai Grand Slam, China 1. Chen Xue and Xi Zhang, China 2. Talita Da Rocha Antunes and Maria Antonelli, Brazil 3. Larissa Franca and Juliana Felisberta de Silva, Brazil U.S. Results 5T. Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 9T. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh 17T. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Niles 33T (QT). Angie Akers and Brittany Hochevar

Sean Rosenthal dives for the ball. (FIVB photo)

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Nick Lucena receives the ball on his knees. (FIVB 43 photo)

Gibb, Rosenthal Tied with Fuerbringer, Lucena BEIJING, China (May 13, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal pulled into a tie for a slot on the 2012 Olympic Team after finishing fourth at the Beijing Grand Slam in China, the second grand slam event on the FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour.

Misty May-Treanor takes flight to go after the ball. (FIVB photo)

Gibb and Rosenthal, seeded 11th in Beijing, fell to Brazil’s fifth-seeded Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego, 21-13, 21-16 in the bronze medal match in Beijing. The U.S. team fell to Netherlands’ third-seeded Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil, 22-20, 21-19 in the semifinals.

Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena, who are battling with Gibb and Rosenthal for the second U.S. Olympic berth, finished fifth in Beijing after losing in the third round to Nummerdor and Schuil, 21-15, 21-17. Fuerbringer and Lucena went into Beijing with a 100-point lead over Gibb and Rosenthal.

Both teams now have 4,920 points toward Olympic qualifying. Gibb and Rosenthal are also leading the FIVB SWATCH World Tour with 1,880 points while Fuerbringer and Lucena are second with 1,800.

The U.S. women’s beach team of Jen Kessy and April Ross, seeded fifth, defeated compatriots and No. 4 seeds Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, 24-22, 24-22 in 45 minutes in the second round. May-Treanor and Walsh finished tied for ninth.

Left: Jennifer Kessy prepares to serve. Right: Lauren Fendrick receives the ball. (FIVB photo)

However Kessy and Ross fell to Netherlands’ sixth-ranked Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel in the third round, 21-13, 13-21, 15-10 in 43 minutes.

Kessy and Ross finished tied for fifth.

Men’s Results May 8-13: Beijing Grand Slam, China 1. Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil, Netherlands 2. Nicolai Paolo and Daniele Lupo, Italy 3. Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego, Brazil U.S. Results 4. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal 5T. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena 17T. Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser Kerri Walsh, left, tries to block Jennifer Kessy in the second round. (FIVB photo)

Women’s Results May 7-12: Beijing Grand Slam, China 1. Larissa Franca and Juliana Felisberta de Silva, Brazil 2. Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti, Italy 3. Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel, Netherlands U.S. Results 5T. Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 9T. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh 17T. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Niles 33T (QT). Angie Akers and Brittany Hochevar

Matt Fuerbringer celebrates during a match in Beijing. (FIVB photo)

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Sean Rosenthal attacks against Latvia’s Ruslans Sorokins in Beijing.

(FIVB photo)

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Dalhausser, Rogers Bounce Back for Bronze PRAGUE, Czech Republic (May 27, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers won the bronze medal at the Patria Direct Prague Open in Czech Republic.

Dalhausser and Rogers, seeded No. 1, defeated Brazil’s sixth-seeded Solberg and Marcio Araujo, 21-13, 21-19 in 40 minutes in the bronze medal match.

Jake Gibb thinks things over in Czech Republic. (FIVB photo)

The Olympic champions now own Prague gold (2010), silver (2011) and bronze (2012).

In the bronze medal match strong serving Dalhausser, who scored three aces, kept the pressure on Marcio, which led to an easy win over the Brazilians.

“Marcio did not have his best game today. I know from experience how hard it is sometimes to get motivated after you lose the semifinal,” Dalhausser said after his team had collected its 41st overall medal.

Rogers celebrated his 100th World Tour event in Prague.

Brazil's Ricardo Santos and Pedro Cunha claimed their fourth FIVB SWATCH World Tour title as they beat last year’s champions, Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego of Brazil, in three sets, 21-15 19-21 15-10.

After a week off the FIVB SWATCH World Tour resumes on June 6 with the Grand Slam in Moscow. That will be followed by the final match in the Olympic qualification period, the Rome Grand Slam on June 12-17.

Left: Todd Rogers sets the ball. Right: Billy Strickland passes. (FIVB photos)

While Dalhausser and Rogers have enough qualifying points to take the first United State’s men’s beach volleyball Olympic berth, the teams of Matt Fuerbringer/Nick Lucena and Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal are still battling for the second spot.

Going into Moscow, Gibb and Rosenthal have a 40-point lead over Fuerbringer and Lucena.

Men’s Results May 22-27: Patria Direct Prague Open, Czech Republic 1. Ricardo Santos and Pedro Cunha, Brazil 2. Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego, Brazil 3. Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, USA Other U.S. Results 9T. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal 25T. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena 41T (QT). Casey Jennings and Billy Strickland

Phil Dalhausser blocks against Brazil’s Ricardo Santos. (FIVB photo)

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Phil Dalhausser, right, blocks against Premysl Kubala of Czech Republic as Petr Benes watches.

(FIVB photo)

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May-Treanor, Walsh Take Silver in Moscow MOSCOW, Russia (June 11, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh took the silver medal at the Moscow Grand Slam to earn their first podium appearance on the 2012 FIVB SWATCH World Tour.

On the men’s side, Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal strengthened their position in The Chase for London with a fifth-place finish in Moscow while Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) placed ninth.

Brooke Niles lunges to make the dig against France. (FIVB photo)

In the championship match, May-Treanor and Walsh, seeded No. 6, fell to the top-seeded Chinese team of Chen Xue and Xi Zhang, 21-14, 21-14 in 34 minutes. The victory earned Xue and Xi their third gold medal at an FIVB event this season. In the semifinals, the U.S. pair defeated Brazil’s No. 2-seeded Larissa Franca and Juliana Felisberta Da Silvia, 21-12, 22-20 in 36 minutes.

The U.S. men’s beach team of Gibb and Rosenthal went into Moscow with a 40-point lead over Fuerbringer and Lucena in the battle to decide the second pair to make the U.S. Olympic beach volleyball team.

In the second round, No. 8-seeded Gibb and Rosenthal defeated Germany’s 19th-seeded Sebastian Dollinger and Stefan Windscheif 21-12, 21-18 in 36 minutes. Their run at Moscow ended in the third round with a loss to the second-seeded Brazilian team of Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego, 21-18, 21-19 in 39 minutes. Fuerbringer and Lucena, the No. 7 seed at Moscow, were upset in the second round by Latvia’s Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Ruslans Sorokins (No. 13) 13-21, 21-11, 15-13 in 47 minutes and finished ninth.

Women’s Results June 6-11: Moscow Grand Slam, Russia 1. Chen Xue and Xi Zhang, China 2. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, USA 3. Larissa Franca and Juliana Felisberta de Silva, Brazil Other U.S. Results 5T. Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 33T (QT). Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Niles 33T (QT). Angie Akers and Brittany Hochevar CQ. Tyra Turner and Nicole Branagh

Left: Jennifer Kessy, right, hits against the block of Kerri Walsh. (FIVB photo) Right: Jake Gibb is positioned to make a perfect pass. (FIVB photo)

Men’s Results June 7-12 Moscow Grand Slam, Russia 1. Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego, Brazil 2. Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil, Netherlands 3. Ricardo Santos and Pedro Cunha, Brazil U.S. Results 5T. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal 9T. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena

Jennifer Kessy, left, passes to partner April Ross. (FIVB photo)

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Brittany Hochevar, right, attacks against49Japan’s Takemi Nishibori. (FIVB photo)

Gibb, Rosenthal Win First FIVB Grand Slam ROME, Italy (June 17, 2012) – Riding the momentum of their Olympic qualification, the U.S. men’s beach volleyball team of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal won its first FIVB Grand Slam tournament in Rome.

On June 16, Gibb and Rosenthal, seeded No. 5, clinched enough FIVB qualifying points to secure nomination to the U.S. Olympic Team that will compete in London. On June 17, they defeated Brazil’s top-seeded Emanuel Rego and Alison Cerutti, 21-13, 21-12 in 36 minutes to win the gold medal.

In other medal matches, the U.S. women’s team of Jennifer Kessy and April Ross won the bronze medal while the U.S. men’s team of Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena fell in their bronze medal match.

Left: April Ross, left, and Jennifer Kessy celebrate their bronze medal. (FIVB photo) Right: Jake Gibb, left, and Sean Rosenthal stand atop the podium. (FIVB photo)

Gibb and Rosenthal won their second FIVB medal of the season after taking the silver at the Shanghai Grand Slam.

“I can’t believe it really,” Gibb said in an FIVB press release. “It was a big win for us here. They are the world champions and in my opinion the best in the world and we got lucky tonight.

“This is our first grand slam and it is something I haven’t done in 12 years of my career, so it is a very special moment.”

Fuerbringer and Lucena, seeded No. 12, who had been battling Gibb and Rosenthal for the second nomination to the U.S. Olympic Team, lost in the bronze medal match to Switzerland’s No. 25 Sasha Heyer and Sebastian Chevalier, 23-21, 21-13 in 41 minutes.

In the women’s event in Rome, Kessy and Ross won their first FIVB medal of the season with a 21-17, 15-21, 15-13 victory in 59 minutes in the bronze medal match over fifth-seeded Marta Menegatti and Greta Cicolari of Italy.

Angie Akers recieves the ball as Brittany Hochevar gets ready to make a play. (FIVB photo)

Men’s Results June 13-17 smart Grand Slam Rome, Italy 1. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, USA 2. Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego, Brazil 3. Sascha Heyer and Sebastian Chevallier, Switzerland Other U.S. Results 4. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena 33T (QT). Casey Jennings and Billy Strickland 33T (QT). Brad Keenan and John Mayer Women’s Results June 12-17: smart Grand Slam Rome, Italy 1. Simone Kuhn and Nadine Zumkehr, Switzerland 2. Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig, Germany 3. Jennifer Kessy and April Ross, USA Other U.S. Results 5T. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, USA 17T. Tyra Turner and Nicole Branagh 33T (QT). Angie Akers and Brittany Hochevar CQ. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Niles

Left: Billy Strickland receives the ball. Right: John Mayer, right, attacks. (FIVB photo)

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Tyra Turner keeps her eye on the ball as she passes it in Rome. (FIVB photo) 51

U.S. Teams Sweep Gold in Gstaad GSTAAD, Switzerland (July 7, 2012) – If the results in Gstaad are any indication, U.S. beach volleyball teams are peaking at exactly the right time.

With 20 days to go until the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the U.S. women’s beach team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, seeded No. 6, picked up its first FIVB World Tour victory of the season as it defeated Netherlands’ fifth-seeded Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel, 21-10, 21-13 in 32 minutes. The U.S. team of Jennifer Kessy and April Ross finished fifth.

“It is first of all very exciting to play against such a young, fired-up team and to see them in the finals,” May-Treanor said in an FIVB press release.

“We needed to stay balanced against the Dutch, they are always dangerous competitors. I am also happy to see the Netherlands, the Swiss and the USA on the podium. This makes a great picture. I would like to get used to it."

On the men's side, the U.S. team of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal won its second FIVB World Tour event in a row defeating Brazil’s second-seeded Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego in the gold-medal match, 21-17, 21-17 in 38 minutes. Gibb and Rosenthal won $43,500 for the victory.

Misty May-Treanor, left, and Kerri Walsh examine the gold medal. (FIVB photo)

Gibb and Rosenthal advanced to the gold medal match by defeating topseeded compatriots Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers in the semifinals, 2110, 21-18 in 34 minutes.

Dalhausser and Rogers advanced to the bronze-medal match, where they fell to Italy’s 13th-seeded Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai 21-19, 21-18 in 36 minutes.

Women’s Results July 2-7: 1to1 Energy Grand Slam, Gstaad, Switzerland 1. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, USA 2. Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel, Netherlands 3. Simone Kuhn and Nadine Zumkehr, Switzerland Other U.S. Results 5T. Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 17T. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Niles 17T. Jenny Kropp and Nicole Branagh 25T. Brooke Sweat and Jennifer Fopma CQ. Angie Akers and Brittany Hochevar CQ. Emily Day and Heather Hughes Men’s Results July 3-8:5 1to1 Energy Grand Slam, Gstaad, Switzerland 1. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, USA 2. Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego, Brazil 3. Nicolai Paolo and Daniele Lupo, Italy Other U.S. Results 4. Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser 5T. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena 25T. Casey Jennings and Billy Strickland CQ. Brad Keenan and John Mayer

Brooke Sweat dives for the ball during a qualifying match in Gstaad. (FIVB photo)

Casey Jennings, left, and Billy Strickland both go after the ball in Gstaad. (FIVB photo)

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Jake Gibb, left, and Sean Rosenthal have all the cowbell they need following their victory in Gstaad, Switzerland.

(FIVB photo)

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Gibb, Rosenthal Settle for Silver in Berlin BERLIN, Germany (July 14, 2012) – The U.S. beach volleyball team of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal came up one set short in its quest to win a third straight FIVB World Tour gold medal and had to settle for silver at the smart Grand Slam Berlin.

Brad Keenan dives for the ball as John Mayer gets ready to make a play. (FIVB photo)

On the women’s side, the U.S. team of Jennifer Kessy and April Ross finished fifth while Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson placed seventh.

For the third straight tournament, Gibb and Rosenthal, seeded No. 3, faced Brazil’s top-seeded Emanuel Rego and Alison Cerutti in a World Tour grand slam final. However, unlike the past two tournaments, Gibb and Rosenthal fell on Saturday, 21-17, 15-21, 15-11 in 46 minutes.

“We’ve had a good tournament,” Gibb said.

“They played better than us, so good for them. We now have one more, big tournament next week in Klagenfurt so hopefully we will do well then.”

Gibb and Rosenthal reached the gold medal match by defeating Poland’s No. 15 Mariusz Prudel and Grzegorz Fijalek, 21-18, 21-14 in 42 minutes in the semifinals on Saturday.

April Ross, right, and Jennifer Kessy celebrate a great play. (FIVB photo)

On the women’s side, No. 4 Kessy and Ross opened Saturday with a second-round victory over Germany’s No. 7 Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig, 1321, 21-18, 15-13 in 57 minutes. But in the third round, Kessy and Ross fell to Italy’s No. 5-seeded Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti, 22-20, 19-21, 17-19 in 1 hour and 3 minutes.

Men’s Results July 10-14: smart Grand Slam Berlin, Germany 1. Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego, Brazil 2. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, USA 3. Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel, Poland Other U.S. Results 9T. Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser 17T. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena 25T. Brad Keenan and John Mayer

Sean Rosenthal, right, stays out of the way of Jake Gibb’s pass. (FIVB photo)

Women’s Results July 11-15 smart Grand Slam Berlin, Germany 1. Larissa Franca and Juliana Felisberta de Silva, Brazil 2. Chen Xue and Xi Zhang, China 3. Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti, Italy U.S. Results 5T. Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 9T. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Niles 17T. Summer Ross and Nicole Branagh 25T. Angie Akers and Brittany Hochevar

Jake Gibb, right, gets ready to serve as Sean Rosenthal waits. (FIVB photo)

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Lauren Fendrick passes the ball to a waiting Brooke Niles.

(FIVB photo)

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Gibb, Rosenthal Leave Austria with Bronze Medals KLAGENFURT, Austria (July 22, 2012) – The U.S. men’s beach volleyball teams of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal took third place at the A1 Grand Slam in Klagenfurt, Austria to earn their fourth straight podium appearance on the 2012 FIVB SWATCH World Tour.

Sean Rosenthal shows impressive form in digging the ball. (FIVB photo)

The top-seeded Gibb and Rosenthal fell in Sunday's semifinals to the Netherlands’ No. 8 seeded Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil, 21-13, 1921, 16-14 in 53 minutes.

Gibb and Rosenthal were set to face their No. 2-seeded U.S teammates Dalhausser and Rogers in the match for third. However Dalhausser and Rogers forfeited, giving Gibb and Rosenthal their fourth straight podium appearance including two first-place finishes in Rome and Gstaad and a second-place finish in Berlin.

In the women's bracket, the U.S. team of Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Niles finished tied for 17th after losing in the first round of single elimination. The teams of Angie Akers and Brittany Hochevar along with Tara Roenicke and Summer Ross placed 25th.

Gibb and Rosenthal are now 48-17 in 61 World Tour events together having earned 12 total medals, three bronze medals and 14 final four finishes.

Left: Jake Gibb, left, and Sean Rosenthal show their bronze medals. (FIVB photo) Right: Brittany Hochevar shows her enthusiasm while playing in Austria. (FIVB photo)

In the semifinals, Dalhausser and Rogers fell to Brazil’s No. 7-seeded Pedro Salgado and Marcio Araujo, 25-23, 17-21, 15-10 in 1 hour, 7 minutes.

They finished their run at Klagenfurt in fourth place.

Nummerdor and Schuil defeated Salgado and Araujo to win the gold medal, Men’s Results July 17-22: A1 Grand Slam, Klagenfurt, Austria 1. Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil, Netherlands 2. Marcio Araujo and Pedro Salgado, Brazil 3. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, USA Other U.S. Results 4. Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser 17T. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena

Phil Dalhausser receives the ball as Todd Rogers gets ready to make a play. (FIVB photo)

Women’s Results July 16-21: A1 Grand Slam, Klagenfurt, Austria 1. Ekaterina Khomyakova and Evgenia Ukolova, Russia 2. Madelein Meppelink and Sophie van Gestel, Netherlands 3. Talita Da Rocha Antunes and Maria Antonelli, Brazil U.S. Results 17T. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Niles 25T. Angie Akers and Brittany Hochevar 25T. Summer Ross and Tara Roenicke 33T (QT). Emily Day and Heather Hughes

Angie Akers watches the ball while diving for it in Klagenfurt. (FIVB photo)

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Heather Hughes spikes the ball during a qualifying match at the A1 Grand Slam in Austria. (FIVB photo)

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Dalhausser, Rogers Take Bronze in Poland STARE JABLONKI, Poland (Aug. 20, 2012) – The U.S. Olympic Men’s Beach Volleyball Team of Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers won the bronze medal at the Mazury Orlen Grand Slam in Stare Jablonki, Poland.

The event was the final grand slam and the final men's event on the 2012 FIVB SWATCH World Tour.

Left: Todd Rogers, left, congratulates Phil Dalhausser. Right: Nick Lucena. (FIVB photos)

Dalhausser and Rogers, who were the two-time defending champions of the event and seeded No. 4, defeated the U.S. Olympic team of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal by injury forfeit in the bronze medal match.

On the women’s side, Jennnifer Kessy and April Ross along with Kerri Walsh and Nicole Branagh suffered losses in the single-elimination bracket to end their runs in Poland.

In the second round contest, top-seeded Kessy and Ross defeated Spain's Liliana Fernandez Steiner and Else Baquerizo McMillan (No. 19), 17-21, 21-16, 15-17. Kessy and Ross finished fifth after losing in the quarterfinals to Germany’s Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler, 21-18, 18-21, 15-12 in 50 minutes.

The fourth-seeded Walsh and Branagh suffered a second-round loss to the Czech Republic’s seventh-seeded Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova, 21-19, 21-19 in 35 minutes and finished ninth.

The event may have been the last as a team for Dalhausser and Rogers, who have played together since 2005. The team ends the 2012 season with four medals.

Kerri Walsh, right, receives the ball as Nicole Branagh heads toward the net. (FIVB photo)

Men’s Results Aug. 14-19: Mazury Orlen Grand Slam, Stare Jablonki, Poland 1. Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins, Latvia 2. Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst, Austria 3. Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, USA Other U.S. Results 4. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal 5T. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena 41T (QT). Brad Keenan and John Mayer Women’s Results

Matt Fuerbringer reaches for the ball in front of Nick Lucena. (FIVB photo)

Aug. 13-18: Mazury Orlen Grand Slam, Stare Jablonki, Poland 1. Larissa Franca and Juliana Felisberta de Silva, Brazil 2. Greta Cicolari and Marta Menegatti, Italy 3. Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler, Germany U.S. Results 5T. Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 9T. Nicole Branagh and Kerri Walsh 17T. Angie Akers and Brittany Hochevar 25T. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Niles

John Mayer stretches for the ball from his knees. (FIVB photo)

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Nicole Branagh looks to the skies as she receives the ball during a main draw match in Poland. (FIVB photo)

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Kessy, Ross Win First Gold Medals of Season BANGSAEN, Thailand (Oct. 28, 2012) – The U.S. women’s beach volleyball team of Jennifer Kessy and April Ross won their third Thailand Open title in Bangsaen, the final event on the women’s 2012 FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour.

Kessy and Ross, seeded No. 2, beat Russia’s No. 3 Evgenia Ukolova and Ekaterina Khomyakova, 21-17 21-19 in 44 minutes in the first ever United States-Russia final in women’s FIVB World Tour history.

Jennifer Kessy, left, cheers for the gold medal victory with April Ross. (FIVB photo)

In the bronze medal match, the U.S. team of Nicole Branagh and Lauren Fendrick, seeded No. 7, fell to Brazil’s No. 5 Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas de Freitas, 19-21 21-19 15-9 in 56 minutes.

Kessy and Ross played all six previous editions of the Thailand Open in Phuket, the first one in 2006 with different partners. They won gold in 2008 and 2009 and finished second last year.

Overall they have collected 10 gold, 11 silver and nine bronze medals in 71 events on the World Tour. The pair won bronze at the Grand Slam in Rome this year and silver at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

“Winning silver at the Olympics was great, but we really wanted this medal,” Kessy told the FIVB. “We were desperate to win here. We won gold in every year we played together, but this year we left it 'til the very end.”

