Jinjiang, China, June 3, 2018 – USA’s Trevor Crabb and John Mayer followed up on their Lucerne 3-star gold with a thrilling 2-1 (21-13, 18-21, 17-15) win over Germany’s Ehlers/Schumann in the gold medal match of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Jinjiang 2-star event on Sunday.
Crabb Tr./Mayer enjoyed a commanding 21-13 first set win, before Ehlers/Schumann responded with a more balanced game in the second set. Both sides had an intense exchange of strong hits that led to a tight game, but the Germans felt the momentum shifting to their side and forced the tiebreaker at 18-21.
In the third set, USA built a 7-4 lead. The Germans, however, fought back and cut down the lead to 8-7 and then scored the equaliser from Ehlers’ block. Crabb Tr./Mayer reached set point at 14-12 from a net touch by Schumann. An Ehlers’ block brought the game to deadlock at 14-all, until Mayer nailed back-to-back hits to seize the gold medal at 17-15.
Crabb and Mayer have won two of their three World Tour tournaments in their first season together. They claimed the gold at the Lucerne 3-star on May 13 against Serbia’s Lazar Kolaric and Stefan Basta 2-0 (21-10, 21-16).
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FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour - Jinjiang
China’s Gao Peng/Li Yang took the bronze medal with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-11) win over Germany’s Max Betzien/Jonathan Erdmann.
P. Gao/Y. Li started off strong as they served aggressively against their rivals. With pressure on the side of the Germans, the Chinese defended well at the net and set up a strong counter-attack. Erdmann made some great plays but P. Gao/Y. Li reacted in the right away and seized the opening set 21-16.
Gao continued to intimidate the Germans at the net in the second set, putting his team ahead at 10-4 with a series of blocks. The Chinese pair kept their momentum even when Erdmann scored some points to cut the lead. Finally, Gao sealed the bronze medal win at 21-11 with a block.