BEACH VOLLEYBALL : U.S. Dominates International Event

Americans swept the men’s and women’s titles at the Federation Internationale De Volleyball Championships Sunday in Hermosa Beach.

Holly McPeak and Nancy Reno of the United States defeated Brazilians Sandra Pires and Jackie Silva, 12-4, 12-9, in the women’s final, and Mike Dodd and Mike Whitmarsh defeated Eric Wurts and Scott Friederichsen, 12-3, 12-3, in an all-American men’s final.

The finals are best of three to 12 points, with rally scoring in the third game if necessary.

McPeak and Reno almost went into a third game against Silva and Pires, who entered the final with a 22-game winning streak and the last three FIVB tournament titles to their name.

After dominating the first game, the Americans jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the second, but the Brazilians fought back with five unanswered points to trail, 8-7. Silva and Pires committed a series of errors, however, and were overwhelmed by Reno’s powerful blocking and the incredible defense McPeak plays behind it.

“We couldn’t stop Holly’s shots,” Silva said. “They did everything good today and we didn’t.”

U.S. women’s teams held the next three positions: Karolyn Kirby-Liz Masakayan finished third, Deb Richardson-Dennie Knoop fourth and Barbra Fontana-Lori Forsythe fifth.

McPeak and Reno will split $10,000.

Whitmarsh and Dodd, the top-ranked team in the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals tour, will split $20,000 for their victory.

Wurts and Friederichsen, in their second tournament together, never stood a chance against the more powerful and experienced team of Whitmarsh-Dodd.

Friederichsen, the AVP’s 32nd-ranked player, and Wurts, ranked 26th, looked worn out and frustrated. They had to qualify for the 32-team event and played 17 matches in four days while Dodd and Whitmarsh played six in three days.

“They were just dead,” Whitmarsh said. “They had a heck of a tournament, but you could tell they were exhausted. Of course I would have wanted it to be an exciting final, but they were just tired.”

In the first game, Dodd-Whitmarsh were up, 3-2, before going on a 9-1 run and sealing the victory. In the second they came out firing and took a 7-0 lead as Wurts and Friederichsen faded. They managed a couple of points, but it was too late.

“I think they played better against us than they did against any other team,” Wurts said. “It was still a great tournament and we beat a lot of good teams.”

And for the Olympic feel, the top three teams were awarded medals at a ceremony on center court that included the playing of the winning teams’ national anthems.

*

Beach Volleyball Notes

With Mike Whitmarsh and Mike Dodd in Hermosa Beach because of Olympic qualification requirements, the team of Bill Boullianne and Brian Lewis defeated Chris Young and Leif Hanson, 15-2, to win the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals’ $100,000 Nestea Open in Belmar, N.J.