Jenny Kropp, left, slaps hands with partner Whitney Pavlik. (FIVB photo)

Ross added, “It was tough. We fought against the weather here and we reached the final the hard way, through the losers' bracket, but we did it.”

Ross dedicated her medal to her grandfather who passed away during the tournament.

Heather Hughes, left, and Summer Ross go for the high-10. (FIVB photo)

The Russian team did not get a lot of chances against Kessy and Ross.

They trailed the whole first set and had a small lead in the second set at 12-10; but gave that away quickly. Ukolova and Khomyakova managed to save one match point at 20-18; but Kessy finished the match with a cross-court spike.

Women’s Results Oct. 23-28 Bangsaen Thailand Open 1. Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 2. Ekaterina Khomyakova and Evgenia Ukolova, Russia 3. Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas de Freitas Other U.S. Results 13T. Emily Day and Brittany Hochevar 17T. Summer Ross and Heather Hughes CQ. Brooke Sweat and Jennifer Fopma CQ. Whitney Pavlik and Jenny Kropp CQ. Sara Hughes and Kaitlin Sather

Left: Sarah Hughes, left, hits against the block of Summer Ross. (FIVB photo) Right: Jennifer Fopma, left, blocks against Emily Day. (FIVB photo)

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Jennifer Fopma, left, and Whitney Pavlik meet at the net. (FIVB photo)

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2012 NORCECA Beach Circuit Women’s Results

Men’s Results

March 23-25: Grand Cayman 1. Bibiana Candelas and Mayra Garcia, Mexico 2. Martha Revuelta and Vanessa Virgen, Mexico 3. Yarleen Santiago and Yamileska Yantin, Puerto Rico U.S. Results 4. Heather Hughes and Jennifer Snyder 5. Michelle Moriarty and Traci Weamer

March 23-25: Grand Cayman 1. Roberto Rodriguez and Eric Haddok, Puerto Rico 2. Samuel Schachter and Maverick Hatch, Canada 3. Joshua Binstock and Martin Reader, Canada U.S. Result 5. Avery Drost and Steven VanderWerp March 29-April 1 Guatemala 1. Roberto Rodriguez and Pablo Guzman, Puerto Rico 2. Tony Pray and John Heagy, USA 3. Andy Blanco and Erick Garrido, Guatemala

March 29-April 1: Guatemala 1. Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik, USA 2. Susana Alvarado and Anna Ramirez, Guatemala 3. Elia Torres and Swan Mendoza, Nicaragua

May 18-20 Chiapas, Mexico 1. Karel Pina and Sergio Gonzalez, Cuba 2. Juan Virgen and Aldo Miramontes, Mexico 3. Juan Revuelta and Ricardo Galindo, Mexico U.S. results 6. David Smith and Skylar DelSol

May 18-20: Chiapas, Mexico 1. Nirian Sinal and Ion Canet, Cuba 2. Michelle Moriarty and Traci Weamer, USA 3. Martha Revuelta and Vanessa Viergen, Mexico Sept. 28-30: Chula Vista, Calif.

1. Emily Day and Heather Hughes, USA 2. Summer Ross and Morgan Beck, USA 3. Martha Revuelta and Bibiana Candelas, Mexico Other U.S. results (Only results of first two U.S. teams counted in overall standings) 5. Michelle Moriarty and Kaitlin Sather 7. Sara Hughes and Kirby Burnham 9. Stevi Robinson and Eve Ettinger

May 25-27 Toluca, Mexico 1. Lombardo Ontiveros and Juan Virgen, Mexico 2. Karel Pina and Sergio Gonzalez, Cuba 3. Roberto Rodriguez and Erick Haddock, Puerto Rico U.S. results 4. David Smith and Skylar DelSol Sept. 28-30 Chula Vista, Calif.

1. Chaim Schalk and Benjamin Saxton, Canada 2. Will Montgomery and Tri Bourne, USA 3. Cameron Weelan and Michael Plantiga, Canada Other U.S. results (Only results of first two U.S. teams counted in overall standings) 4. Jesse Rambis and Avery Drost 6. Jeff Carlson and Tony Ciarelli 9. Adam Cabbage and Parker Kalmbach 10. Alex Jones and Kyle Stevenson

Oct. 26-28: St. Lucia 1. Kathryn Babcock and Traci Weamer, USA 2. Ingrid Morales and Natalia Alfaro, Costa Rica 3. Kristina Vlcek and Victoria Cowley, Canada Nov. 16-18: Trinidad & Tobago 1. Summer Ross and Emily Day, USA 2. Tealle Hunkus and Traci Weamer, USA 3. Ingrid Morales and Natalia Alfaro, Costa Rica

Oct. 26-28 St. Lucia 1. Will Montgomery and Jon Mesko, USA 2. Jeffrey Carlson and Tony Ciarelli, USA 3. Julian Biscette and Joseph Clercent, St. Lucia

Nov. 30-Dec. 2: Aruba 1. Tealle Hunkus and Summer Ross, USA 2. Martha Revuelta and Bibiana Candelas, Mexico 3. Ingrid Morales and Natalia Alfaro, Costa Rica Other U.S. result 7. Stevi Robinson and Kirby Burnham

Nov. 16-18 Trinidad & Tobago 1. Tony Ciarelli and Will Montgomery, USA 2. Gerald Umana and Henry Hernandez, Nicaragua 3. Fabien Whitfield and Daniels Williams, Trinidad & Tobago Other U.S. result 4. Weston Carico and Curt Toppel Nov. 30-Dec. 2 Aruba 1. Lombardo Ontiveros and Juan Virgen, Mexico 2. Will Montgomery and Avery Drost, USA 3. Julian Biscette and Joseph Clercent, St. Lucia Other U.S. result 10. Matt Motter and Derek Olson

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All photos courtesy of NORCECA

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2012 Domestic Results Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series

3T. Ryan Mariano and Ed Ratledge 3T. Kevin McColloch and Mike Placek

Florida Open May 26-27 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla Women’s Results 1. Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik 2. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hansen 3T. Nicole Branagh and Tyra Turner 3T. Angie Akers and Brittany Hochevar Men’s Results 1. John Hyden and Sean Scott 2. Brad Keenan and John Mayer 3T. Billy Allen and Russ Marchewka 3T. Adrian Carambula and Braidy Halverson Belmar Open June 23-24 in Belmar, N.J. Women’s Results 1. Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik 2. Kristen Batt and Raquel Ferreira 3T. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson 3T. Jennifer Fopma an d Brooke Sweat

Milwaukee Shootout Aug. 3-5 in Milwaukee, Wis. Women’s Results 1. Jennifer Fopma and Brooke Sweat 2. Kristen Batt and Raquel Ferreira 3T. Priscilla Lima and Tyra Turner 3T. Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik Men’s Results 1. John Hyden and Sean Scott 2. John Mayer and Matt Prosser 3T. Casey Patterson and Ryan Doherty 3T. Ty Tramblie and Avery Drost

Jenny Kropp, left and Whitney Pavlik (IMG photo)

Manhattan Beach Open Aug. 24-26 in Manhattan Beach, Calif.

Women’s Results 1. Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik 2. Jennifer Fopma and Brooke Sweat 3T. Lauren Fendrick and Rachel Scott 3T. Nicole Branagh and Brittany Hochevar

Men’s Results 1. Ryan Doherty and Casey Patterson 2. Adrian Carambula and Steven Grotowski 3T. Matt Olson and Matt Prosser 3T. Ryan Mariano and Ed Ratledge

Men’s Results 1. John Hyden and Sean Scott 2. Ryan Doherty and Casey Patterson 3T. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena 3T. Billy Allen and Matt Prosser

Chicago Open July 13-15 in Chicago, Ill. Women’s Results 1. Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik 2. Priscilla Lima and Tyra Turner 3T. Jennifer Fopma and Brooke Sweat 3T. Kristen Batt and Raquel Ferreira

Hunting Beach National Championships Sept. 21-23 in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Women’s Results 1. Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik 2. Lauren Fendrick and Rachel Scott 3T. Jennifer Fopma and Brooke Sweat 3T. Brooke Hanson and Tyra Turner

Men’s Results 1. Ryan Doherty and Casey Patterson 2. Avery Drost and Ty Tramblie 3T. Brad Keenan and John Mayer 3T. Stein Metzger and Mark Williams

Men’s Results 1. John Hyden and Sean Scott 2. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal 3T. Brad Keenan and John Mayer 3T. Ryan Doherty and Casey Patterson

Hermosa Beach Open July 20-22 in Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Women’s Results 1. Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik 2. Jennifer Fopma and Brooke Sweat 3T. Priscilla Lima and Tyra Turner 3T. Kathryn Piening and Sheila Shaw

The National Volleyball League (NVL) NVL Preakness May 17-19 in Baltimore, Md. Women’s Results 1. Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 2. Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik 3T. Jessica Gysin and Priscilla Lima 3T. Christal Engle and Raquel Ferreira

Men’s Results 1. John Hyden and Sean Scott 2. Brad Keenan and John Mayer

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2012 Domestic Results AVP Championships Sept. 7-9 in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Women’s Results 1. Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 2. Nicole Branagh and Kerri Walsh Jennings 3T. Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik 3T. Jennifer Fopma and Brooke Sweat

Ryan Mariano, left, goes for a roll shot. (IMG photo)

Men’s Results 1. Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal 2. Brad Keenan and John Mayer 3T. John Hyden and Sean Scott 3T. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena

Men’s Results 1. Ryan Doherty and Casey Patterson 2. Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers 3T. Brad Keenan and John Mayer 3T. Bill Allen and Russ Marchewka NVL Best of the Beach Sept. 13-15 in Las Vegas, Nev. Women’s Results 1. April Ross 2. Jenny Kropp 3T. Raquel Ferreira 3T. Brooke Sweat Sean Rosenthal, left, and Jake Gibb (IMG photo)

Men’s Results 1. Jake Gibb 2. Matt Fuerbringer 3T. Phil Dalhausser 3T. Nick Lucena Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) AVP Cincinnati Open Aug. 30-Sept. 2 in Cincinnati, Ohio Women’s Results 1. Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 2. Nicole Branagh and Kerri Walsh Jennings 3T. Jenny Kropp and Whitney Pavlik 3T. Jennifer Fopma and Brooke Sweat Men’s Results 1. John Hyden and Sean Scott 2. Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena 3T. Phil Dalahausser and Todd Rogers 3T. Brad Keenan and John Mayer John Hyden dives for the ball. (IMG photo)

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Lauren Fendrick Hometown: Carlsbad, Calif.

Resides: Carlsbad, Calif.

College: UCLA Birth Year: 1982 Height: 6-1 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – In the final FIVB event of the season, competed with Nicole Branagh and finished fourth at the Bangsaen Thailand Open. Team won $5,600. Fendrick and Branagh defeated No. 2 seeded Jennifer Kessy and April Ross and No. 3 seeded Ekaterina Khomyakova and Evgeniya Ukolova of Russia before losing to Kessy and Ross in the semifinals... Competed in nine FIVB World Tour events with Brooke Niles (formerly Hanson), but could not overtake Jennifer Kessy and April Ross for the second spot on the U.S. Olympic Team... The pair's best finish was ninth in Berlin... The team won $17,950 for the season. 2011 – Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Niles began the year by winning the first NORCECA event in the Cayman Islands. The duo then advanced from the country quota and qualifier to reach the semifinals in the FIVB season opener in Brasilia, where they finished fourth... They finished fourth again in their next event Shanghai for their best international finishes of the season... The pair earned $50,875...

They are the third-ranked U.S. team on the FIVB World Tour and 10th overall... The pair finished the season in third place among U.S. teams trying to qualify for the Olympic Games. 2010 – Fendrick opened the season with Ashley Ivy before partnering with Brooke Niles around mid-season…

Fendrick and Ivy competed in six FIVB events with their best finish a 13th in Seoul, Korea. As a team they won $8,625… Fendrick and Ivy competed in six FIVB events with their best finish ninth in Sanya, China. The pair won $9,075. 2009 – Fendrick and Ashley Ivy competed in nine FIVB World Tour events. Their best finish was fourth place in Phuket, Thailand… They won $21,550 and finished the season ranked 61st. 2008 – Fendrick and Ashley Ivy competed in three FIVB World Tour events. Their best finish was fifth in Phuket, Thailand. They won $11,250 and finished the season ranked 92nd… Fendrick and Ivy also competed in two FIVB Challenger and Satellite events and won both. They won a total of $3,500… Fendrick and Keegan Featherstone finished 13th at the World University Championship in Hamburg, Germany. 2007 – Fendrick and partner Claire D’Amore competed in one FIVB Challenger and Satellite event and finished 17th.

DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Finished second at Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Series events in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (with Brooke Niles) and Huntington Beach, Calif. (with Rachel Scott)... Finished third at Jose Cuervo events in Belmar, N.J. (with Brooke Niles) and Manhattan Beach, Calif. (with Rachel Scott). Also finished fifth with Niles in Hermosa Beach, Calif... Fendrick and her partners won $16,000 for the season.

2011 – Fendrick and Brooke Niles won the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Series event in Miami and finished third in Hermosa Beach...

They won a Corona Light Wide Open event in Cincinnati... They finished second at the NVL event in Miami and finished 2011 with 29,625 in domestic winnings. 2010 – Fendrick played seven AVP events before the tour ceased operations on Aug. 13… Fendrick played five AVP events with Ashley Ivy with their best finish two fifth places in Santa Barbara, Calif., and Belmar, N.Y. The pair

won $9,900… Fendrick played two AVP tournaments with a fifth place in the final event in Long Beach, Calif., their best finish. The pair won $3,600.

2009 – Fendrick and Ashley Ivy competed in 12 AVP events, finishing fifth three times in Panama City, Fla., Brooklyn, N.Y., and San Francisco. The team won $28,455… Fendrick also played in two AVP Hot Winter Nights events, finishing first in Portland, Ore., and winning $6,250. 2008 – Played in 12 AVP events, one with Angela Knopf and the rest with Paula Roca.

Fendrick and Paula placed fifth at the events in Santa Barbara at Manhattan Beach… Lauren’s teams won a total of $31,650. 2007 – Competed in 13 AVP events with four different partners… Her best finishes were three sevenths, once with Brittany Hochevar in Glendale, Ariz. (5/10-13) and two with Tammy Leibl (Chicago on 8/2-5 and Manhattan Beach on 8/9-11). Her teams finished with total winnings of $20,538. 2006 – After a year off from the tour, Fendrick competed in 11 events with five different partners. Best finish was seventh in Manhattan Beach with Tatiana Minello. Her teams finished with total winnings of $9,125. 2004 – Competed in 10 AVP events with four different partners, including future Olympian Nicole Branagh…

Best finish was ninth in Hermosa Beach (7/22-24) with Branagh. Fendrick’s teams finished with total winnings of $5,580.

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: Attended UCLA from 1999-2002… Played volleyball and softball her freshman year and was a relief pitcher as UCLA made it to the NCAA championship game where it lost… Pac 10 All Freshman Team… Honorable mention All-Pac 10 as a sophomore-senior… Academic All-American as a sophomore-senior… Served as one of three team captains her senior year.

OTHER VOLLEYBALL HIGHLIGHTS: Started playing volleyball in 1997 and played outside hitter with Strictly Volleyball in Vista, Calif. … Fendrick was a three-sport (volleyball, basketball, softball) athlete at Carlsbad High School and was the North County Times Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 1998-99 with a 4.74 GPA on a 4.0 scale… First-team volleyball All-American and Fab 50 player… First-team All-CIF and All-Avocado League… In the summer of 1998, Fendrick was the kill leader while playing on the U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team... Has competed professionally indoors in Puerto Rico and Turkey.

PERSONAL: Born Lauren Marie Fendrick in 1982 in San Diego, Calif. … Parents are Leo Fendrick (deceased) and Merle Fendrick… Attended Carlsbad High School from 1995-99… Graduated magna cum laude from UCLA in 2003 with a degree in communication studies… Received her law degree from USC and has passed the bar exam… Favorite food is Thai…

Favorite books are by Robert Jordan… Favorite movie is Anchorman…

Favorite TV Show is How I Met Your Mother… Favorite musician is Regina Spektor… Favorite team is the Padres… Most admired person is her mother because she is “the most patient, loving person I know.”

FIVB

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PARTNERS: 2012 – Nicole Branagh, Brooke Niles (formerly Hanson), Rachel Scott. 2011 – Brooke Niles. 2010 – Brooke Niles, Ashley Ivy. 2009 – Ashley Ivy. 2008 – Paula Roca, Angela Knopf. 2007 – Holly McPeak, Tammy Leible, Paula Roca, Brittany Hochevar. 2006 – Heather Lowe, Tatiana Minello, Pat Keller, Ann Windes, Diane Pascua. 2004 – Paula Roca, Nicole Branagh, Ashley Bowles, Daven Allison. 2003 – Danalee Bragado-Corso, Julie Romias, Makalani Hovey.

Brooke Niles Hometown: Woodland Hills, Calif.

Resides: Ventura, Calif.

College: UC-Santa Barbara Birth Year: 1981 Height: 5-8 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Competed in nine FIVB World Tour events with Lauren Frendrick, but could not overtake Jennifer Kessy and April Ross for the second spot on the U.S. Olympic Team... The pair's best finish was ninth in Berlin... The team won $17,950 for the season and was ranked 29th on the FIVB World Tour. 2011 – Niles and Lauren Fendrick began the year by winning the first NORCECA event in the Cayman Islands. The duo then advanced from the country quota and qualifier to reach the semifinals in the FIVB season opener in Brasilia, where they finished fourth... They finished fourth again in their next event Shanghai for their best international finishes of the season... The pair earned $50,875...

They finished the season as the third-ranked U.S. team on the FIVB World Tour and 10th overall... The pair finished the season in third place among U.S. teams trying to qualify for the Olympic Games. 2010 – Niles and Lisa Rutledge started the year in Brasilia as the 25th-seeded qualifier team, and finished with a career best fifth place. Midseason, Fendrick partnered with Lauren Fendrick. The pair played six FIVB tournaments together, with a best of ninth in Sanya. 2009 – Niles partnered with Lisa Rutledge, and played two FIVB events but did not make the main draw in either tournament. 2008 – Niles missed the entire AVP season with an injury, but played in an FIVB qualifier in October with Angie Akers.

DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Finished second with Lauren Fendrick at the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Series event in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Finished third with Fendrick in Belmar, N.J., and placed third with Tyra Turner in Huntington Beach, Calif. Finished fifth with Turner in both AVP events in 2012… Finished fifth at NVL Best of the Beach event… Niles’ teams won $19,500 for the year and Niles finished season ranked 10th in the USAV Beach Player Rankings. 2011 – Finished first with Lauren Fendrick at the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Series event in Miami, the AVP event in Huntington Beach and the Wide Open event in Cincinnati… Finished second with Fendrick in NVL event in Miami… Finished third at the Pro Beach Series tourney in Hermosa Beach… Niles and Fendrick won $29,625 for the season. 2010 – Competed in seven AVP tournaments before the tour ceased operations on Aug. 13… Her best finish was fifth in Long Beach, Calif., with Lauren Fendrick on July 24-25. She competed in the first five events with Lisa Rutledge before switching to Fendrick. Hanson and her partners won $13,100. 2009 – Competed in 15 AVP tournaments, 14 with Lisa Rutledge and the King of the Beach.

Finished second in San Diego and third in Houston, Huntington Beach, Atlanta, Manhattan Beach and Mason, Ohio. Hanson and Rutledge won $60,165 for the season and Hanson was ranked ninth on the tour, her highest ranking ever. 2008 – Missed the domestic season due to injury. 2007 – Competed in 17 AVP events, 15 with Angie Akers, FIVB

one with Jennifer Fopma and one King of the Beach event. Best finish was second in Chicago. Niles and Akers placed third in Mason, Ohio and fourth in San Francisco. Niles’ teams won $49,325 and Hanson was ranked 16th.

2006 – Competed in 14 AVP tournaments with various partners. Best finish was seventh in Huntington Beach, Calif., with Sarah Straton. Niles’ teams won $14,325 and she was ranked 25th. 2002-05 – Niles played in her first AVP event in 2002 with Brooke Rundle and did not get out of the qualification bracket. She played in 2003 with Courtney Guerra and did not get out of the qualification bracket in five events… She and Guerra finally qualified in 2004 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She and Guerra played in 10 AVP events that year and finished ninth in Hermosa Beach and Santa Barbara. They won $4,742 and Niles was ranked 31st. In 2005, Niles switched partners mid-year from Courtney Guerra to Sarah Straton and finished fifth at Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach.

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: Was a four-year letter winner at UC-Santa Barbara where she played every position except for middle blocker… Was a third-team All-American her senior year and ranked third nationally in assists in 2002... As an out- FIVB side hitter was named the Big West Freshman of the Year in 1999… three times was selected to the all-conference team…Graduated with a degree in law and society… Left the school ranked fifth in career digs, sixth in assists, and eighth in aces.

PERSONAL: Brooke Niles (formerly Hanson) is the third of four kids, with two brothers (Brett, Troy) and one sister (Emily), and has a pit bull (Roxy).

Both of her parents, Randy and Tria, played beach volleyball. She served three seasons as an assistant coach at UCSB under her mentor Kathy Gregory, who tallied 50 beach volleyball titles. Also serving with her on the staff was Angela Rock (27 titles).

Partners: 2012 – Lauren Fendrick, Tyra Turner. 2011 – Lauren Fendrick. 2010 – Lisa Rutledge, Fendrick. 2009 – Rutledge. 2008 – Angie Akers. 2007 – Akers, Jennifer Fompa. 2006 – Logan Tom, Akers. 2005 – Sarah Straton, Courtney Guerra. 2003 – Courtney Guerra.

