Jinjiang, China, June 2, 2018 – USA’s Trevor Crabb/John Mayer, Germany’s Nils Ehlers/Lorenz Schumann and Max Betzien/Jonathan Erdmann, and the host country’s Gao Peng/Li Yang made it to the final four of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Jinjiang 2-star with double victories on Saturday.
Crabb Tr./Mayer will make their second appearance in the final four since winning the Lucerne 3-star gold last month. The USA pair defeated Germany’s Armin Dollinger/Simon Kulzer 2-0 (25-23, 21-13) in the round of 16 before dominating the Czech Republic’s Vaclav Bercik/Jan Dumek 2-0 (21-14, 21-13) in the quarterfinal round.
Ehlers/Schumann dodged elimination in the round of 16 with a tight two-point margin win in the third set, after giving away the second set to Canada’s Aaron Nusbaum/Michael Plantinga 2-1 (21-16, 13-21, 15-13). They soon recovered in the quarterfinals, when they swept China’s Li Zhuoxin/Zhou Chaowei 2-0 (21-15, 21-8).
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In the other quarterfinal matches, Betzien/Erdmann solidly conquered their rivals to set-up a semifinal match-up against compatriots Ehlers/Schumann. They started with an easy 2-0 (21-13, 21-10) win over Bangkok 1-star winners Yusuke Ishijima/Takumi Takahashi of Japan, then sealed their final four spot with a 2-0 (21-15, 21-12) triumph over Thailand’s Surin Jongklang/Adisorn Khaolumtarn.
P. Gao/Y. Li made their home fans proud with victories over European sides. The Chinese pair reached the quarterfinals with wins against Slovenia’s Jan Pokersnik/Nejc Zemljak 2-1 (21-12, 12-21, 15-10) and Switzerland’s Gabriel Kissling/Michiel Zandbergen 2-0 (21-19, 21-14).