2004 – Courtney Guerra.

2002 – Brooke Rundle.

Honors: AVP Best Defensive Player in 2009

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Jennifer Kessy Hometown: San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Resides: San Clemente, Calif.

College: Southern California (USC) Birth Year: 1977 Height: 6-0 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Finished season ranked fourth on the FIVB World Tour. Team earnings for Kessy and Ross were $138,200...

Finished season with first international victory of the year at the Bansaen Thailand Open. Kessy and Ross won $15,000 for the victory... One week after winning the Olympic silver medal, Kessy and April Ross finished fifth at the Mazury Orlen Grand Slam in Stare Jablonki, Poland… Kessy and Ross won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in London, losing to U.S. compatriots Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in the gold medal match, 21-16, 21-16 (8/8). Kessy and Ross advanced to the gold medal match by upsetting top-seeded Larissa França and Juliana Felisberta Da Silva in the semifinals, 15-21, 21-19, 15-12. Kessy and Ross went 3-0 in pool play and won both their first- and second-round, single-elimination matches in straight sets. As a team, Kessy and Ross finished second among all women’s beach teams at the Olympics in aces with 23 on 315 attempts in seven matches (17 sets). They finished second in attacks with 209 kills on 359 attempts for a success percentage of .58. Kessy was fifth among all players in scoring with 124 points on 103 kills, 12 blocks and nine aces. Kessy was 10th in blocks with 12 in 17 sets… Kessy and Ross won their medal of the season prior to the Olympic Games at the Rome Grand Slam, finishing third… They secured their slot in the Olympic Games with a fifth-place finish at the Beijing Grand Slam, earning enough points to beat Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Niles....They placed fifth in four other tournaments (Shanghai, Moscow, Gstaad and Berlin. 2011 – In the FIVB season opener in Brasilia, Kessy and Ross overcame a first-round loss to win a bronze medal, while in Shanghai the duo rebounded from a second-round loss to win a silver medal... They claimed two more bronze medals at Myslowice and Beijing before taking fifth at the World Championship...the duo earned their only first-place finish of the year at Stravanger, but added two more silver medals at the Mazuri Open and the Phuket Thailand Open before the season ended. 2010 – Kessy and Ross competed in 15 FIVB World Tour events in 2010, winning two (Shanghai, China and the Grand Slam in Rome, Italy) and capturing one second place (the Grand Slam in Moscow, Russia) and two thirds (Seoul, Korea and Sanya, China)...

Jennifer was named the Most Outstanding Player of the event in Shanghai...

The team had two fourth-place finishes and three fifths.

They won a total of $106,675. 2009 – Kessy and Ross won the FIVB World Championship in Stavanger, Norway (6/25-7/4). The pair went 8-0 and lost only two sets, defeating Brazil's JuliFIVB ana Felisberta Silva

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and Larissa Franca in the final. Jen led all players in hitting with a 0.593 hitting percentage... They also won the FIVB World Tour events in Marseille, France (7/20-26) and Phuket, Thailand (11/3-8). Kessy was named the MVP of both events. The team also gathered four second-place finishes and two thirds in 10 events to rank third and win $139,100. 2008 – Kessy and Ross competed in 12 international events, winning $87,300. The team finished the 2008 FIVB Beach World Tour in impressive fashion, winning the season's final two events. In the final three events of the year, Jen and April totaled two wins (Thailand and China) and a runner-up showing (Dubai)...

In Dubai (Oct. 5-10), the pair reached the finals before falling to fellow Americans Kerri Walsh and Nicole Branagh... The pair went a perfect 6-0 in Thailand (Nov. 4-9) to capture the gold medal, this time defeating Branagh and partner Tyra Turner in the final... The squad shook off a third-round loss in China (Nov. 11-16) to come all the way back and reach the finals. Kessy and Ross swept China's Ying Huang and Zhang Xi for their second straight gold. 2007 – Kessy and Ross competed in eight FIVB international tournaments. They won the event in Stavanger, Norway, becoming the lowest seeded team (29th) ever to win an FIVB event. They fought through three rounds of qualifying and lost their first two pool play matches. They also finished second once and totaled $53,050. 2006 – Kessy played in eight FIVB events with Nancy Mason and Rachel Wacholder, but did not reach the podium. She won $15,100 with her partners. 2005 – Played in eight FIVB events with Holly McPeak and Nancy Mason. Her best finish was a fourth with Mason in Acapulco, Mexico. Their winnings totaled $30,875. 2004 – Played in two FIVB tournaments with Barb Fontana but they did not make it through qualifying. 2002 – Played in one FIVB event with Cary Wendell, but they did not make it through qualifying. 2001 – Won an FIVB Challenger tournament with Heather Lowe. She competed in an FIVB World Tour event with Angie Simpson, but did not make it through qualifying. 2000 – Jennifer and Angie Simpson competed in one FIVB Challenger tournament and two World Tour events, but did not medal.

DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Following the Olympic Games, Kessy and Ross won the AVP events in Cincinnati and Santa Barbara, Calif., winning $33,750... Kessy and Ross also won the NVL events in Baltimore and Las Vegas. 2011 – Kessy and Ross won the Hermosa Beach Open (9/2325)and placed third at the Miami Open (9/16-28) on the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Tour… They placed third at the U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball in Cincinnati (9/1-4)… They won the National Volleyball League event in Miami (9/10-11) 2010 – Kessy and Ross opened the season with a third-place finish in Fort Lauderdale and a fifth in Santa Barbara before winning its next four AVP Tour stops before the AVP ceased operations on Aug. 13. They won $47,750…

The pair finished the season with a victory at the Cincinnati Pro Beach Volleyball Players Championship on Sept. 3-5 in Cincinnati, Ohio. 2009 – Kessy and Ross won their first AVP title in Houston (5/15-17) and went on to win four more. They also had five second-

place finishes and two thirds, winning a total of $141,050. They finished third in the race for the Crocs Cup... Kessy also won the Queen of the Beach title in Las Vegas (9/17-19), playing in the final with Tyra Turner...

Kessy played in five AVP Hot Winter Nights events, winning one and taking second three times.

2008 – Kessy and Ross played in 13 AVP summer events and took five second-place finishes and six thirds. They won a total of $125,250. Jen won the Queen of the Beach tournament in Glendale, Ariz. (9/25-27), playing with Kerri Walsh in the final. Kessy played in seven AVP Hot Winter Nights events, winning one, with one second and two thirds. 2007 – Playing for the first time as a team, Kessy and Ross opened the season with a second-place finish in Miami. They played in 16 summer AVP events, taking second two times and third four times. In Hermosa Beach, they defeated Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in the winners' bracket. They won a total of $73,525. 2006 – Opened the AVP season playing with Nancy Mason and the team finished second in its first two events. They also had three thirds. Jen teamed with Rachel Wacholder for the final five AVP tournaments and finished with two seconds and three thirds. Kessy and her partners won a total of $76,850. 2005 – Kessy and partner Holly McPeak played in 13 AVP matches and finished second two times and third nine times. They won a total of $80,650 and ended the season ranked third. Kessy was Rachel Wacholder's selection as partner for the final of the Goddess of the Beach tournament. Kessy ended the year ranked second on the Tour in blocks per game (1.03). 2004 – Kessy and partner Barbra Fontana played in 11 AVP matches and had one second place, Jen's best finish on the tour thus far, and three thirds. It was the first season that Jennifer reached the AVP podium and she finished the season with her best ranking ever at ninth. The team won a total of $32,912.50. 2003

FIVB

– Kessy and partner Jenny Pavley competed in seven AVP events with their best finish at seventh (twice). They won a total of $6,900. 2002 – Kessy and partner Heather Lowe competed in six AVP events and had two ninth-place finishes. They won a total of $3,680. 2001 - Jennifer made her AVP debut in 2000 and played in four events, finishing ninth three times.

OTHER VOLLEYBALL HIGHLIGHTS: Played for USC 1995-98 and was named All-District in 1997, All-American in 1998 and earned AllPAC 10 selection 19951998... Was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team... Played professionally for the Chicago Thunder in 2002 and in Puerto Rico in 2003.

PERSONAL: Born Jennifer Anne Kessy in 1977 in San Clemente, Calif. ... Parents are Ronald and Charlotte Kessy... Jennifer's younger brothers are Ryan and Travis Kessy... Jennifer went to Dana Hills High School in Dana Point, Calif., where she competed in both swimming and volleyball... She graduated from USC in 2000 with a degree in history... Enjoys golfing, water skiing, surfing, bocce ball, cooking, home improvement and riding her beach cruzer... Her role models are her parents.

PARTNERS: 2012 – April Ross. 2011 – April Ross. 2010 – April Ross.

2009 – April Ross. 2008 – April Ross. 2007 – April Ross. 2006 – Nancy Mason/Rachel Wacholder. 2005 – Holly McPeak. 2004 – Barbra Fontana.

2003 – Jenny Pavley. 2002 – Heather Lowe. 2001 – Jennifer Simpson/ Angie Maredith/Heather Lowe HONORS: 2012 – USA Volleyball Beach Team of the Year (with April Ross).

2009 – USA Volleyball Beach Team of the Year (with April Ross). 2004 – Named AVP Most Improved Player.

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Misty May-Treanor Hometown: Santa Monica, Calif.

Resides: Long Beach, Calif.

College: Long Beach State Birth Year: 1977 Height: 6-0 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Misty May-Treanor and partner Kerri Walsh became the only beach volleyball team to win three Olympic gold medals when they beat U.S. compatriots Jennifer Kessy and April Ross in the gold medal match, 21-16, 21-16 (8/8) at the 2012 Summer Games in London. To reach the gold medal match, Misty and Kerri had to battle the No. 2 seeded team of Xi Zhang and Chen Xue from China in the semifinals.

Miaty and Kerri won, 22-20, 22-20. During pool play, Misty and Kerri lost their first set in an Olympic Games to Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger of Austria. Misty and Kerri won the match, 17-21, 21-8, 15-10. As a team, they are 21-0 in Olympic matches going back to Athens and 42-1 in Olympic sets. As a team, Misty and Kerri led all Olympic women’s beach teams in London in blocks with 25 in 15 sets and in digs with 151 on 302 attempts for a .50 success percentage. Misty led all players in digs with 107 on 225 attempts (15 sets) for a .48 success percentage. Misty was second among all players in scoring with 125 points on 120 kills, one block and four aces… Going into the Olympics, Misty and Kerri and Misty won their first gold medal of the season at the Gstaad Grand Slam in Switzerland (7/27)… Misty and Kerri earned two ninth-place finishes and one fifth-place finish early in the season... The Olympic-bound duo earned their first podium appearance with a second place in Moscow (6/6-11)... Next, they took fifth at the Rome Grand Slam (6/12-17). 2011 – May-Treanor reunited with Walsh in the FIVB season opener, marking the first time these two played together internationally since the 2008 Beijing Olympics... They earned a silver medal in this reunion match, followed by a fourth-place finish in Sayna, China...Claimed their first gold medal of the year at the Beijing Grand Slam, and found themselves on the medal stand again at the World Championship with a second-place finish...Took first-place two more times during the season at the Moscow Grand Slam and the A1 Grand Slam... Earned two more second-place finishes at the Paf Open and the HP Beach Open.

2010 – Mostly recovered from the Achilles tendon injury she suffered while training for Dancing with the Stars in 2008, Misty formed a new partnership with Nicole Branagh as Kerri Walsh took the summer off to have her second child. The team played in nine FIVB World Tour events with a third place in Stavanger, Norway their best finish.

They also placed fourth in Shanghai, China and Rome, Italy. They earned $47,775 for the season… Misty also traveled FIVB to Russia in 2010 as part

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of a U.S. State Department sport exchange program. She worked with junior beach volleyball players from both the United States and Russia. 2009 – After spending most of the summer trying to recover from the ruptured Achilles tendon she suffered during practice for Dancing with the Stars, Misty and partner Kerri Walsh returned to the sand together for the AVP World Challenge: USA vs. Brazil presented by Sanderson Ford in Glendale, Ariz.

The United States won the team competition, but Misty and Kerri lost in the final to Brazil's Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca. 2008 – Misty and partner, Kerri Walsh, have won their last 69 FIVB World Tour matches with 10-straight gold medal finishes. Seeded second, the pair won the 2008 Olympic beach volleyball tournament to become the first team to win two beach volleyball Olympic gold medals. The pair finished the tournament with a 7-0 record and did not drop a set. They defeated the top-ranked Chinese team of Wang Jie and Tian Jia, 21-18, 21-18, in the final. Misty was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, finishing third among hitters with 107 kills in seven matches and third among diggers with 43 digs in seven matches. The team finished the Olympic Games with a 108-match winning streak... Misty and Kerri had the most Olympic qualifying points of any team in the Games, but were ranked second due to an FIVB rule that allows the host country the top ranking if it has a team in the top six...

Kerri underwent shoulder surgery during the offseason and reinjured the shoulder the weekend of May 2 in Huntington Beach, Calif., causing her and Misty to pull out of the early FIVB women's tournaments they had been planning to play. They returned to international play at the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Grand Slam event in Berlin on June 10-14 and won three straight international tournaments (Berlin; Paris and Stavanger, Norway). Misty was named the Most Outstanding Player of all three events. Winning the three events earned the team $65,250. 2007 – Won seven out of eight international tournaments and placed third at the other... Won third straight FIVB World Championship (Gstaad, Switzerland) without dropping a set in the tournament... Won $154,750 and finished the season ranked ninth overall, but first in Olympic qualifying points. 2006 – Played in eight tournaments, winning three gold medals, two silver and two bronze... Won $100,700 and finished the season ranked ninth. 2005 – Won second-straight FIVB World Championship... Netted gold medals in six of her seven tournament appearances... Finished the season ranked 7th... Earned $131,500 in prize money.

2004 – May-Treanor and partner Kerri Walsh went 14-0 to win the Olympic Games in Athens... Won four gold medals in five tournaments... Ended the season ranked 37th...

Earned $43,000 in prize money for her efforts.

2003 – Won first FIVB World Championship (Berlin)... Won five gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal in eight tournament appearances... Finished the season ranked third...

Received $126,000 for her efforts. 2002 – Won the FIVB Tour... Netted five gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal in 11 tournaments... Ranked 1st for the season... Earned $97,570 in prize money

throughout the season. 2001 – Earned five medals in nine tournament appearances... Finished 9th in the season ranking... Received $58,500 for her appearances. 2000 – Finished fifth at the Olympic Games in Sydney with partner Holly McPeak... Claimed three gold medals and two silver medals in 11 tournament appearances... Ranked third in the season standings...

Claimed $90,000 in prize money. 1999 – Finished ninth in her one tournament of the season... Netted an 82nd season placement... Earned $2,250.

DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS: 2010 – May-Treanor and partner Nicole Branagh competed in seven AVP Tour events before the AVP ceased operations on Aug. 13. The team had two firsts (Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Long Beach, Calif.), two seconds (Virginia Beach, Va., and Huntington Beach, Calif.) and two thirds (Santa Barbara, Calif., and Belmar, N.Y.).They also finished fifth once and earned a total of $48,500. 2009 – May-Treanor took the summer off from domestic competition while recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered while practicing for ABC’s Dancing with the Stars following the 2008 Olympic Games. 2008 – Misty and Kerri played in a total of 14 AVP tournaments, winning 12 and taking one second and one third. They won a total of $182,750... Misty and Kerri's total match win streak came to an end at 112 matches at the AVP Crocs Cup Shootout Cincinnati held Aug. 29-31. Misty and Kerri were defeated in the finals by fellow Olympians, Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh. The loss also snapped the gold medalists' streak of 19 straight tournament championships. Until then, Misty and Kerri had not lost a domestic volleyball match since Aug. 16-19, 2007 in Boston when they lost in the AVP final to Branagh and Youngs... Misty and Kerri won the first three AVP events they played in before Kerri reinjured her shoulder the weekend of May 2. They came back the weekend of May 24 to win the AVP event in Louisville, Ky. ... They won a total of 12 AVP events in 2008, with one second and one third. They won a total of $182,750... At the AVP event in Chicago on Aug. 10-13, Misty won her 100th career tournament title in 153 events, the fastest beach volleyball player to reach that milestone. She is the first female beach volleyball player to win 100 tourneys and the fifth player overall. Going into Beijing she has 102 tournament victories. 2007 – Played in 15 AVP events... Won gold at 13, silver at one and bronze at one... Won $162,250 and finished season ranked first… At the AVP event in Boston, she became the alltime earnings leader. 2006 – Played in 16 AVP events with 13 first-place finishes and three second-places... Won $236,650 and finished season ranked first. 2005 – Played in 14 AVP tournaments, winning 11 and finishing second three times... Won $183,250 and finished season ranked 1st.

2004 – Played in 10 AVP tournaments with seven first-place finishes, one second and one third... Won $73,612.50 and finished season ranked 4th.

2003 – Won eight out of eight AVP tournaments... Claimed $71,550 and finished season ranked first. 1999-2002 – Played in 10 domestic tournaments (AVP, BVA and USAV) with six podium finishes including three gold medals... Won a total of $44,475.

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 1998 – Led an undefeated team from Long Beach State to a national championship... Shared the award for "Most Valuable Player" of the tournament... Received the Honda Broderick NCAA Athlete-of-the-Year Award... NCCA First-Team All-American. 1997 – NCCA First-Team All-American. 1996 – NCCA First-Team All-American.

PERSONAL: Born Misty May in 1977 in Los Angeles, Calif. ... Daughter of Robert "Butch" May, member of the 1968 U.S. Men's National Volleyball team, and the late Barbara May, a former nationally ranked tennis player...

Misty has two brothers; Brack and Scott... Married professional baseball player Matt Treanor in December, 2008... Misty's cousin, Taylor Dent, was on the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team for tennis... Interests include eating, golfing and making people laugh... Misty's nickname is Turtle... Majored in kinesiol-

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ogy and physical education at Long Beach State University... Competed in track for one year at Long Beach State... Graduated from Newport Harbor High School in 1995... Named 1995 High School Player of the Year. Played volleyball, soccer and track in high school... Was second in state in high jump her sophomore year of high school... Suffered from an abdominal muscle injury in the months leading up to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens... Has appeared on episodes of CSI: Miami, Wizards of Waverly Place and Go On along with Dancing with the Stars... Enjoys playing with her boxers Gruden and Boogie... Has tattoos to honor her late mother and grandmother... Sprinkled her mother's ashes on the court following her gold-medal victory in Athens and sprinkled more during the 2008 Games in Beijing... Competed on ABC television's Dancing with the Stars in the fall of 2008, but had to withdraw from the competition after rupturing her Achilles tendon during a practice...

In 2010, Misty published her autobiography entitled "Misty, Digging Deep in Volleyball and Life"... Also in 2010, Misty's husband Matt Treanor and his Major League Baseb a l l team t h e Te x a s Range r s made it to the World Series, but lost FIVB to the San Francisco Giants, 3-1… Matt Treanor currently plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers… Misty is pursuing her master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration at Concordia University in Irvine, Calif.

PARTNERS: 2012 – Kerri Walsh. 2011 – Kerri Walsh. 2010 – Nicole Branagh. 2009 – Kerri Walsh. 2008 – Kerri Walsh. 2007 – Kerri Walsh.

2006 – Kerri Walsh. 2005 – Kerri Walsh. 2004 – Kerri Walsh. 2003 – Kerri Walsh. 2002 – Kerri Walsh. 2001 – Kerri Walsh, Holly McPeak. 2000 – Holly McPeak. 1999 – Holly McPeak.

HONORS: 2012 – USA Volleyball Female Beach Player of the Year. 2011 – FIVB Best Defensive Player. 2010 – FIVB Sportsperson. 2008 – USA Volleyball Female Beach Volleyball Player of the Year... Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year... FIVB Co-Player of the Year (with China's Xi Zhang), FIVB top defensive and offensive player of the year and co-sportsperson-of-the-year with Walsh... AVP Best Offensive Player, Best Defensive Player (defender) and Most Valuable Player. AVP Team of the Year with Walsh. 2007 – USA Volleyball Female Beach Volleyball Player of the Year... FIVB Sportswoman of the Year and Best Offensive Player (with Kerri Walsh). FIVB Best Defensive Player... AVP Crocs Cup Champion and Team of the Year (with Kerri Walsh)... AVP Most Valuable Player, Best Defensive Player and Best Offensive Player. 2006 – AVP Crocs Cup Champion and Team of the Year (with Kerri Walsh)... AVP Most Valuable Player, Best Defensive Player and Best Offensive Player. 2005 – FIVB Most Outstanding Player, Best Setter and Best Offensive Player... AVP Team of the Year (with Kerri Walsh)... AVP Most Valuable Player and Best Offensive Player. 2004 – Named Most Outstanding Player of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament… AVP Best Offensive Player. AVP Team of the Year (with Kerri Walsh). 2003 – AVP Team of the Year (with Kerri Walsh). 2002 – FIVB Tour Champion (with Kerri Walsh).

2000 – BVA Rookie of the Year.

April Ross Hometown: Costa Mesa, Calif.

Resides: Newport Beach, Calif.

College: Southern California (USC) Birth Year: 1982 Height: 6-1 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Finished season in fourth place on the FIVB World Tour. Team earnings for Ross and Kessy were $138,200...

Finished season with first international victory of the year at the Bansaen Thailand Open. Ross and Kessy won $15,000 for the victory... One week after winning the Olympic silver medal, Ross and Jennifer Kessy finished fifth at the FIVB Mazury Orlen Grand Slam in Stare Jablonki, Poland… Ross and partner Kessy won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in London, losing to U.S. compatriots Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in the gold medal match, 21-16, 21-16 (8/8). Ross and Kessy advanced to the gold medal match by upsetting top-seeded Larissa França and Juliana Felisberta Da Silva in the semifinals, 15-21, 21-19, 15-12. Ross and Kessy went 3-0 in pool play and won both their first- and second-round, single-elimination matches in straight sets. As a team, Ross and Kessy finished second among all women’s beach teams at the Olympics in aces with 23 on 315 attempts in seven matches (17 sets). They finished second in attacks with 209 kills on 359 attempts for a success percentage of .58. Ross finished tied for second among all players in scoring with 125 points on 106 kills, five blocks and 14 aces. Ross led all players in attacks with 106 kills on 171 attempts for a success percentage of .62. Ross was second among all players in aces with 14 on 175 attempts. She was clocked with the fastest serve of the Olympic tournament at 81 km per hour… Ross and Kessy won their first medal of the season prior to the Olympic Games at the Rome Grand Slam, finishing third… The team opened the season with a 9th-place finish in the Brasilia Open... Ross and Kessy secured their slot on the U.S. Olympic Team with a fifth-place finish at the Beijing Grand Slam (5/7-12). With the finish, they had enough points to beat Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Niles for the second slot... Ross and Kessy placed fifth in four other FIVB tournaments (Shanghai, Moscow, Gstaad and Berlin). 2011 – In the FIVB season opener in Brasilia, Ross and Jen Kessy overcame a first-round loss to win a bronze medal, while in Shanghai the duo rebounded from a second-round loss to win a silver medal...

They claimed two more bronze medals at Myslowice Open and the Beijing Grand Slam before taking fifth at the World Championship...the duo earned their only first-place finish of the year at Stravanger, but added two more silver medals at the Mazuri Open and the Phuket Thailand Open before the season ended.

2010 – Ross and Jennifer Kessy competed in 15 FIVB FIVB

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World Tour events in 2010, winning two (Shanghai, China and the Grand Slam in Rome, Italy) and capturing one second place (the Grand Slam in Moscow, Russia) and two thirds (Seoul, Korea and Sanya, China)... Ross was named the Most Outstanding Player of the event in Rome. She also had the fastest serve at the events in Shanghai (82.2 km/h) and Rome (80.1 km/h)... The team had two fourth-place finishes and three fifths. They won a total of $106,675. 2009 – Ross and Jennifer Kessy won the FIVB World Championship in Stavanger, Norway (6/25-7/4). The pair went 8-0 and lost only two sets, defeating Brazil's Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca in the final. Ross was named the event's MVP. She led all players in aces with an average of 1.44 per set... Ross and Kessy also won SWATCH FIVB World Tour events in Marseille, France and Phuket, Thailand.

The team had four second-place finishes and two thirds and finished the season in third place for World Tour ranking points. As a team they earned $139,100. 2008 – Ross and Jennifer Kessy competed in 12 international events, winning $87,300 and just missing a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team as Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs finished ahead of them. Ross and Kessy finished the 2008 FIVB Beach World Tour in impressive fashion, winning the season's final two events – (Thailand and China) and finishing second in Dubai... In Dubai (Oct. 5-10), the pair reached the finals before falling to fellow Americans Kerri Walsh and Nicole Branagh... The pair went a perfect 6-0 in Thailand (Nov. 4-9) to capture the gold medal, this time defeating Branagh and partner Tyra Turner in the final. April was named the Most Outstanding Player... The squad got over a third-round loss in China (Nov. 11-16) to come all the way back and reach the finals. Ross and Kessy swept China's Ying Huang and Zhang Xi for their second straight gold. The pair finished the season with $87,300 in international earnings. In Berlin, April recorded the FIVB's second fastest serve in 2008 (85.7 km/hr). 2007 – Ross and Kessy competed in eight FIVB international tournaments. They won the event in Stavanger, Norway, becoming the lowest seeded team (29th) ever to win an FIVB event. They fought through three rounds of qualifying and lost their first two pool play matches. They also finished second once and totaled $53,050. 2006 – Played in two FIVB World Tour events.

Playing with Barbra Fontana in Mexico, April lost in the country qualifier to Dianne DeNecochea and Holly McPeak. Playing in Thailand with Nancy Mason, she finished 17th, earning $1,500.

DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Following the Olympic Games, Ross and Kessy won the AVP events in Cincinnati and Santa Barbara, Calif., winning $33,750...

Ross and Kessy also won the NVL events in Baltimore and Las Vegas. 2011 – Ross and Kessy took second place at the VISA FIVB Beach Volleyball International and third at the U.S. Open of Beach Volleyball...

Earned another third-place finish at the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series to end the season. 2010 – Ross and Kessy opened the season with a third-place finish in

Fort Lauderdale and a fifth in Santa Barbara before winning its next four AVP Tour stops before the AVP ceased operations on Aug. 13. They won $47,750… The pair finished the season with a victory at the Cincinnati Pro Beach Volleyball Players Championship on Sept. 3-5 in Cincinnati, Ohio, defeating Rachel Scott and Elaine Youngs in the final and winning $5,000.

2009 – Ross and Kessy won their first AVP title in Houston (5/15-17) and went on to win three more. They also had four second-place finishes and two thirds, winning a total of $117,850… In Chicago, April and Jen became just the sixth team worldwide to surpass the $1 million mark in career earnings as a partnership... April also played in five AVP Hot Winter Nights events, winning two and placing second in two. 2008 – Ross and Kessy played in 13 AVP summer events and took five secondplace finishes and six thirds. They won a total of $125,250… Ross played in six AVP Hot Winter Nights events, winning four and finishing third twice. 2007 – Playing for the first time as a team, Ross and Kessy opened the FIVB season with a secondplace finish in Miami. They played in 16 summer AVP events, taking second two times and third four times. In Hermosa Beach, they defeated Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in the winners’ bracket. They won a total of $73,525. 2006 – Playing with Keao Burdine, Ross played in 13 AVP events, with their best finish two ninth places. Combined, they won $6,287.50.

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: Left USC as one of the best all-around players in program history... Named the 2003 Pac-10 Player of the Year (her senior season), earned four All-America selections, including first team accolades in 2002 and 2003 and was USC's first-ever National Freshman of the Year when she earned the Volleyball magazine accolades in 2000 (in addition to Pac-10 Freshman of the Year)... In 2000 and 2002, Was named the NCAA Regional MVP and was selected to NCAA Championship All-Tournament teams in 2002 and 2003… Led the team in kills, kills per game and points in each of her four seasons... Led the team in digs and digs per game prior to the introduction of the libero position in 2002... In four years she started

every single match... Played all but three single sets... As a senior, was the team co-captain and go-to player. Led USC to the 2003 NCAA Championship... Started in all 35 matches and led the team in kills, service aces and points... Won the 2003-04 Honda volleyball award.

OTHER VOLLEYBALL HIGHLIGHTS: Ross attended Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach, Calif. ... Competed in indoor volleyball (four years), basketball (three years) and track and field (four years)... Was the 1999 Gatorade Circle of Champions National Player of the Year, a "Fab 50" selection and was also an honor roll student all four years...

Was a member of the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team. She was on the USA A2 Women's National Phase 1 Team in 2002, and the Women's National Team in 2003 PERSONAL: Born April E. Ross in 1982 in Costa Mesa, Calif. Father's name is Glen. Ross's mother, Margie, died in 2001... Stepmother's name is Lynda. Has one sister, Amy, three stepbrothers - Tommy, Jimmy and Weston - and one step-sister - Mindy... Ross married fellow beach volleyball player Brad Keenan in November, 2010...

Graduated from USC in 2005 with a degree in international marketing...

Enjoys reading, shopping, miniature golf, yoga and camping... Musically, she likes everything from Akon to the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. Her role model is her mother for the strength she exhibited throughout her life.

PARTNERS: 2012 – Jennifer Kessy. 2011 – Jennifer Kessy. 2010 – Jennifer Kessy. 2009 – Jennifer Kessy. 2008 – Jennifer Kessy. 2007 – Jennifer Kessy. 2006 – Keao Burdine.

HONORS: 2012 – USA Volleyball Beach Team of the Year (with Kessy)...

FIVB Best Server. 2009 – USA Volleyball Female Beach Player of the Year, USA Volleyball Beach Team of the Year (with Kessy), FIVB Best Offensive Player, FIVB Best Hitter. 2007 – AVP Most Improved Player; FIVB Rookie of the Year. 2006 – AVP Rookie of the Year.

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Kerri Walsh Jennings Hometown: Saratoga, Calif.

Resides: Hermosa Beach, Calif.

College: Stanford Birth Year: 1978 Height: 6-3 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Walsh Jennings and partner Misty May-Treanor finished the season ranked 11th on the FIVB World Tour.

Walsh and her partners earned $59,650 for their international finishes…

One week after winning the Olympic gold medal, Walsh Jennings competed at the Mazury Orlen Grand Slam in Stare Jablonki, Poland with Nicole Branagh where they finished tied for ninth… Walsh Jennings and MayTreanor became the only beach volleyball team to win three Olympic gold medals when they beat U.S. compatriots Jennifer Kessy and April Ross in the gold medal match, 21-16, 21-16 (8/8) at the 2012 Summer Games. In the semifinals, Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor defeated the No. 2 seeded team of Xi Zhang and Chen Xue from China, 22-20, 22-20. In pool play, Kerri and Misty lost their first set in an Olympic Games to Doris and Stefanie Schwaiger of Austria. Kerri and Misty won the match, 17-21, 21-8, 15-10.

As a team, Kerri and Misty are 21-0 in Olympic matches going back to Athens and 42-1 in Olympic sets. Kerri and Misty led all Olympic women’s beach teams in London in blocks with 25 in 15 sets and in digs with 151 on 302 attempts for a .50 success percentage. Kerri led all players in blocks with 24 in 15 sets for an average of 1.6 per set. Was eighth among all players in scoring with 104 points on 69 kills, 24 blocks and 11 aces. After the Olympics, Kerri announced she had been pregnant throughout… Going into the Olympics, Kerri and Misty won their first gold medal of the season at the Gstaad Grand Slam in Switzerland… Kerri and Misty earned two ninthplace finishes and one fifth-place finish early in the season... The Olympicbound duo earned their first podium appearance with a second place in Moscow... Next, they took fifth at the Rome Grand Slam. 2011 – Kerri Walsh Jennings reunited with Misty May-Treanor in the FIVB season opener in Brazil, marking the first time they had played together internationally since the 2008 Beijing Olympics... They earned a silver medal in Brazil, followed by a fourth-place finish in Sayna, China... Claimed their first gold medal of the year at the Beijing Grand Slam and took second at the World Championship in Rome... Took first place two more times during the season at the Moscow Grand Slam and the A1 Grand Slam... Earned two more second-place finishes at the Paf Open and the HP Beach Open... Walsh Jennings has tallied 42 first-place finishes internationally during her beach career. 2010 – Kerri Walsh Jennings took off the majority of the summer after giving birth to her second child, Sundance, in May. She partnered with Nicole Branagh for the final two FIVB events of the season. The pair finished fifth in Sanya, China (10/27-31) and won the Phuket Thailand Open (11/3-7), taking a $15,000 prize. They lost their second match in Phuket and had to win five consolation matches to make it into the semifinals... Also in Phuket, Kerri won her 39th FIVB title, giving her sole possession of the lead she had shared with Misty May-Treanor. 2009 – Walsh Jennings did not compete in any FIVB World Tour tournaments in 2009. After giving birth to her son in May, Walsh Jennings and partner Misty May-Treanor returned to the sand together in September for the AVP World Challenge: USA vs. Brazil in Glendale, Ariz. The United States FIVB won the team competition, but Kerri and Misty lost in the final

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to Brazil's Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca. 2008 – Kerri played her final FIVB tournament of the season in Dubai with Nicole Branagh. Although Kerri was pregnant, she and Nicole won the event without dropping a set. They defeated U.S. teammates Jen Kessy and April Ross in the final…

Kerri and Misty won their last 69 FIVB World Tour matches with 10-straight gold medal finishes. Seeded second, the pair won the 2008 Olympic beach volleyball tournament to become the first team to win two beach volleyball Olympic gold medals. The pair finished the tournament with a 7-0 record and did not drop a set. They defeated the top-ranked Chinese team of Wang Jie and Tian Jia, 21-18, 21-18, in the final. The team finished the Olympic Games with a 108-match winning streak... Kerri and Misty had the most Olympic qualifying points of any team in the Games, but were ranked second due to an FIVB rule that allows the host country the top ranking if it has a team in the top six... Kerri underwent shoulder surgery during the offseason and reinjured the shoulder the weekend of May 2 in Huntington Beach, Calif., causing her and Misty to pull out of the early FIVB women's tournaments they had been planning to play. They returned to international play at the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Grand Slam event in Berlin on June 10-14 and won three straight international tournaments (Berlin; Paris and Stavanger, Norway). Winning the three events earned the team $65,250. 2007 – Kerri and Misty won seven out of eight international tournaments and placed third at the other… The team won its third straight FIVB World Championship (Gstaad, Switzerland) without dropping a set in the tournament… Won $154,750 and finished the season ranked ninth overall, but first in Olympic qualifying points. 2006 – Played in eight tournaments, winning three gold medals, two silver and two bronze… Won $100,700 and finished the season ranked ninth. 2005 – Netted six gold medals in seven tournament appearances… Won a second FIVB World Championship (Berlin, Germany)…

Finished the season ranked 7th… Earned $131,500 in prize money. 2004 – Kerri and Misty went 7-0, winning 14 sets, to win the Olympic Games in Athens… Won four gold medals in five FIVB events… Received $91,000...

Played part of the season with Rachel Wacholder while Misty May recovered from an abdominal strain. 2003 – Won the FIVB World Championship (Rio

de Janeiro, Brazil)… Claimed five gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal in eight tournaments…Finished the season ranked 3rd…

Earned $126,000 for her tournament appearances. 2002 – Won the FIVB Tour…Netted five gold medals, three silver medals in a bronze medal in 11 events…Finished the season ranked 1st…Received $97,570 in prize money. 2001 – Played in nine tournaments winning one gold, three silver and one bronze medal…Finished the season ranked 7th overall… Earned $60,500 in prize money.

DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Finished second at AVP events in Cincinnati and Santa Barbara with Nicole Branagh. 2011 – Paired with Jessica Gysin for the NVL Miami Beach Open, and finished in ninth place.

2010 – After a summer maternity leave, Walsh Jennings announced that she would compete on the AVP Tour with Brooke Hanson. However the AVP ceased operations on Aug. 13. The two did compete together at the "Cincinnati Pro Beach Volleyball Players Championship", where they finished seventh. 2009 – Walsh Jennings returned from her maternity break to pair with Rachel Wacholder, who had also been on maternity leave, for the AVP event in Hermosa Beach (8/6-8). The team finished fifth. They went on to compete in three more events together with their best finish a third in San Francisco (8/14-16). Walsh joined Holly McPeak for the AVP tourney in Chicago, where the team placed fifth. Walsh Jennings and her partners won a total of $25,465 for the season. 2008 – Walsh Jennings and May-Treanor played in a total of 14 AVP tournaments, winning 12 and taking one second and one third. They won a total of $182,750... Walsh Jennings and MayTreanor’s total match win streak came to an end at 112 matches at the AVP Crocs Cup Shootout Cincinnati held Aug. 29-31. Misty and Kerri were defeated in the finals by fellow Olympians, Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh.

The loss also snapped the gold medalists' streak of 19 straight tournament championships. Until then, Misty and Kerri had not lost a domestic volleyball match since Aug. 16-19, 2007 in Boston when they lost in the AVP final to Branagh and Youngs... Misty and Kerri won the first three AVP events they played in before Kerri reinjured her shoulder the weekend of May 2. They came back the weekend of May 24 to win the AVP event in Louisville, Ky. ... They won a total of 12 AVP events in 2008, with one second and one third. They won a total of $182,750... At the AVP event in Chicago on Aug. 10-13, Misty won her 100th career tournament title in 153 events, the fastest beach volleyball player to reach that milestone. She is the first female beach volleyball player to win 100 tourneys and the fifth player overall. Going into Beijing she has 102 tournament victories. 2007 – Played in 15 AVP events… Won gold at 13, silver at one and bronze at one… Won $162,250 and finished season ranked first. 2006 – Played in 16 AVP events with 13 first-place finishes and three second-places… Won $236,650 and finished season ranked 1st. 2005 – Played in 14 AVP tournaments, winning 11 and finishing second three times… Won $183,250 and finished season ranked 1st. 2004 – Played in 11 AVP tournaments with seven first-place finishes, three seconds and one third… Won $90,862.50 and finished season ranked 1st. 2003 – Won eight out of eight AVP tournaments… Claimed $71,550.00 and finished season ranked 1st. 2001 – Won one out of two Beach Volleyball America tournaments… Won $4,375.

OTHER VOLLEYBALL HIGHLIGHTS: 2000 – Played in her first Olympic Games with the U.S. Women’s National Team (indoor). The U.S. Women finished fourth.

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 1999 – NCAA First Team All-American. 1998 – NCAA First Team All-American. 1997 – Led Stanford University to the national championship… NCAA First Team All-American.1996 – Led Stanford University to the national championship… NCAA First Team All-American.

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PERSONAL: Born Kerri Lee Walsh in 1978, in Santa Clara, Calif. ... Daughter of Tim and Margie Walsh… Tim played minor league baseball with the Oakland A’s organization and also played semi-pro basketball… Margie was a volleyball MVP at Santa Clara… Has an older brother, Marte, two younger sisters, Kelli and KC… Marte played basketball at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, while Kelli played volleyball at Santa Clara. KC was a setter at Oregon State… Walsh married Casey Jennings, a top U.S. men’s beach volleyball player, in 2005…

FIVB Gave birth to the couple’s first child, a boy named Joseph Michael Jennings, in May of 2009… Gave birth to the couple's second child, a boy named Sundance Thomas, in May of 2010... On Sept. 24, 2012, Walsh announced she was pregnant again and had been pregnant throughout the Olympic Games in London... Graduated from Stanford University in 2001 with a degree in American studies… Graduated from Archbishop Mitty High School (San Jose, Calif.) in 1996…. When she was a sophomore in high school, asked Misty May for her autograph… In 2009, Walsh Jennings and partner Misty May-Treanor competed against NBA player Shaquille O’Neal and Todd Rogers for the “reality” television program “Shaq vs.”… Kerri has also worked as a commentator for NBC… Kerri founded the Chase the Stars Foundation in 2004 "to support the notion that every child should have the opportunity to chase their dream." The organization supports programs that "improve the well-being, health, and quality of children's lives.”

In 2009, she was nominated for a Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service by an Athlete... In 2011, she became a member of the USA Volleyball Board of Directors.

PARTNERS: 2012 – Misty May-Treanor... Nicole Branagh. 2011 – Misty May-Treanor... Jessica Gysin. 2010 – Nicole Branagh. 2009 – Rachel Wacholder... Misty May-Treanor... Holly McPeak. 2008 – Misty May-Treanor...

Nicole Branagh. 2007 – Misty May-Treanor. 2006 – Misty May-Treanor.

2005 – Misty May-Treanor. 2004 – Misty May… Rachel Wacholder. 2003 – Misty May. 2002 – Misty May. 2001 – Misty May. HONORS: 2012 – FIVB Most Outstanding… FIVB Best Blocker… FIVB Best Hitter… FIVB Sportsperson of the year. 2011 – FIVB Best Block...

FIVB Most Inspirational. 2008 – FIVB Best Blocker and Sportsperson of the Year… AVP Best Defensive Player, Crocs Cup Champion (with Misty MayTreanor) and Team of the Year (with Misty May-Treanor). 2007 – Twenty wins (domestic and international combined) tied her with May-Treanor for the most wins in a single season… Named FIVB Sportswoman of the Year and Best Offensive Player with Misty May-Treanor. Kerri alone was named Best Hitter and Best Blocker… AVP Team of the Year and Crocs Cup Champion (with Misty May-Treanor). 2006 – Walsh became the fourth American woman to surpass $1 million in career earnings, accomplishing the feat in Chicago… FIVB Best Blocker, Best Hitter and Sportswoman of the Year…

AVP Team of the Year and Crocs Cup Champion (with Misty May-Treanor).

2005 – FIVB Best Blocker, Best Hitter and Sportsperson of the Year… AVP Team of the Year (with Misty May-Treanor). 2004 – AVP Most Valuable Player… AVP Team of the Year (with Misty May). 2003 – AVP Most Valuable Player and Best Offensive Player… AVP Team of the Year (with Misty May).

Phil Dalhausser Hometown: Ormond Beach, Fla. Resides: Ventura, Calif.

College: Central Florida Birth Year: 1980 Height: 6-9 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Dalhausser and Todd Rogers finished the season in third place on the FIVB SWATCH World Tour... One week after the Olympic Games, they won the bronze medal at the Mazury Orlen Grand Slam in Stare Jablonki, Poland (8/14-19)… Dalhausser and Rogers finished tied for ninth at the Olympic Games in London. They went 3-0 in pool play before losing in the first round of single elimination to the Italian team of Nicolai Paolo and Daniele Lupo, 21-17, 21-19. Dalhausser finished the Olympic tournament tied for first among all players in attacks with 42 kills on 64 attempts in four matches (nine sets) for a success percentage of .66. As a team, Dalhausser and Rogers were third among all teams in aces with 12 in four matches (nine sets). Dalhausser had nine aces on 81 attempts and finished third among all Olympic players… In their final tournament before London, Phil and Todd finished fourth at Klagenfurt, Austria (7/17-22), after having to forfeit the bronze medal match to Gibb and Rosenthal due to injury... Dalhausser and Rogers began the season with wins at the Brasilia Open (4/17-22 in Brazil) and Shanghai Open (5/1-6 in China)… Team finished tied for 17th in Beijing (5/8-13) before earning the bronze in Prague (5/22-27)... The team took fourth place in Gstaad (7/3-8) and ninth in Berlin (7/10-14) after being eliminated by U.S. teammates Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal. 2011 – Dalhausser and Rogers established a new FIVB record for consecutive match wins – 40 straight until the gold medal match in Prague where they lost to Brazil's Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego... After the team finished second in Prague, they competed in Beijing where Dalhausser suffered a sprained ankle and the pair had to forfeit in the third round to finish tied for fifth... The team finished ninth at the World Championships in Rome and fifth at the Grand Slam in Stavanger before returning to the podium with a silver medal in Gstaad...

Dalhausser and Rogers medaled in their final five events, including victories in Quebec and Stare Jablonki, Poland... In Aland, Finland, Phil and Todd had to forfeit the gold medal match after Todd suffered a knee injury that later required surgery...

The team finished the season in second place in the FIVB World Tour rankings and winning $144,200. They finished the season in first in the rankings for Olympic qualification... Won their first two FIVB events of the season in Brazil and China. 2010 – Dalhausser and Rogers became the first American men’s team to win the SWATCH FIVB World Tour championship since the early 1990s when Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos were the top international team when the season overlapped two years

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(1992-1993). Dalhausser and Rogers also established a record for winnings by a men’s team in a single-season with US$387,700 in earnings…

Phil and Todd were named the FIVB’s Team of the Year after capturing nine SWATCH FIVB World Tour titles in 2010, including Grand Slam gold medals in Italy (Rome), Switzerland (Gstaad), Austria (Klagenfurt) and Poland (Stare Jablonki) along with second- and third-place finishes at major events in Russia (Moscow) and Norway (Stavanger), respectively… Dalhausser and Rogers won their 500th match as a team when they defeated Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil of the Netherlands on July 31 while playing at the FIVB event in Klagenfurt, Austria… The team ended the season with a 23-match winning streak and it won 75 of 86 matches in 2010...

The only SWATCH FIVB tournament where Dalhausser and Rogers did not medal was the May event in Shanghai, China, where they finished fourth…

Dalhausser and Rogers came through the contender's bracket to win the season opener in Brasilia, becoming the first American team to win a title in Brazil since 1996... Dalhausser dominated the FIVB postseason awards (see below). 2009 – Dalhausser and Rogers won the men's title at the AVP World Challenge: USA vs. Brazil in Glendale, Ariz., which pitted top U.S. beach teams against top teams from Brazil... Dalhausser and Rogersplayed in five FIVB international tournaments and won two (Marseille, France and Klagenfurt, Austria). In Marseille, Dalhausser and Rogers ended the record 25-match winning streak by Germany's Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann. Dalhausser was also named the tournament's most outstanding player... Dalhausser and Rogers finished third at the FIVB World Championships in Stavanger, Norway. Dalhausser led all players in hitting percentage with 68 kills on 90 attacks with nine errors for a 0.656 percentage. He was second among all players in aces with an average of 0.88 per set. He was third among all players in blocks with an average of 2.19 per set... The team won $72,950 internationally for the season and was ranked ninth. 2008 – Dalhausser was named most outstanding player of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament after he and Todd Rogers won the gold medal in Beijing.

Dalhausser was the leading server and blocker of the tournament, finishing with 14 aces and 42 blocks in seven matches. Dalhausser and Rogers went 6-1 at the Olympic tournament after losing their opening match to Latvia's 23rd-ranked Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs. Dalhausser and Rogers had the most Olympic qualifying points of any team in the Games, but were ranked second due to an FIVB rule that allows the host country the top ranking if it has FIVB a team in the top six... Dalhausser and Rogers played in six FIVB World Tour events in 2008 as they worked to secure Olympic qualification and won the last three Grand Slam events (in Paris, France; Stavanger, Norway; Moscow, Russia)... They finished second in one event (Berlin, Germany) and third in two (Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy; Adelaide, Australia)...

Dalhausser was named the Most Outstanding Player of the events in Stavanger and Moscow. The team has won $94,000. 2007 – Dalhausser and Rogerson won the first FIVB world championship for a U.S. men's beach team in Gstaad, Switzerland... Com-

peted in six tournaments winning one gold medal, one silver and one bronze.

Won $68,250. 2006 – Played in six tournaments with one first-place finish, one second and one third.

Won $49,350. 2005 – Netted one top 10 finish in three tournament appearances... Improved to 78th for the end of season ranking... Earned $11,250.

2004 – Made his debut by finishing 25th in his first tournament... Finished the season ranked 163rd...

Received $1,000 in prize money.

FIVB

DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Dalhausser and Todd Rogers finished third at the AVP event in Cincinnati and fifth at the AVP in Santa Barabara, Calif. ... at the NVL Preakness and took second place. Dalhausser placed third at the FIVB Best of the Beach event in Las Vegas. 2011 – While Rogers was recovering from knee surgery, Dalhausser competed at the NVL event in Miami with former partner Nick Lucena. The team finished first and won $10,000, defeating Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal in the final. 2010 – Dalhausser and Rogers advanced to the final of the AVP season opener in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., but the final was canceled due to rain and so they finished tied for second with Nick Lucena and Matt Fuerbringer… Other than Fort Lauderdale, Dalhausser and Rogers won all five of the AVP tournaments in which they competed on 2010 before the AVP ceased operations on Aug. 13… The pair won all 34 matches and lost only six sets. They won $59,750 for the season… Dalhausser and Rogers ended the domestic season by playing in the "Cincinnati Pro Beach Volleyball Players Championship" on Sept. 3-5 in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they lost to Sean Scott and John Hyden in the final. 2009 – Dalhausser and Rogers won nine of 15 AVP tournaments with four second-place finishes and one third. Phil also won his first King of the Beach title. The team won $195,170 and finished as the top-ranked men's AVP team. 2008 – Dalhausser and Rogers won 11 out of 15 AVP tournaments with two secondplace finishes and two thirds. They won $186,000. They finished third at AVP Cuervo. 2007 – Dalhausser and Rogers played in 17 AVP tournaments with 10 first-place finishes, two seconds, four thirds and one fourth. Won $207,750 and finished season ranked first. 2006 – Dalhausser and Rogers played in 16 AVP tournaments and finished first nine times with one second-place finish and four thirds. Finished in the top-10 in all 16 tourneys.

Won $163,975 and finished season ranked third. 2005 – Dalhausser and Rogers played in 14 AVP tournaments with one first-place finish, one second and two thirds. Finished in the top-10 12 times and won $50,037.50.

Finished season ranked 13th. 2004 – Played in 10 AVP tournaments with one third-place finish and six top-10 placings. Won $10,647.50 and finished season ranked 21st. 2003 – Played in six AVP tournaments with no

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top-10 placings. Won $780.

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 1996 – Named "Most Valuable Player.”

PERSONAL: Born Philip Peter Dalhausser in 1980, in Baden, Aargau, Switzerland...

Parents are Peter and Marianne Dalhausser... Has one brother, Mark... Phil married beach volleyball player Jennifer Corral in 2011... Received a degree in business administration from University of Central Florida... Graduated from Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Fla., in 1998... Played tennis for three years, baseball for two years and volleyball for one year in high school... Hobbies include Xbox, fantasy sports, tennis and volley pong... Would be "sitting behind a computer crunching numbers" if he was not playing volleyball...

After college, worked for a concrete company and then worked a short time for a firm that painted stripes on Florida FIVBhe most admires because he has highways... Lists his dad as the person endured "many serious illnesses"... Dalhausser credits partner Todd Rogers (who was an assistant volleyball coach at UC Santa Barbara) with making him a better player... Favorite TV show is SportsCenter... Phil's nickname on the AVP tour was the Thin Beast… In June of 2012, prior to the Olympic Games, Phil was hospitalized and treated for blood clots in his shoulder and arm.

PARTNERS: 2012 –Todd Rogers. 2011 – Todd Rogers. 2010 – Todd Rogers. 2009 – Todd Rogers. 2008 –Todd Rogers. 2007 – Todd Rogers. 2006 – Todd Rogers. 2005 – Nick Lucena (FIVB with Todd Rogers). 2004 – Nick Lucena (FIVB with Adam Roberts). 2003 – Nick Lucena... Justin Phipps.

HONORS: 2011 – USA Volleyball Beach Male Athlete of the Year...FIVB Best Setter. 2010 – FIVB Most Outstanding Player… FIVB Best Blocker…

FIVB Best Offensive Player… FIVB Best Hitter… FIVB Best Setter… FIVB Team of the Year (Todd Rogers)… FIVB Tour Champion (Todd Rogers).

2009 – USA Volleyball Male Beach Athlete of the Year, FIVB Best Offensive Player, FIVB Best Hitter, FIVB Best Setter, AVP Most Valuable Player... AVP Best Defensive Player... AVP Best Offensive Player... Crocs Cup Champion (with Todd Rogers)... Team of the Year (with Todd Rogers).

2008 – FIVB Sportsperson of the Year... Best Hitter... Best Offensive Player...

Best Blocker... AVP Most Valuable Player... Best Offensive Player... Best Defensive Player... Crocs Cup Champion (with Todd Rogers)... Team of the Year (with Todd Rogers).

2007 – FIVB Best Blocker and Best Hitter... AVP Team of the Year and Crocs Cup Champion (with Todd Rogers)... AVP Most Valuable Player and Best Offensive Player. 2006 – FIVB Most Improved Player... AVP Best Offensive Player. 2005 – AVP Best Offensive Player.

Matt Fuerbringer Hometown: Costa Mesa, Calif.

Resides: Costa Mesa, Calif.

College: Stanford Birth Year: 1974 Height: 6-8 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena opened the season with a second-place finish at the FIVB World Tour stop in Brazil... However the team did not reach the podium in their next 10 FIVB events and finished third among the three U.S. beach teams competing for two Olympic slots... The team finished fourth at the Grand Slam in Rome, where Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal won the tournament and won the second Olympic qualification slot... Fuerbringer and Lucena won $60,000 for the season and were ranked seventh on the FIVB World Tour. 2011 – Matt competed on the FIVB World Tour with partner Nick Lucena in 14 events... Their best finishes were a second in Quebec and a fourth in Adagir, Morocco... Their combined winnings were $54,275... They finished the season ranked ninth on the World Tour... They went into 2012 as the second-ranked U.S. men's team in Olympic qualifying points, leading Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal by 60 points. 2010 – Matt competed on the FIVB World Tour with Nick Lucena in nine events. Their best finish was second at the Grand Slam in Klagenfurt, Austria (7/278/1) where they lost to compatriots Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers in the final. The pair placed third in the final event in The Hague, Netherlands (8/24-29). The team finished the season with $49,775 in winnings. 2009 – Matt competed in nine FIVB World Tour events, eight with Casey Jennings and the final one with John Mayer…

Matt’s best finish was second with Casey Jennings in Myslowice, Poland… Matt and Casey Jennings finished fifth at the FIVB World Championship in Stavanger, Norway (6/26-7/5)… Matt’s teams won $35,200 and finished the season ranked 31st. 2008 – Matt and Casey Jennings made a strong run at Olympic qualification, competing in eight SWATCH FIVB World Tour events. Their best finish was third in Zagreb, Croatia (5/20-25)… Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal ended up securing the second Olympic slot (behind Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers) at the event in Moscow… Matt and Casey earned $35,350 and finished the season ranked 33rd.

2007 – Matt competed in five FIVB World Tour events, four with Sean Scott and one with Casey Jennings… His best finish was 17th, which he achieved three times; twice with Sean Scott and once with Casey Jennings… His teams won $7,550 and finished the season ranked 100th. 2006 – Matt competed in five FIVB World Tour events with Casey Jennings… Their best finish was 13th in Gstaad, Switzerland…

They won $3,250 and finished the season ranked 117th. 2004 – Competed in six SWATCH FIVB World Tour events with three different partners, Casey Jennings, Canyon Ceman and Stein Metzger… His best finish was ninth in Gstaad with Canyon Ceman… His teams earned $4,375 and finished the season ranked 99th. 2003 – Matt competed in six SWATCH FIVB World Tour events with Casey Jennings…

Their best finish was ninth in Marseille, France… The won $9,750 and finished the season ranked 64th.

DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Fuerbringer competed in four domestic tournaments with Lucena, finishing second at the AVP event in Cincinnati and third at AVP Santa Barbara. They were also third at the Manhattan Beach Open and fifth at the Huntington Beach Open... Fuerbringer placed second at the NVL Best of the Beach event in Las Vegas... Fuerbringer and Lucena won $17,250 for the season.

2011 – Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena competed in two Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Series events, finishing second in Miami and third in Hermosa Beach... They finished third at the Corona Light Wide Open event in Cincinnati and finished the season with $12,175 in domestic winnings. 2010 – Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena competed in seven AVP events before the tour ceased operations on Aug. 13... They finished first at Virginina Beach, tied for second in Fort Lauderdale (their final against Dalhausser and Rogers was not played due to rain) and third in Huntington Beach... Their combined winnings totaled $28,475. 2009 – Competed in 13 AVP events with different partners. He finished third in Ocean City with Casey Jennings. Fuerbringer and his partners won $30,240. He finished the season ranked 23rd. 2008 – Competed in 13 AVP events with Casey Jennings. The team won in San Diego and finished second in Hermosa Beach. They finished third five times. The team won $69,725. 2007 – Competed in 17 AVP events with Sean Scott and Casey Jennings. Won the final

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event of the year in San Francisco with Jennings… Finished second in Boston with Jennings… Placed third in Dallas and Tampa with Scott… Finished third in Mason with Jennings. Fuerbringer and his partners won $74,062. Fuerbringer finished the season ranked 10th. 2006 – Fuerbringer and Casey Jennings competed in 15 AVP events. The team won at Seaside Heights, N.J. They finished third six times. They won $67,825 and Fuerbringer was ranked seventh. 2005 – Fuerbringer and Casey Jennings competed in 13 AVP events. The won in San Diego and Hermosa Beach…

They finished second in Belmar, N.J…. They finished third in Austin, Boulder, Colo., and Chicago. Fuerbringer finished fourth at the King of the Beach tournament in Las Vegas… The team won $70,450 and Fuerbringer finished ranked sixth. 2004 – Fuerbringer and Casey Jennings competed in 12 events, winning in Belmar, N.J., and finishing second in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Manhattan Beach, Calif. 2003 – Fuerbringer and Casey Jennings competed in nine AVP events. They finished second four times and third once.

They won $28,290 and Fuerbringer finished ranked fifth.

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: Fuerbringer was a four-time AVCA All-American, Freshman of the Year, Outstanding Senior Athlete and was a member of the 1997 NCAA National Championship team.

His final block sealed the first NCAA title for Stanford, on a team that included Mike Lambert and Andy Witt OTHER VOLLEYBALL HIGHLIGHTS: Fuerbringer attended Estancia High School in Costa Mesa, Calif., where he played volleyball and basketball… Helped Estancia to win the state basketball championship in 1991… Was the Pacific FIVB Coast League Male Athlete of the Year in 1992, All-CIF first team in 1991 and ’92 and All-CIF in volleyball in ’92… He graduated from Estancia in 1992 and went to Stanford University, graduating in 1997 with a degree in American studies… Fuerbringer spent five years playing indoors in Spain.

PERSONAL: Born Matthew Otto Fuerbringer in 1974 in Toronto, Canada… Parents are Peter and Jo Ann Fuerbringer… Has a sister named Samantha Stark… Married to Joy McKienzie-Fuerbringer, who helped Long Beach State to three NCAA Division I semifinal appearances between 1990 and 1994, and played professionally both indoor and on the beach and went on to coach for the Mizuno Volleyball Club. In 2010 she was named an assistant coach for the UCLA women’s volleyball team…

Matt and Joy have a daughter named Charlie, born in 2006, and a son named Mateo… Joy’s brother, David McKienzie, played on the 2012 U.S. Olympic men's volleyball team… Speaks fluent Spanish… Enjoys surfing, coaching and listening to music… In 2009, the Fuerbringers opened The MAC Athletic Club, a 18,000 square foot facility in Carson Calif. It has three volleyball courts, a 2000 square foot weight room, Mizuno apparel store and a cafe.

PARTNERS: 2012 – Nick Lucena. 2011 – Nick Lucena. 2010 – Nick Lucena.

2009 – John Mayer, Billy Allen, Reid Priddy, Casey Jennings, Stein Metzger. 2008 – Casey Jennings. 2007 – Casey Jennings, Sean Scott. 2006 – Casey Jennings.

2005 – Casey Jennings. 2004 – Stein Metzger, Canyon Ceman, Casey Jennings.

2003 – Casey Jennings. 2002 – Brandon Taliaferro. 2001 – David Swatik, Paul Baxter, Mark Williams, Mark Lyles. 2000 – Jason Ring, Casey Jennings, Reid Priddy.

1999 – Alika Williams.

HONORS: 2003 – AVP Rookie of the Year.

Jake Gibb Hometown: Bountiful, Utah Resides: Costa Mesa, Calif.

College: Utah Birth Year: 1980 Height: 6-7 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Named USA Volleyball Male Beach Volleyball Player of the Year... Jake Gibb and partner Sean Rosenthal finished the season as the FIVB SWATCH World Tour champions with 5,280 points. They finished 100 points ahead of the second-place Brazilian team of Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego… Gibb and Rosenthal finished fifth at the 2012 Olympic Games. They went 2-1 in pool play, but still won their pool to advance. In the first round of single elimination, Gibb and Rosenthal defeated Russia’s Konstantin Semenov and Serguei Prokopiev, 21-14, 22-20. In the quarterfinals, they fell to Latvia’s Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins, 19-21, 21-18, 15-11. Gibb was 19th among all Olympic players (second among Americans) with 75 points on 62 kills, 12 blocks and one ace in five matches (11 sets)… Gibb and Rosenthal opened the season at Brazil with a ninth-place finish... Their next two tournaments they earned a fifth-place finish at the Silesia Open and took silver at the Shanghai Grand Slam... Gibb and Rosenthal finished in fourth place at Beijing, playing in their second semifinal match of the year... Their ninth-place finish at Prague gave them a slight advantage over fellow U.S. teammates Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena in the race to qualify for the second roster spot on the U.S. Olympic men's beach team... Gibb and Rosenthal clinched their spot on the Olympic team when they reached the semifinals of the Rome Grand Slam, then won their first Grand Slam gold medal... The win marked the highest career finish for the duo on the FIVB World Tour... At the next Grand Slam in Gstaad, they earned the second career first-place finish... Gibb and Rosenthal took silver in Berlin and bronze in their final match before London in Klagenfurt.

2011 – Gibb and Rosenthal opened the season with a 17th-place finish in Brazil...

In Shanghai, China, they played their first FIVB semifinal match since 2009, and won a silver medal... The semifinal appearance ended a 15-event streak of not playing in a semifinal match... The pair finished 17th at the World Championship, but bounced back and placed third at Quebec... Finished the season in a close race with fellow U.S. teammates Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena for the second spot on the U.S. Olympic beach team. 2010 – Jake and partner Sean Rosenthal competed in 10 FIVB events, finishing fifth four times (Prague Open [6/15-20] and FIVB Grand Slams in Gstaad [7/6-11], Klagenfurt [7/27-8/1] and Stare Jablonki [8/3-8])… They also finished ninth three times and 17th three times. The team finished with total winnings of $40,850. 2009 – Jake and Sean played six FIVB international tournaments, with their best finish a third at Myslowice, Poland (5/26-31). They won $24,972...

While Sean was injured, Jake partnered with Matt Olsen for the AVP Crocs Tour World Challenge - USA vs. Brazil in Glendale, Ariz. (9/25-27). The U.S. team defeated Brazil. Jake and Matt went 1-3. 2008 – Jake and Sean, ranked seventh, finished the 2008 Olympic Games tied for fifth after losing to Brazil's third-seeded Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego, 21-18, 21-16, in the quarterfinals. They finished 4-1. Gibb was eighth among all blockers with 19 blocks in five matches... Jake and Sean competed in eight FIVB events in 2008 as part of the Olympic qualifying process. They won the SWATCH FIVB World Tour event in Prague (May 6-11) but did not reach another podium... They secured the United States' second Olympic berth at the match in Moscow (July 1-6). Although Jake and Sean finished 17th, they accumulated enough points to stay ahead of Matt Fuerbringer and Casey Jennings.

Jake and Sean have earned $42,650 on the FIVB tour this year. 2007 – Jake and Sean played in six international events, with fifth being their best finish. They won $26,950; 2006 – Jake and Sean played in six international events, winning one and finishing second twice. They won $53,225; 2005 – Jake and Stein Metzger played in seven FIVB tournaments, finishing second once and third twice. They won $48,375.

DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Following the Olympic Games, Gibb played in five domestic tournaments, four with Sean Rosenthal. Won the NVL event in Santa Barbara and was second at Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Series event in Huntington Beach. Finished fifth at AVP Cincinnati and Jose Cuervo Manhattan Beach.. Won the NVL Best of the Beach tournament, playing the final match with Nick Lucena. 2011

– Gibb and Sean Rosenthal finished in second place at the NVL Miami Beach event, and earned a third-place finish at the Miami Pro Beach tournament...The duo took second place at the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series Hermosa Beach Open.

2010 – Gibb and partner Sean Rosenthal played in six AVP events before the tour ceased operations on Aug. 13. Their best finish was second in Santa Barbara (4/295/2)… They finished third at Huntington Beach (6/3-6) and long Beach (7/24-25)…

They won a total of $22,850… Gibb finished the season partnered with Casey Jennings at the "Cincinnati Pro Beach Volleyball Players Championship" on Sept.

3-5 in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they finished third. 2009 – Gibb and Sean Rosenthal played in 14 summer AVP tournaments and won one, gaining their first Manhattan Beach Open title as a team (Jake won with Stein Metzger in 2005). The pair also had for second-places and five thirds, good for FIVB $101,190. They finished the season ranked fifth. 2008 – Gibb and Rosenthal played in 12 summer AVP events and won three of them with three second places and two thirds. They won $96,500.

They also won three out of seven Hot Winter Nights tournaments, good for $24,500... They won the AVP Cuervo Tournament and pocketed $12,500. 2007 – Gibb and Sean Rosenthal played 17 AVP events, winning two, finishing second seven times and finishing third twice. They won $108,900. 2006 – Gibb and Rosenthal played 16 AVP events, winning one - the very first event they played together - finishing second five times and finishing third once. They won $95,650.

2005 – Gibb and Stein Metzger played in 14 AVP events, winning four to lead the tour, finishing second three times and placing third five times. They won $110,950.

2004 – Gibb and Adam Jewell played in 11 tournaments, winning one, finishing second twice and finishing third four times. They won $46,145. 2003 – Gibb played eight AVP events with Ty Loomis and Adam Jewell. He finished third one time with Jewell. His partnerships won him $8,675. 2000-02 – Gibb and Mike Daniel played 14 events but did not reach the top 10. They won a total of $825.

PERSONAL: Born Jacob Spiker Gibb in 1980, in Bountiful, Utah... Parents are Lawrence and Saundra Gibb... Jake and his twin brother Coleman are the youngest of 11 children (six boys, five girls)... Gibb's wife's name is Jane. They were married in 2000... They have one son, Crosby, who was born in 2011 while Gibb was on the road competing... Gibb attended Bountiful High School... He graduated from Utah in 2002 with a business degree... His hobbies are playing golf and basketball... Gibb didn't start playing volleyball until he turned 21 and formed a beach volleyball team with Coleman... Gibb likes to listen to Jack Johnson... His favorite movie is American Beauty... His favorite TV show is Curb Your Enthusiasm... Gibb's father is his role model... In 2010, Jake found out he had testicular cancer from a USADA drug test.

The cancer was removed via surgery and no further treatment was necessary. Jake is a two-time cancer survivor as he has a scar on his shoulder left from a bout with skin cancer in 2004.

PARTNERS: 2012 – Sean Rosenthal. 2011 – Sean Rosenthal. 2010 – Sean Rosenthal. 2009 – Sean Rosenthal. 2008 – Sean Rosenthal. 2007 – Sean Rosenthal. 2006 – Sean Rosenthal. 2005 – Stein Metzger. 2004 – Adam Jewell. 2003 – Adam Jewell/Ty Loomis. 2002 – Mike Daniel. 2001 – Mike Daniel. 2000 – Mike Daniel.

HONORS: 2012 – USA Volleyball Male Beach Athlete of the Year. 2005 – AVP Most Valuable Player; AVP Team of the Year with Stein Metzger; FIVB Top Rookie.

2004 – AVP Most Improved Player.

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Casey Jennings Hometown: Las Vegas, Nev. Resides: Hermosa Beach, Calif.

College: BYU Birth Year: 1975 Height: 6-2 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Played in five FIVB World Tour events with Bill Strickland... The team's best finish was 25th in Gstaad, Switzerland. 2011 – Played in 10 FIVB World Tour events, most with Kevin Wong...

The team's best finish was fifth in Klagenfurt, Austria (8/2-7) and seventh in Agadir, Morocco (10/4-9)... Also played one tournament each with Curt Toppel and Casey Patterson... Jennings and his partners earned $20,250 for the season. 2010 – Casey played the final two FIVB events of the season with Kevin Wong. The team had to play in the qualification round to advance to the main draw of both tournaments… The team placed ninth in Aland, Finland, and won the final event in The Hague, Netherlands, for Casey’s first FIVB victory… The team won $18,000 together… Casey began the season partnering with Brad Keenan… The pair competed in 10 FIVB events with their best finish a fourth at the Grand Slam in Moscow (6/8-14)… They also had three ninth-place finishes in Brasilia, Shanghai and Gstaad… The team earned a total of $32,050. 2009 – Won an FIVB silver medal in Poland with Fuerbringer in Jennings’ first title match of his career… The duo finished the FIVB tour with three ninth-place finishes in Grand Slam events… They won a total of $33,800. 2008 – Casey and Matt Fuerbringer played in eight FIVB events in an attempt to qualify for the Olympics… Their best finish was third in Zagreb, Croatia… They finished third among the U.S. teams, but only the top two advanced to the Olympic Games in Beijing… Casey and Matt won a total of $35,350. 2007– Jennings played in one FIVB event with partner Matt Fuerbringer and finished 17th. 2006 – Played in five FIVB World Tour events with partner Matt Fuerbringer. The pair had its top finish at 13th. 2004 – Casey and Matt Fuerbringer played together in two FIVB World events. 2003 – Had a season best of ninth place throughout six FIVB events with partner Fuerbringer. 2002 – Had three different partners in four FIVB appearances.

Jennings paired with Brad Torsone at two events and Chip McCaw and Carl Henkel, both with one event each.

Beach (7/16-19). They won a total of $23,115… Casey competed in five AVP Hot Winter Nights events, winning two and finishing second in the other three for total winnings of $15,625. 2008 – Casey and Matt Fuerbringer played in 11 events on the AVP Tour. The team won one event in San Diego (8/1-3) and finished second in Hermosa Beach (6/5-8). They also had five third-place finishes: Miami (4/10-13), Dallas (4/17-20), Huntington Beach (5/1-3), Mason, Ohio (8/29-31) and Manhattan Beach (9/17-21). They won a total of $68,425... The team finished third in the AVP Cuervo tournament on May 4 in Huntington Beach… Casey also played in seven AVP Hot Winter Night events, winning three and finishing with $22,250 in winnings. 2007 – Casey finished the AVP tour with Matt Fuerbringer. The team played in seven events, winning in San Francisco (9/14-16), finishing second in Boston (8/16-18) and placing third in Mason, Ohio (8/30-9/1). As a team they won a total of $41,350…

Casey played in the first 10 AVP Tour events with Mark Williams. The pair placed third in Louisville, Ky., and Charleston, S.C. As a team they won a total of $25,724. 2006 – Casey and Matt Fuerbringer played in 15 AVP tour events. They won the event in Seaside Heights, N.J. (6/29-7/2) and finished third six times. They won a total of $66,825. 2005 – Casey and Matt Fuerbringer played in 13 AVP tour events as a team. They won the events in San Diego (6/10-12) and Hermosa Beach (7/21-23). The team finished second at Belmar, N.J. (7/8-10) and third in Austin (4/29-5/1), Boulder (8/26-28) and Chicago (9/1-3)… They won $68,200 as a team. 2004 – Casey and Matt Fuerbringer played in 11 AVP tour events as a team, winning the tournament in Belmar, N.J. (7/8-11) and placing second in Fort Lauderdale (4/2-4) and Manhattan Beach (6/4-6). They won a total of $34,205. 2003 – Casey and Matt Fuerbringer played in nine AVP tour events, finishing second four times: Fort Lauderdale (4/4-6), Hermosa Beach (6/6-8), San Diego (6/13-15) and Belmar, N.J. (7/25-27). They also finished third at Manhattan Beach (8/7-10).

They won a total of $28,290. 2002 – Casey played in six AVP tour events with four different partners. He finished third in Chicago with Carl Henkel. He also had seventh- and ninth-place finishes with Brad Torsone. His teams won a total of $7,255.

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: Attended Orange Coast College and Golden West College… Later transferred to BYU… Graduated from BYU in 2001 with a degree in Sociology… Played four years of collegiate volleyball… Helped lead BYU to the 1999 NCAA National Championship… Named to the Mountain West Honorable Mention team for his play PERSONAL: Born Casey Thomas Jennings in 1975 in Reno, Nev. … Parents are Michael Jennings and Julie Jennings … He is the youngest of five brothers Chandler, Troy, Jason and Joey … Has two sisters Kellli and KC … Married U.S. beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh in 2005... The couple has two sons, Joseph born in 2009, and Sundance, born in 2010... Casey attended Clark High School from 1989-93… Played both soccer and volleyball in high school… Was named All-State during his high school career…

Hobbies include snowboarding, music, making home movies and golfing…

Favorite television show is Seinfeld…

Favorite movies are Cool Hand Luke and True Romance… Role models are his “friends and family because they are true to speed."

DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Finished seventh at Hermosa Beach Open (Pro Beach Series) with Bill Strickland (7/22-24)... Placed ninth at Chicago and Manhattan Beach with Strickland... Placed 13th at AVP in Cincinnati with Bill Strickland (8/30-9/2). 2011 – Won the Hermosa Beach Open (Pro Beach Series) with Brazil's Pedro Salgado (9/23-25)... Finished seventh at the Wide Open event in Hermosa with Scott Lane (8/20-21) and seventh at the NVL event in Miami with Canada's Ben Saxton ((/10-11)... Placed ninth at NVL in Malibu with Andrew Fuller (7/23-24). 2010 – Casey and Jake Gibb placed third at the Cincinnati Pro Beach Volleyball Players Championship on Sept. 3-5 in Cincinnati, Ohio… Casey and Brad Keenan competed in six AVP events before the tour ceased operations on Aug. 13… Their best finish was third in Hermosa Beach (7/16-18)… They also had three fifth-place finishes in Huntington Beach, Calif. (6/3-6), Belmar, N.J. (6/2527) and Long Beach, Calif. (7/24-25).

2009 – Casey and Matt Fuerbringer played in eight AVP Tour events with their best finish a third in Ocean City, Md. (6/18-21). They also finished fifth FIVB in Houston (5/15-17) and Manhattan

PARTNERS: 2012 – Bill Strickland.

2011 – Kevin Wong, Curt Toppel, Casey Patterson. 2010 – Kevin Wong, Brad Keenan. 2009 – Matt Fuerbringer. 2008 – Matt Fuerbringer. 2007 – Matt Fuerbringer, Mark Williams. 2006 – Matt Fuerbringer. 2004 – Matt Fuerbringer.

2003 – Matt Fuerbringer. 2002 – Brad Torsone, Chip McCaw, Carl Henkel.

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Nick Lucena Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Resides: Santa Barbara, Calif.

College: Florida State Birth Year: 1979 Height: 6-1 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Lucena and Matt Fuerbringer opened the season with a second-place finish at the FIVB World Tour stop in Brazil... However the team did not reach the podium in their next 10 FIVB events and finished third among the three U.S. beach teams competing for two Olympic slots... The team finished fourth at the Grand Slam in Rome, where Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal won the tournament and won the second Olympic qualification slot... Fuerbringer and Lucena won $60,000 for the season. 2011 – Lucena and Matt Fuerbringer competed in 14 FIVB World Tour events... Their best finishes were a second in Quebec and a fourth in Adagir, Morocco... Their combined winnings were $54,275... They finished the season ranked ninth on the World Tour... They went into 2012 as the second-ranked U.S. men's team in Olympic qualifying points, leading Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal by 60 points. 2010 – Nick formed a new partnership with Matt Fuerbringer and the two competed in nine events on the FIVB World Tour. Their best finish was second at the Grand Slam in Klagenfurt, Austria (7/27-8/1) where they lost to compatriots Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers in the final. The pair placed third in the final event in The Hague, Netherlands (8/24-29). They finished the season with $49,775 in winnings. 2009 – Partnered with Brad Keenan and played four FIVB events.

The pair finished in the top half of two of the events and placed 17th in the World Championships in Stavanger. 2008 – Lucena played two FIVB events and made the quota finish with partner Sean Scott in one of the tournaments. 2007 – Nick and partner Sean Scott played in one FIVB event but did not make the country quota. 2005 – Finished 25th in two Grand Slams with partner Dalhausser in his first two FIVB events.

DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Lucena and Matt Fuerbringer competed in four domestic tournaments, finishing second at the AVP event in Cincinnati and third at AVP Santa Barbara. They were also third at the Manhattan Beach Open and fifth at the Huntington Beach Open...

Lucena placed third at the NVL Best of the Beach event in Las Vegas... Lucena and Fuerbringer won $17,250 for the season. 2011 – Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena competed in two Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Series events, finishing second in Miami and third in Hermosa Beach... They finished third at the Corona Light Wide

Open event in Cincinnati and finished the season with $12,175 in domestic winnings. 2010 – Lucena and Matt Fuerbringer competed in seven AVP events before the tour ceased operations on Aug. 13... They won at Virginia Beach, tied for second in Fort Lauderdale (their final against Dalhausser and Rogers was not played due to rain) and third in Huntington Beach...

Their combined winnings totaled $28,475 and Lucena was ranked seventh.

2009 – Lucena and Brad Keenan played in 13 AVP events… Their best finish was second in Muskegon. They also placed third in five events. They won a combined $58,725 and Lucena was ranked 11th. 2008 – Lucena and Sean Scott competed in 18 AVP events… The finished second six times, including Manhattan Beach where they lost to Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers in the final… They also finished third five times… They won a combined total of $121,262 and Lucena finished the season ranked third. 2007 – Lucena began the season partnered with Bill Strickland and competed in 10 AVP events. Their best finish was fifth in Huntington Beach… Lucena switched to Mark Williams for the final seven events. The pair finished third in Chicago, but did not reach another podium. Lucena and his partners won a combined $38,187 and Lucena finished the season ranked 18th. 2006 – Lucena competed in 16 AVP events with Mark Williams, George Roumain and Sean Rooney. His best finish was fifth, which he reached four times…

Lucena and his partners won a combined $31,525 and Lucena was ranked 13th. 2005 – Lucena and Phil Dalhausser competed in 13 AVP events and won the event in Austin… They finished second in Manhattan Beach, losing to Jake Gibb and Stein Metzger in the final… They finished third two times and won a combined $49,538. Lucena was ranked 13th. 2004 – Lucena competed in nine events with Phil Dalhausser and one with Chad Turner.

Lucena’s best finish was third in Hermosa Beach with Dalhausser. Lucena and his partners won a combined $10,310 and Lucena finished the season ranked 21st. 2001-03 – Lucena competed in seven domestic events, mostly with Dalhausser, and did not reach the podium.

PERSONAL: Born Nicholas Lucena in 1979… Lucena has three brothers and a sister who played soccer at Florida Atlantic University … He attended Florida State University and graduated with a degree in sports management… Favorite band is Sparta… Favorite movie is the Karate Kid… Favorite television show is Seinfeld … Favorite meal are burritos… His role model is his dad.

PARTNERS: 2012 – Matt Fuerbringer. 2011 – Matt Fuerbringer. 2010 – Matt Fuerbringer. 2009 – Brad Keenan. 2008 – Sean Scott.

2007 – Mark Williams, Bill Strickland. 2006 – Sean Rooney, Fred Souza, George Roumain, Mark Williams.

2005 – Phil Dalhausser.

2004 – Phil Dalhausser.

2003 – Phil Dalhausser, Derek Zimmerman.

FIVB

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HONORS: 2008 – AVP Best Defensive Player (Defender), AVP Most Improved Player.

Todd Rogers Hometown: Santa Barbara, Calif.

Resides: Solvang, Calif.

College: UC Santa Barbara Birth Year: 1973 Height: 6-2 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Todd Rogers and partner Phil Dalhausser finished the season in third place on the FIVB SWATCH World Tour. In their final FIVB event of the season, one week after the Olympic Games, they won the bronze medal at the Mazury Orlen Grand Slam in Stare Jablonki, Poland (8/14-19)… Rogers and Dalhausser finished tied for ninth at the Olympic Games in London. They went 3-0 in pool play before losing in the first round of single elimination to the Italian team of Nicolai Paolo and Daniele Lupo, 21-17, 21-19. Rpgers was tied for eighth among all men’s Olympic beach players in digs with 56 in four matches (nine sets) and a success percentage of .50… Rogers and Dalhausser began the season with wins at the Brasilia Open (4/17-22 in Brazil) and Shanghai Open (5/1-6 in China)… … Team finished tied for 17th in Beijing (5/8-13) before earning the bronze in Prague (5/22-27)... The team took fourth place in Gstaad (7/3-8) and ninth in Berlin (7/10-14) after being eliminated by U.S. teammates Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal... In their final tournament before London, Phil and Todd finished fourth at Klagenfurt, Austria (7/17-22), after having to forfeit the bronze medal match to Gibb and Rosenthal due to injury. 2011 – Rogers and Phil Dalhausser began the year with two gold medals, and in the process established a new FIVB record for consecutive match wins - 40 straight until the gold medal match in Prague where they lost to Brazil's Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego... After the team finished second in Prague, they competed in Beijing where Dalhausser suffered a sprained ankle and the pair had to forfeit in the third round to finish tied for fifth... The team finished ninth at the World Championships in Rome and fifth at the Grand Slam in Stavanger before returning to the podium with a silver medal in Gstaad... Rogers and Dalhausser medaled in their final five events, including victories in Quebec and Stare Jablonki, Poland... In Aland, Finland, Rogers and Dalhausser had to forfeit the gold medal match after Rogers suffered a knee injury that ended up requiring surgery... The team finished the season in second place in the FIVB World Tour rankings and winning $144,200. They finished the season ranked first in the FIVB beach technical rankings and first in the rankings for Olympic qualification.

2010 – Rogers and Phil Dalhausser became the first American men’s team to win the SWATCH FIVB World Tour championship since the early 1990s when Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos were the top international team when the season overlapped two years (1992-1993).

Rogers and Dalhausser also established a record for winnings by a men’s team in a single-season with US$387,700 in earnings… Rogers and Dalhausser were named the FIVB FIVB’s Team of the Year af-

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ter capturing nine SWATCH FIVB World Tour titles in 2010, including Grand Slam gold medals in Italy (Rome), Switzerland (Gstaad), Austria (Klagenfurt) and Poland (Stare Jablonki) along with second- and third-place finishes at major events in Russia (Moscow) and Norway (Stavanger), respectively…

Rogers and Dalhausser won their 500th match as a team when they defeated Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil of the Netherlands on July 31 while playing at the FIVB event in Klagenfurt, Austria… The team ended the season with a 23-match winning streak and it won 75 of 86 matches in 2010... The only SWATCH FIVB tournament where Rogers and Dalhausser did not medal was the May event in Shanghai, China, where they finished fourth… Rogers and Dalhausser came through the contender's bracket to win the season opener in Brasilia, becoming the first American team to win a title in Brazil since 1996. 2009 – Rogers and Phil Dalhausser won the men's title at the AVP World Challenge: USA vs. Brazil in Glendale, Ariz., which pitted top U.S. beach teams against top teams from Brazil... Rogers and Dalhausser played in five FIVB international tournaments and won two (Marseille, France and Klagenfurt, Austria). In Marseille, Rogers and Dalhausser ended the record 25-match winning streak by Germany's Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann. Rogers and Dalhausser finished third at the FIVB World Championships in Stavanger, Norway. Todd was third among all players in digs with 59 digs in 16 sets (3.69). The team won $72,950 internationally for the season and is ranked ninth. 2008 – Rogers and Phil Dalhausser became the third U.S. men's team to win an Olympic gold medal in Beijing. Rogers and Dalhausser went 6-1 at the Olympic tournament after losing their opening match to Latvia's 23rd-ranked Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs. Rogers tied for first among all hitters with 125 kills in seven matches. He was second among diggers with 43. Rogers and Dalhausser had the most Olympic qualifying points of any team in the Games, but were ranked second due to an FIVB rule that allows the host country the top ranking if it has a team in the top six... Phil and Todd played in six FIVB World Tour events in 2008 as they worked to secure Olympic qualification and won the last three Grand Slam events (in Paris, France; Stavanger, Norway; Moscow, Russia)... They finished second in one event (Berlin, Germany) and third in two (Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy; Adelaide, Australia)... Rogers was named the Most Outstanding Player in Paris, France...

The team has won $94,000. 2007 – Rogers and Dalhausser won the first world championship for a U.S. men's beach team in Gstaad, Switzerland...

Competed in six FIVB tournaments winning one gold medal, one silver and one bronze. Won $68,250. 2006 – Rogers and Dalhausser played in six tournaments with one first-place finish, one second and one third. Won $49,350.

2005 – Rogers and Dalhausser played in seven tournaments finishing in the top 10 six times... Finished the season ranked 27th... Earned $38,325 in prize money.

2004 – Just missed qualifying for the 2004 Olympics, finishing as the thirdranked U.S. team in the two-year process. Rogers and Scott were the fourthhighest ranked team worldwide to not qualify for the Olympics (due to country quotas)... Appeared in 11 tournaments... Ranked 21st for the season...

Earned $39,075. 2003 – Played in eight tournaments finishing in the top 10 six times... Finished the season ranked 32nd...Received $22,750. 2002 - Played in seven tournaments... Ended the season ranked 43rd...Received $13,013. 2001 – Played in nine tournaments finishing in the top 10 four times... Finished the season with a 26th ranking...Earned $21,750. 2000 – Won one gold medal in tour tournament appearances... Ranked 56th for the season... Received $20,500. 1999 – Made one tournament appearance...

Finished the season ranked 341st. 1997 – Made his debut by finishing 9th in his only tournament... Ranked 80th for the season... Earned $3,100.

DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Placed second with Phil Dalhausser at the NVL Preakness... Placed third with Dalhausser at the AVP event in Cincinnati. 2010 – Rogers and Dalhausser advanced to the final of the AVP season opener in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., but the final was canceled due to rain and so they finished tied for second with Nick Lucena and Matt Fuerbringer… Other than Fort Lauderdale, Rogers and Dalhausser won all five of the AVP tournaments in which they competed on 2010 before the AVP ceased operations on Aug. 13… The pair won all 34 matches and lost only six sets. They won $59,750 for the season… Rogers and Dalhausser ended the domestic season by playing in the "Cincinnati Pro Beach Volleyball Players Championship" on Sept. 3-5 in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they lost to Sean Scott and John Hyden in the final. 2009 – Rogers and Dalhausser won nine of 15 AVP tournaments with four second-place finishes and one third.

The team won $195,170 and finished as the top-ranked men's AVP team.

2008 – Phil and Todd won 11 out of 15 AVP tournaments with two secondplace finishes and two thirds. They won $186,000. They finished third at AVP Cuervo. 2008 – Rogers and Dalhausser competed in 15 AVP tournaments, winning 11, including Manhattan Beach, finishing second twice and third once. They won a combined $180,000 and Todd finished the season ranked first. 2007 – Played in 17 AVP tournaments with 10 first-place finishes, including Manhattan Beach, two seconds, four thirds and one fourth.

Won $207,750 and finished season ranked first. 2006 – Played in 16 AVP tournaments and finished first nine times with one second-place finish and four thirds. Finished in the top-10 in all 16 tourneys. Won $163,975 and finished season ranked 3rd. 2005 – Played in 13 AVP tournaments with three first-place finishes, two second place and one third. Had a total of 11 top-10 finishes. Won $81,150 and finished season ranked 9th. 2004 – Played in eight AVP tournaments with one gold medal, two silver and three bronze. Finished in top-10 in seven out of eight tourneys. Won $33,612.50 and finished season ranked 15th. 2003 – Played in eight AVP tournaments with one second- and one third- place finish. Finished in top 10 in all eight.

Won $16,257.50 and finished season ranked 16th. 2002 – Played in six AVP tournaments with five top-10 finishes. Won a total of $10,200 and finished season ranked 15th. 2001 – Played in four AVP events winning one gold and one silver. Played in two Beach Volleyball America events, winning one gold and one silver. Won a total of $31, 410. 2000 – Played in 11 AVP tournaments, finishing first two times and second two times. Also won one USAV tournament. Won a total of $54,375. 1995-1999 – Played in 60 domestic (AVP and USAV) tournaments, winning two, finishing second three times and placing third four times. Won a total of $143,349.

COLLEGE HIGHLIGHTS: 1996 – All American. 1995 – All American PERSONAL: Todd Jonathan Rogers, born in 1973 in Santa Barbara, Calif. ... Parents are David and Heidi Rogers... Todd has a brother named Dean...

Todd is married to Melissa Masonheimer Rogers... They have one daughter (Hannah) and one son (Nate)... Todd's nickname is "The Professor"...

Received a degree in religious studies with a minor in coaching from UC Santa Barbara in 1996... Still ranks second at Santa Barbara in career digs with 783... Was the assistant men's volleyball coach at UCSB from 2000 to

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FIVB

2005... Graduated from San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1991. Beach volleyball player Dax Holdren was Rogers' teammate at San Marcos. They went on to play together from 1997-2001... Was twice named best athlete in high school... Also enjoys reading, surfing, soccer and hiking... Built a beach volleyball court in his backyard.

PARTNERS: 2012 – Phil Dalhausser. 2011 – Phil Dalhausser. 2010 – Phil Dalhausser. 2009 – Phil Dalhausser. 2008 – Phil Dalhausser. 2007 – Phil Dalhausser. 2006 – Phil Dalhausser. 2005 – Phil Dalhausser, Sean Scott.

2004 – Sean Scott. 2003 – Sean Scott. 2002 – Sean Scott. 2001 – Sean Scott, Dax Holdren. 2000 – Dax Holdren, Stein Metzger. 1999 – Dax Holdren. 1997 – Dax Holdren.

HONORS: 2010 – FIVB Best Defensive Player. FIVB Team of the Year (Phil Dalhausser)… FIVB Tour Champion (Phil Dalhausser). 2009 – Crocs Cup Champion (with Dalhausser). AVP Team of the Year (with Dalhausser). 2008 – FIVB Defensive Player. FIVB Most Inspirational Player. AVP Defensive Player. AVP Crocs Cup Champion (with Dalhausser). AVP Team of the Year (with Dalhausser). 2007 – USA Volleyball Male Beach Volleyball Player of the Year... AVP Team of the Year and Crocs Cup Champion (with Dalhausser) and AVP Best Defensive Player. 2006 – AVP Most Valuable Player and Best Defensive Player. 2005 – Named FIVB Best Setter... AVP Best Defensive Player. 2004 – Named Best Defensive Player by the AVP. 1997 – AVP Rookie of the Year.

Prague (May 6-11) but did not reach another podium. They secured the United States' second Olympic berth at the match in Moscow (July 1-6). Although Rosenthal and Gibb finished 17th, they accumulated enough points to stay ahead of Matt Fuerbringer and Casey Jennings. Jake and Sean have earned $42,650 on the FIVB tour this year. 2007 – Rosenthal and Gibb played in six international events, with fifth being their best finish. They won $26,950; 2006 – Sean and Jake played in six international events, winning one and finishing second twice. They won $53,225;

Sean Rosenthal Hometown: Redondo Beach, Calif.

Resides: Redondo Beach, Calif.

College: None Birth Year: 1980 Height: 6-3 INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Rosenthal and Jake Gibb finished the season as the FIVB SWATCH World Tour champions with 5,280 points. They finished 100 points ahead of the second-place Brazilian team of Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego… Gibb and Rosenthal finished fifth at the 2012 Olympic Games.

They went 2-1 in pool play, but still won their pool to advance. In the first round of single elimination, Gibb and Rosenthal defeated Russia’s Konstantin Semenov and Serguei Prokopiev, 21-14, 22-20. In the quarterfinals, they fell to Latvia’s Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins, 19-21, 21-18, 15-11. Gibb and Rosenthal finished fifth among all teams in digs with 95 in five matches played for a success percentage of .53. Rosenthal had the majority of those digs with 70 and a success percentage of .48. Rosenthal was 16th among all scorers (and the leading U.S. scorer) in the Olympics with 81 points on 75 kills, three blocks and three aces in five matches (11 sets)… Rosenthal and Gibb opened the season at Brazil with a ninth-place finish...

Their next two tournaments they earned a fifth-place finish at the Silesia Open and took silver in Shanghai... Rosenthal and Gibb finished fourth in Beijing, playing in their second semifinal match of the year... Their ninth-place finish at Prague gave them a slight advantage over fellow U.S. teammates Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena in the race to qualify for the second roster spot on the Olympic U.S. men's beach team... Rosenthal and Gibb clinched their spot on the U.S. Olympic team with the points they earned by reaching the semifinals of the Rome Grand Slam. Then they went on to win the tournament, getting their first Grand Slam victory... The win marked the highest career finish for the duo on the FIVB World Tour... They earned their second career FIVB Grand Slam gold medal in Gstaad, Switzerland... Gibb and Rosenthal took silver in Berlin and bronze in Klagenfurt before heading straight to London for the Olympic Games. 2011 – Rosenthal and Gibb took 17th place at Brazil to open the season... At the next stop on the tour, they played in their first semifinal match since 2009, and walked away with a silver medal... The duo went on to finish 17th at the World Championships, but bounced back and placed third at Quebec...They finished the season in a close race with U.S. teammates Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena for the second spot on the U.S. Olympic beach team. 2010 – Rosenthal and Gibb competed in 10 FIVB events, finishing fifth four times (Prague Open [6/15-20] and FIVB Grand Slams in Gstaad [7/6-11], Klagenfurt [7/27-8/1] and Stare Jablonki [8/3-8])… They also finished ninth three times and 17th three times. The team finished with total winnings of $40,850 and a main draw match record of 27-20. 2009 – Sean and partner Jake Gibb competed in six FIVB World Tour events, with their best finish a third place in Myslowice, Poland. They placed ninth at the World Championship.

They won $24,975. 2008 – Rosenthal and Gibb finished the 2008 Olympic Games tied for fifth after losing to Brazil's third-seeded Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego, 21-18, 21-16, in the quarterfinals. They finished with a record of 4-1. Rosenthal was fourth among all diggers in the tournament with 38 digs in five matches. He was 12th among hitters with 73 kills... Rosenthal and Gibb competed in eight FIVB events in 2008 as part of the Olympic qualifying process. They won the SWATCH FIVB World Tour event in FIVB

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DOMESTIC HIGHLIGHTS: 2012 – Prior to the final domestic tournament of the season in Huntington Beach, Rosenthal announced that he would play with Phil Dalhausser in 2013. Rosenthal and Gibb went on to finish second in Huntington...

Rosenthal surpassed $1 million in career earnings in 2012... Rosenthal and Gibb won the AVP tournament in Santa Barbara and finished fifth at AVP Cincinnati and Jose Cuervo in Manhattan Beach. 2011 – Rosenthal and Gibb finished in second place at the NVL Miami Beach tournament, and earned a third-place finish at the Miami Pro Beach tournament... The duo took second place at the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series Hermosa Beach Open. 2010 – Rosenthal and Gibb played in six AVP events before the tour ceased operations on Aug. 13. Their best finish was second in Santa Barbara (4/29-5/2)… They finished third at Huntington Beach (6/3-6) and Long Beach (7/24-25)… They won a total of $22,850. 2009 – Rosenthal and Gibb played in 14 summer AVP tournaments and won one, gaining their first Manhattan Beach Open title as a team (Gibb won with Stein Metzger in 2005).

The pair also had for second-places and five thirds, good for $101,190. They finished the season ranked fifth. 2008 – Rosenthal and Gibb played in 12 summer AVP events and won three of them with three second places and two thirds. They won $96,500. They also won three out of seven Hot Winter Nights tournaments, good for $24,500… They won the AVP Cuervo Tournament and pocketed $12,500.

2007 – Rosenthal and Gibb played 17 AVP events, winning two, finishing second seven times and finishing third twice. They won $108,900. 2006 – Sean and Jake played 16 AVP events, winning one – the very first event they played together – finishing second five times and finishing third once. They won $95,650. 2005 – Rosenthal and Larry Witt played 14 AVP tournaments, finishing second once and third four times. They won $59,200. 2004 – Rosenthal and Larry Witt played in 12 tournaments, winning one, finishing second twice and finishing third once. They won $31,410. 2003 – Rosenthal and Larry Witt played in nine AVP events, winning one and finishing third twice. They won $22,895. 2000-02 – Rosenthal and a variety of partners played 20 events but did not reach the podium. Combined, they won $12,720. 1997 – Rosenthal was 16 when he made his AVP debut with Dale Smith.

PERSONAL: Born Sean Michael Rosenthal in 1980 in Torrance, Calif. ... Mother's name is Laura Hurlburt... Sean has five brothers and one sister... Sean attended Redondo Beach Union High School and graduated in 1998... He did not play organized volleyball, but grew up playing beach volleyball...

Enjoys playing all sports, especially golf and basketball.... He has a local legion of fans in the South Bay, known as "Rosie's Raiders."... He trains regularly in Hermosa Beach... Sean's nickname is Superman…

Sean had surgery to repair ligaments in his right wrist at the end of the 2009 season.

PARTNERS: 2012 – Jake Gibb. 2011 – Jake Gibb. 2010 – Jake Gibb. 2009 – Jake Gibb. 2008 – Jake Gibb. 2007 – Jake Gibb. 2006 – Jake Gibb. 2005 – Larry Witt.

2004 – Larry Witt. 2003 – Larry Witt. 2002 – Mark Williams. 2001 – Casey Jennings/ Jeff Carlucci/Mark Williams. 2000 – Jeff Carlucci.

HONORS: 2007 – AVP Best Defensive Player. 2006 – FIVB Top Rookie. 2002 – AVP Best Server.

2012 USAV Beach Player Rankings Ranking Name Hometown No. of Events 1 Gibb, Jake Costa Mesa, CA 10 1 Rosenthal, Sean Corona Del Mar, CA 10 3 Dalhausser, Phil Ventura, CA 10 4 Rogers, Todd Solvang, CA 10 5 Fuerbringer, Matt Redondo Beach, CA 10 6 Lucena, Nick Santa Barbara, CA 10 7 Hyden, John Sherman Oaks, CA 9 8 Keenan, Brad Costa Mesa, CA 10 8 Mayer, John Culver City, CA 10 10 Patterson, Casey Huntington Bch, CA 10 11 Doherty, Ryan Huntington Bch, CA 10 12 Scott, Sean Redondo Beach, CA 7 13 Allen, Billy Venice, CA 10 14 Carambula, Adrian Miami Beach, FL 10 15 Ratledge, Ed Huntington Bch, CA 10 16 Prosser, Matt Encinitas, CA 10 17 Mariano, Ryan Flagstaff, AZ 10 18 Drost, Avery Hawthorne, CA 10 19 Halverson, Braidy Redondo Beach, CA 9 20 Williams, Mark Australia 8 21 Metzger, Stein Manhattan Bch, CA 7 22 Strickland, Bill Malibu, CA 10 23 Marchewka, Russ Santa Ana, CA 10 24 Grotowski, Steve Boynton Beach, FL 10 25 Montgomery, Will Santa Barbara, CA 10 26 Mesko, Jon Manhattan Bch, CA 10 27 Olson, Matt Carlsbad, CA 10 28 Roberts, Adam Myrtle Beach, SC 10 29 Binstock, Josh Richmond Hill, ON 10 29 Reader, Martin Courtenay 10 31 Rambis, Jesse Manhattan Bch, CA 9 32 Engle, Evan Mar Vista, CA 10 33 McColloch, Kevin Encinitas, CA 7 34 Belov, Andrey Leningrad 10 35 Garrido, Erick 9 36 Dykstra, Joey Redondo Beach, CA 10 37 Camacho, Dana Los Angeles, CA 10 38 Jennings, Casey Hermosa Beach, CA 10 39 VanderWerp, Steven Grand Haven, MI 10 40 McGuire, Andrew Manhattan Bch, CA 10 41 Placek, Mike Cardiff, CA 6 42 Loomis, Ty Corona Del Mar, CA 7 43 Mallin, Drew Boca Raton, FL 10 44 Van Zwieten, Mark Pompano Beach, FL 10 45 Saxton, Ben Calgary 10 45 Smith, David Lakewood, CO 10 47 Palm, Dave Pompano Beach, FL 10 48 Tramblie, Ty Newport Beach, CA 4 49 Carlson, Jeffrey Newport Beach, CA 8 50 DelSol, Skylar Lone Tree, CO 7 51 Van Zwieten, Steve Coconut Creek, FL 10 52 Maciel, Joao Myrtle Beach, SC 6 53 Burik, Mark Glendale, NY 10 54 Bates, Hudson Midlothian, VA 10 55 Ciarelli, Antonio Huntington Bch, CA 5 56 Macias, C.J. Ft. Lauderdale, FL 6 57 Motter, Matt Encinitas, CA 10 57 Olson, Derek San Diego, CA 10 59 Baxter, Paul Venice, CA 5 59 Brazao, Pedro Huntington Bch, CA 5 61 Cabbage, Adam Torrance, CA 10 62 Wheelan, Cameron 4 63 Bourne, Tri Aiea, HI 9

Points 3960.0 3960.0 3200.0 3180.0 2845.0 2820.0 1990.0 1960.0 1960.0 1875.0 1779.0 1740.0 1350.0 1265.0 1260.0 1256.0 1222.0 1040.0 984.0 961.0 937.0 935.0 910.0 909.0 870.0 869.0 828.0 815.0 796.0 796.0 790.5 781.0 776.0 751.0 690.0 684.0 672.0 671.0 669.0 659.0 656.0 635.0 615.0 584.0 577.0 577.0 552.0 550.0 538.0 522.0 521.0 515.0 514.0 504.0 502.5 486.0 478.0 478.0 475.0 475.0 441.0 435.0 430.5

Ranking Name Hometown No. of Events 1 Kessy, Jennifer San Clemente, CA 10 1 Ross, April Costa Mesa, CA 10 3 Walsh, Kerri Manhattan Bh, CA 10 4 May-Treanor, Misty Long Beach, CA 7 5 Kropp, Jenny Hollyglen, CA 10 6 Pavlik, Whitney Laguna Hills, CA 10 7 Sweat, Brooke Hermosa Beach, CA 10 8 Fopma, Jennifer Bellflower, CA 10 9 Fendrick, Lauren Hermosa Beach, CA 10 10 Hanson, Brooke Ventura, CA 10 11 Branagh, Nicole Torrance, CA 9 12 Ferreira, Raquel Los Angeles, CA 10 13 Turner, Tyra Fort Myers Beach, FL 8 14 Hunkus, Tealle El Segundo, CA 10 15 Batt, Kristen Venice, FL 10 16 Engle, Christal Mar Vista, CA 10 17 Day, Emily Torrance, CA 10 18 Piening, Kathryn Chicago, IL 10 19 Hochevar, Brittany Hermosa Beach, CA 10 19 Hughes, Heather Fallbrook, CA 10 21 Lima, Priscilla Redondo Beach, CA 8 22 Weamer, Traci Corona del Mar, CA 10 23 Ross, Summer Carlsbad, CA 10 24 Akers, Angie Redondo Beach, CA 10 25 Van Zwieten, Kendra Coconut Creek, FL 10 26 Pazo, Olaya Miami, FL 10 27 Gysin, Jessica Manhattan Beach, CA 10 28 Beck, Morgan Hermosa Beach, CA 10 29 Wallin, Megan Sarasota, FL 10 30 Moriarty, Michelle Los Angeles, CA 10 31 Scott, Rachel Redondo Beach, CA 6 32 Snyder, Jennifer Lawndale, CA 10 33 Candelas, Bibiana Los Angeles, CA 8 34 Harris, Chara Sarasota, FL 10 35 Bansley, Heather Toronto 9 35 Maloney, Elizabeth Etobicoke, ON 9 37 White, Tanya Hawthorne, CA 10 38 Shaw, Sheila Muskego, WI 9 39 Sather, Kaitlin Hermosa Beach, CA 10 40 Skarra-Gallagher, Aurora Hermosa Beach, CA 10 41 Mereszczak, Laryssa El Segundo, CA 10 42 Schumacher, Kelly Playa del Rey, CA 10 43 Broder, Jamie Vancouver, B. C. 10 44 Peterson, Andrea Redondo Beach, CA 10 45 Winkler, Kathrin Huntington Bch, CA 10 46 Lowe, Heather Redondo Beach, CA 10 47 Coverdale, Mariko Torrance, CA 9 47 Hayes, Chelsea Hermosa Beach, CA 9 49 Day, Sarah Corona del Mar, CA 10 50 Keith, Tarin Hermosa Beach, CA 10 51 Valjas, Kristina Toronto 10 52 Gray, Erin Orland Park, IL 6 53 Morin, Traci Los Alamitos, CA 10 54 Copenhagen, Diane Los Angeles, CA 5 55 Tiegs, Brittany Stuart, FL 7 56 Schatz, Johanna Redondo Beach, CA 10 57 DiCello, Kim San Diego, CA 10 58 Grotowski, Capri Boynton Beach, FL 9 59 Virsilaite, Rasa LaGrange, IL 7 60 Rutledge, Lisa San Diego, CA 8 61 Jameson, Katie Huntington Bh, CA 7 62 Wiggins, Amanda San Diego, CA 9 63 Kalish, Alison Pompano Beach, FL 10

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Points 3440.0 3440.0 3230.0 2490.0 2435.0 2360.0 2040.0 1940.0 1920.0 1775.0 1720.0 1555.0 1475.0 1401.0 1365.0 1331.0 1285.0 1260.0 1210.0 1210.0 1145.0 1089.0 990.0 955.0 949.0 937.0 935.0 925.0 916.0 894.0 890.0 847.0 830.0 816.0 785.0 785.0 758.0 749.0 735.0 624.0 621.0 613.5 595.0 586.0 584.0 561.0 557.0 557.0 554.0 532.0 517.0 502.0 484.0 443.0 411.0 408.0 403.0 396.0 392.0 361.0 346.0 331.5 326.0

2012 FIVB World Tour Rankings Rank. Team, Country, Points 1. Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal, United States, 5,280 2. Alison Cerutti/Emanuel Rego, Brazil, 5,180 3. Phil Dalhausser/Todd Rogers, United States, 4,120 4T. Pedro Cunha/Ricardo Santos, Brazil, 3,920 4T. Reinder Nummerdor/Richard Schuil, Netherlands, 3,920 6. Marcio Araujo/Pedro Salgado, Brazil, 3,760 7. Matt Fuerbringer/Nick Lucena, United States, 3,640 8. Jonathan Erdmann/Kay Matysik, Germany, 3,240 9. Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Ruslans Sorokins, Latvia, 2,920 10. Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai, Italy, 2,780 11. Martins Plavins/Janis Smedins, Latvia, 2,660 12. Benjamin Insfran/Bruno Oscar Schmidt, Brazil, 2,480 13T. Emiel Boersma/Daan Spijkers, Netherlands, 2,280 13T. Sebastian Dollinger/Stefan Windscheif, Germany, 2,280 15. Grzegorz Fijalek/Mariusz Prudel, Poland, 2,080 16. Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera, Spain, 1,980 17. Sebastian Chevallier/Sascha Heyer, Switzerland, 1,860 18. Penggen Wu/Linyin Xu, China, 1,820 19. Alexandr Dyachenko/Alexey Sidorenko, Kazakhstan, 1,780 20. David Klemperer/Eric Koreng, Germany, 1,724 21T. Petr Benes/Premysl Kubala, Czech Republic, 1,660 21T. Tarjei Skarlund/Martin Spinnangr, Norway, 1,660 23T. Jon Stiekema/Christiaan Varenhorst, Netherlands, 1,640 24. Michal Kadziola/Jakub Szalankiewicz, Poland, 1,580 25. Julius Brink/Jonas Reckermann, Germany, 1,520 26. Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst, Austria, 1,404 27. Patrick Heuscher/Jefferson Bellaguarda, Switzerland, 1,340 28. Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen, Netherlands, 1,120 29. Martin Laciga/Jonas Weingart, Switzerland, 1,060

Rank. Team, Country, Points 1. Juliana Felisberta/Larissa Franca, Brazil, 5,320 2. Chen Xue/Xi Zhang, China, 5,240 3. Maria Antonelli/Talita Rocha, Brazil, 4,500 4. Jennifer Kessy/April Ross, United States, 4,360 5. Greta Cicolari/Marta Menegatti, Italy, 3,920 6. Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler, Germany, 3,760 7. Simone Kuhn/Nadine Zumkehr, Switzerland, 3,460 8. Sanne Keizer/Marleen Van Iersel, Netherlands, 3,340 9. Kristyna Kolocova/Marketa Slukova, Czech Republic, 3,240 10. Sara Goller/Laura Ludwig, Germany, 3,160 11T. Ekaterina Khomyakova/Evgeniya Ukolova, Russia, 3,000 11T. Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh, United States, 3,000 13T. Katrien Gielen/Liesbeth Mouha, Belgium, 2,580 13T. Madelein Meppelink/Sophie van Gestel, Netherlands, 2,580 15. Elsa Baquerizo/Liliana Fernandez, Spain, 2,500 16. Louise Bawden/Becchara Palmer, Australia, 2,200 17. Natalie Cook/Tamsin Hinchley, Australia, 2,180 18T. Doris Schwaiger/Stefanie Schwaiger, Austria, 2,160 18T. Anastasia Vasina/Anna Vozakova, Russia, 2,160 20. Vasiliki Arvaniti/Maria Tsiartsiani, Greece, 2,040 21. Lenka Hajeckova/Hana Klapalova, Czech Republic, 1,900 22. Karla Borger/Britta Buthe, Germany, 1,840 23. Liliane Maestrini/Angela Vieira, Brazil, 1,700 24. Vivian Cunha/Taiana Lima, Brazil, 1,680 25. Agatha Bednarczuk/Barbara Seixas Figueiredo, Brazil, 1,598 26. Emilia Nystrom/Erika Nystrom, Finland, 1,290 27. Sara Montagnolli/Barbara Hansel, Austria, 1,280 28. Heather Bansley/Elizabeth Maloney, Canada, 1,240 29. Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Hanson, United States, 1,200 30. Dominika Nestarkova/Natalia Dubovcova, Slovakia, 1,198 31. Gioria Daniela/Giulia Momoli, Italy, 1,180 32. Tanja Goricanec/Muriel Graessli, Switzerland, 1,064 33. Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Verge-Depre, Switzerland, 1,024 34. Maria Clara Rufino/Liliane Maestrini, Brazil, 840 35. Geeske Banck/Kira Walkenhorst, Germany, 780 36. Joana Heidrich/Romana Kayser, Switzerland, 724 37. Barbora Hermannova/Martina Bonnerova, Czech Republic, 666 38. Irina Tsimbalova/Tatyana Mashkova, Kazakhstan, 624 39. Jolien Sinnema/Marloes Wesselink, Netherlands, 620 40T. Angie Akers/Brittany Hochevar, United States, 600 40T. Jana Köhler/Anni Schumacher, Germany, 600 42. Bieneck-Großner, Germany, 522 43. Van der Vlist-Mooren, Netherlands, 500 44. Elwin-Iatika, Vanuatu, 472 45. Stiekema-Braakman, Netherlands, 424 46T. Lauren Fendrick/Nicole Branagh, USA, 420 46T. Bibiana Candelas/Mayra Garcia, MEX, 420 48. Urata-Take, Japan, 408 49. Broder/Valjas, Canada, 376 50. Denise Johns/Lucy Boulton, Great Britain, 368 51T. Nicole Branagh/Kerri Walsh, USA, 320 51T. Prokopeva-Popova, Russia, 320

30T. Thiago Santos Barbosa/Rhooney de Oliveira Ferramenta, Brazil, 1,040

30T. Jason Lochhead/Kirk Pitman, New Zealand, 1,040 32. Iver Horrem/Geir Eithun, Norway, 964 33. Renato Gomes/Jorge Terceiro, Georgia, 760 34. Yury Bogatov/Serguei Prokopiev, Russia, 704 35. Matteo Ingrosso/Paolo Ingrosso, Italy, 678 36. Andy Cès/Kevin Cès, France, 676 37. Alexander Huber./Robin Seidl, Austria, 668 38. Steffan Gunnarsson/Hannes Brinkborg, Sweden, 660 39. Ben Saxton/Christian Redmann, Canada, 648 40. Jian Li/Shun Zhou, China, 528 41. Yaroslav Koshkarev/Konstantin Semenov, Russia, 520 42T. Josh Binstock/Martin Reader, Canada, 498 42T. Dmitri Barsouk/Yury Bogatov, Russia, 498 44. Markus Böckermann/Mischa Urbatzka, Germany, 488 45. Thiago Barbosa/Bruno Schmidt, Brazil, 480 46. Igor Hernandez/Jesus Fañe, Venezuela, 458 47T. Harley Silva/Evandro Oliveira, Brazil, 450 47T. Raul Mesa/Inocencio Lario, Spain, 450 49. Daniel Müllner/ Jörg Wutzl, Austria, 442 50. Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak, Poland, 438 51. Serguei Prokopiev/Konstantin Semenov, Russia, 424 52. Brad Keenan/John Mayer, USA, 364

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All-Time Olympic Results Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games Men's Gold Medal – Karch Kiraly/Kent Steffes USA def. Mike Dodd/Mike Whitmarsh USA, 12-8, 12-5 (62 minutes); Bronze Medal – John Child/Mark Heese CAN def. Joao Brenha/Luis Maia POR, 12-5, 12-8 (77).

Other Results – 5T: Carl Henkel/Sinjin Smith USA, Javier Bosma/Sixto Jimenez ESP; 7T: Jan Kvalheim/Bjorn Maaseide NOR, Francisco Alvarez/Juan Rossell CUB; 9T. Roberto Lopes/ Franco Neto BRA, Ze Marco de Melo/Emanuel Rego BRA, Jorg Ahmann/Axel Hager GER, Julien Prosser/Lee Zahner AUS; 14T: Martin Conde/Eduardo Martinez ARG, Jean-Philippe Jodard/Christian Penigaud FRA, Andrea Ghiurghi/Nicola Grigola ITA, Marek Pakosta/Michal Palinek CZE; 17T: Michel Everaert/Sander Mulder NED, Miguel Prieto/Jose Yuste ESP, Glenn Hamilton/Reid Hamilton NZL, Eddie Drakich/Marc Dunn CAN, Avo Keel/Kaido Kreen EST, Shoji Setoyama/Kazuyuki Takao JPN, Tom Englen/Fredrik Petersson SWE, Markoji Markoji/Muchammad Nurmufid INA. Women's Gold Medal – Sandra Pires/Jackie Silva, BRA def. Monica Rodrigues/Adriana Samuel, BRA, 12-11, 12-6 (69); Bronze Medal – Natalie Cook/Kerri Pottharst, AUS def. Barbra Fontana/Linda Hanley USA, 12-11, 12-7 (111).

dez Raul Papaleo/You Wenhui PUR, Peter Gartmayer/Robert Nowotny AUT, Stephane Canet/ Mathieu Hamel FRA, Iver Horrem/Bjorn Maaseide NOR. Women's Gold Medal – Misty May/Kerri Walsh USA def. Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar BRA, 21-17, 21-11 (42); Bronze Medal – Holly McPeak/Elaine Youngs USA def. Natalie Cook/ Nicole Sanderson AUS, 21-18, 15-21, 15-9 (71) Other Results – 5T: Ana Paula Connelly/Sandra Pires BRA, Okka Rau/Stephanie Pohl GER, Daniela Gattelli/Lucilla Perrotta ITA, Guylaine Dumont/Annie Martin CAN; 9T: Vasso Karadassiou/Effrosyni Sfyri GRE, Tian Jia/Wang Fei CHN, Susanne Lahme/Danja Musch GER, Dalixia Fernandez/Tamara Larrea CUB, Eva Celbova/Sona Novakova CZE, Vassiliki Arvaniti/Efthalia Koutroumanidou GRE, Summer Lochowicz/Kerri Pottharst AUS, Tzvetelina Yanchulova/Petia Yanchulova BUL; 17T: Kathrine Maaseide/Susanne Glesnes NOR, Ryoko Tokuno/Chiaki Kusuhara JPN; 19T. Nicole Schnyder/Simone Kuhn SUI, Rebekka Kadijk/Marrit Leenstra NED, Wang Lu/You Wenhui CHN, Mayra Garcia/Hilda Gaxiola MEX, Nila Hakedal/Ingrid Torlen NOR, Leigh Ann Naidoo/Julia Willand RSA. Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Other Results – 5T: Holly McPeak/Nancy Reno USA, Sachiko Fujita/Yukiko Takahashi JPN; 7T: Beate Buhler/Danja Musch GER, Liane Fenwick/Anita Springs AUS; T9. Gail Castro Kehl/ Deb Richardson USA, Yuki Ishizaka/Peko Nakano JPN, Audrey Cooper/Amanda Glover GBR, Merita Berntsen/Ragni Hestad NOR; 13T: Annamaria Solazzi/Consuelo Turetta ITA, Debora Schoon-Kadijk/Lisette van de Ven NED, Eta Kaize/Timy Yudhani Rahayu INA, Brigitte Lesage/ Anabelle Prawerman FRA; 17T: Velia Eguiluz/Mayra Huerta MEX, Barb Broen Ouellette/Margo Malowney CAN.

Men's Gold Medal – Phil Dalhausser/Todd Rogers USA def. Marcio Araujo and Fábio Luiz Magalhães BRA, 23-21, 17-21, 15-4 (67); Bronze Medal – Emanuel Rego/Ricardo Santos, BRA def. Jorge Terceiro/Renato Gomes GEO, 21-15, 21-10 (36).

Sydney 2000 Olympic Games

Other Results – 5T: Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal USA, Gosch/Horst AUT, Nummerdor/Schuil NED, Klemperer/Koreng GER; 9T: Schacht/Slack AUS, Doppler/Gartmayer AUT, Xu/Wu CHN, Herrera/Mesa ESP, Asahi/Shiratori JPN, Samoilovs/Plavins LAT, Barsouk/Kolodinsky RUS, Laciga M./Schnider SUI; 17T: Boersma E./Ronnes NED, Heyer/Heuscher SUI; 19T: Fernandes/ Morais ANG, Conde/Baracetti ARG, Kais Kr./Vesik EST, Brink/Dieckmann Ch. GER, Lione/ Amore ITA, Kjemperud/Skarlund NOR.

Men's Gold Medal – Dain Blanton/Eric Fonoimoana USA def. Zé Marco de Melo/Ricardo Santos BRA, 12-11,12-9 (101 minutes); Bronze Medal – Jorg Ahmann/Axel Hager GER def.

Joao Brenha/Luis Maia POR, 12-9,12-6 (70).

Women's Gold Medal – Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh USA def. Jia Tian/Jie Wang CHN, 21-18, 21-18 (42); Bronze Medal – Chen Xue/Xi Zhang CHN def. Renata Ribieiro/Talita Rocha BRA, 21-19, 21-17 (39)

Other Results – 5T: Rob Heidger/Kevin Wong USA, Martin Laciga/Paul Laciga SUI, John Child/Mark Heese CAN, Javier Bosma/Fabio Diez ESP; 9T: Julien Prosser/Lee Zahner AUS, Jose Loiola/Emanuel Rego BRA, Martin Conde/Eduardo Martinez ARG, Vegard Hoidalen/Jorre Kjemperud NOR, Sergey Ermishin/Mikhail Kouchnerev RUS, Nikolas Berger/Oliver Stamm AUT, Jody Holden/Conrad Leinemann CAN, Juan Rodriguez Ibarra/Joel Sotelo MEX; 17T: Martin Lebl/Michal Palinek CZE, Matthew Grinlaubs/Josh Slack AUS; 19T: Mariano Baracetti/ Jose Salema ARG, Jan Kvalheim/Bjorn Maaseide NOR, Oliver Oetke/Andreas Scheuerpflug GER, Jean-Philippe Jodard/Christian Penigaud FRA, Maurizio Pimponi/Andrea Raffaelli ITA, Bjorn Berg/Simon Dahl SWE.

Other Results – 5T: Nicole Branagh/Elaine Youngs USA, Barnett/Cook AUS, Schwaiger/ Schwaiger, AUT, Ana Paula/Larissa, BRA; 9T: Van Breedam/Mouha BEL, Esteves RibaltaM. Crespo CUB, Fernandez Grasset/Larrea Peraza CUB, Goller/Ludwig GER, Pohl/Rau GER, Koutroumanidou/Tsiartsiani GRE, Maaseide/Glesnes NOR, Nila/Ingrid NOR; 17T: Saka/Rtvelo GEO, Candelas/Garcia MEX; 19T: Karantasiou/Arvaniti GRE, Teru Saiki/Kusuhara JPN, Kadijk R./Mooren NED, Augoustides/Nel RSA, Uryadova/Shiryaeva RUS, Kuhn/Schwer SUI.

Women's Gold Medal – Natalie Cook/Kerri Pottharst AUS def. Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar BRA, 12-11, 12-10 (75); Bronze Medal – Sandra PiresAdriana Samuel BRA def. Mika Saiki/ Yukiko Takahashi JPN, 12-4, 12-6 (53).

Other Results – 5T: Annett Davis/Jenny Johnson Jordan USA, Misty May/Holly McPeak USA, Tania Gooley/Pauline Manser AUS, Laura Bruschini/Anamaria Solazzi ITA; 9T: Ulrike Schmidt/Gudi Staub GER, Maike Friedrichsen/Danja Musch GER, Ron Chi/Zi Xiong CHN, Cristina Pereira/Maria Jose Schuller POR, Eva Celbova/Sona Novakova CZE, Anabelle Prawerman/Cecile Rigaux FRA, Daniela Gatelli/Lucilla Perrotta ITA, Dalixia Fernandez/Tamara Larrea CUB; 17T: Vasso Karadassiou/Efi Sfyri GRE, Lina Yanchulova/Petia Yanchulova BUL, Rebekka Kadijk/Debora Schoon-Kadijk NED, Jia Tian/Jingkun Zhang CHN, Yuki Ishizaka/Rii Seike JPN, Martina Hudcova/Tereza/Tobiasova CZE, Annette Huygens-Tholen/Sarah Straton AUS, Teresa Galindo/Hilda Gaxiola MEX. Athens 2004 Olympic Games Men's Gold Medal – Emanuel Rego/Ricardo Santos BRA def. Javier Bosma/Pablo Herrera ESP, 21-16, 21-15 (43 minutes); Bronze Medal – Patrick Heuscher/Stefan Kobel SUI def.

Julien Prosser/Mark Williams AUS, 19-21, 21-17, 15-13 (61).

Other Results – 5T: Dax Holdren/Stein Metzger USA, Martin Laciga/Paul Laciga SUI, Christoph Dieckmann/Andreas Scheuerpflug GER, John Child/Mark Heese CAN; 9T: Marcio Araujo/ Benjamin Insfran BRA, Markus Dieckmann/Jonas Reckermann GER, Mariano Baracetti/Martin Conde ARG, Begard Hoidalen/Jorre Kjemperud NOR, Andrew Schacht/Jashua Slack AUS, Bjorn Berg/Simon Dahl SWE, Joao Brenha/Miguel Maia POR, Colin Pocock/Gershon Rorich RSA; 17T: Nikolas Berger/Florian Gosch AUT, Francisco Alvarez/Juan Rossell CUB; 19T: Dain Blanton/Jeff Nygaard USA, Pavlos Beligratis/Thanassis Michalopoulos GRE, Ramon Hernan-

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London 2012 Olympic Games Men’s Gold Medal – Julius Brink/Jonas Reckermann GER def. Alison Cerutti/Emanuel Rego BRA, 21-23, 21-16, 14-16 (61 minutes); Bronze Medal – Martins Plavins/Janis Smedins LAT def. Reinder Nummerdor/Richard Schuil NED, 19-21, 21-19, 15-11 (55) Other Results – 5T: Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal USA, Pedro Cunha/Ricardo Santos BRA, Nicolai Paolo/Daniele Lupo ITA, Grzegorz Fijalek/Mariusz Prudel POL; 9T: Phil Dalhausser/ Todd Rogers USA, Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira ESP, Jonathan Erdmann/Kay Matysik GER, Aleksandrs Samoilovs/Ruslans Sorokins LAT, Tarjei Skarlund/Martin Spinnangr NOR, Konstantin Semenov/Serguei Prokopiev RUS, Patrick Heuscher/Jefferson Bellaguarda SUI, Sascha Heyer/Sebastian Chevallier SUI; 17T: Martin Reader/Josh Binstock CAN, Petr Benes/Premysl Kubala CZE; 19T: Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst AUT, Linyin Xu/Penggen Wu CHN, Steven Grotowski/John Garcia-Thompson GBR, Kentaro Asahi/Katsuhiro Shiratori JPN, Grant Goldschmidt/Freedom Chiya RSA, Jesus Villafañe/Igor Hernandez VEN Women’s Gold Medal – Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh USA def. Jennifer Kessy/April Ross USA, 21-16, 21-16 (36); Bronze Medal – Larissa Franca/Juliana Felisberta Da Silva BRA def.

Xi Zhang/Chen Xue CHN, 11-21, 21-19, 15-12 (52) Other Results – 5T: Doris Schwaiger/Stefanie Schwaiger AUT, Marketa Slukova/Kristyna Kolocova CZE, Sara Goller/Laura Ludwig GER, Greta Cicolari/Marta Menegatti ITA; 9T: Talita Da Rocha Antunes/Maria Antonelli BRA, Liliana Fernandez Steiner/Elsa Baquerizo McMillan ESP, Kartrin Hoktwick/Ilka Semmler GER, Madelein Meppelink/Sophie van Gestel NED, Marleen Van Iersel/Sanne Keizer NED, Evgenia Ukolova/Ekaterina Khomyakova RUS, Anastasia Vasina/Anna Vozakova RUS, Simone Kuhn/Nadine Zumkehr SUI; 17T: Hana Klapalova/Lenka Hajeckova CZE, Shauna Mullin/Zara Dampney GBR, 19T: Ana Gallay/Maria Zonta ARG, Natalia Cook/Tamsin Hinchley AUS, Becchara Palmer/Louise Bawden AUS, Marie-Andrée Lessard/ Annie Martin CAN, Vasiliki Arvaniti/Maria Tsiartsiani GRE, Elodie Li Yuk Lo/Natacha Rigobert MRI

USA Beach Volleyball Fact Sheet

Location: Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Managing Director, Beach Programs: Dave Williams Director, Beach Programs: Ali Wood-Lamberson Manager, Beach Events: Jonpaul Roepke Coordinator, Beach Programs: Amber Scott Coordinator, Beach High Performance: Patricia Daugherty Major 2012 Beach Volleyball International Events FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour (various countries) NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour (various countries) FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch Youth World Championships (July 11-14, Cyprus) FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch Junior World Championships (Aug. 29-Sept. 2, Canada) World University Championships (Sept. 12-16 in Maceio, Brazil) Other Events USAV Beach High Performance tryoouts (various locations) USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge (April 14-15, Hermosa Beach, Calif.)

USA Beach Junior Tour (various locations) USAV Beach High Performance Championships (July 19-22, Hermosa Beach, Calif.)

Beach Coaching Accreditation Beach Events Sanctioned by USA Volleyball Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball Series National Volleyball League (various cities) Mission: USA Volleyball is the National Governing Body (NGB) for all disciplines of volleyball in the United States and is officially recognized by the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). As mandated by the Amateur Sports Act, USA Volleyball is responsible for the growth of the sport in America at the grassroots and most elite levels. USA Volleyball is the parent organization of the USA National Teams.

About USA Volleyball: Founded in 1928, USA Volleyball is a Colorado incorporated non-profit organization recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) as the National Governing Body for the sport of Volleyball in the United States. USA Volleyball is responsible for both the Olympic disciplines of indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. USA Volleyball has over 275,000 registered members, 12,000 teams and 5,300 clubs nationwide. With an annual budget in excess of $17 million dollars, USA Volleyball supports the USA men’s and women’s senior national team programs, youth and junior national teams, national championship events, coaching education and certification programs, grassroots development, and programs for the disabled and Paralympic Teams. USA Volleyball has a rich tradition of success as evidenced by winning an Olympic medal in every Olympic Games since 1984 and capturing numerous World Cup, World Championship and Continental Championship titles. USA Volleyball is committed to and works toward opportunity for all to participate. It is an advocate for all Americans endeavoring to assure universal access to opportunities at all levels of the game. For more information please visit www.usavolleyball.org.

Other: USA Volleyball consists of 40 regional volleyball associations which manage grassroots playing opportunities for the USA Volleyball membership and is affiliated with 36 member organizations (i.e. NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, YMCA) that provide playing opportunities at a variety of levels.

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