Lausanne, Switzerland, October 15, 2018 - The early season schedule on the 2018-2019 FIVB World Tour calendar continues for the third-straight week with tournaments in Iran and the United States.
Quick links - Beach volleyball:
While the planet's elite beach volleyball players are competing in Asia and North America, the "newbies" of the sport will be completing play on Wednesday in the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games at Green Park in the Palermo district in the Argentinean capital.
The third of three Caspian Sea Series events in Iran will begin on Tuesday at Bandar Anzali with qualification followed by three days of Main Draw action at the $5,000 tournament.
A day later in the United States, the $300,000 Las Vegas Open begins with qualifying leading to Sunday's medal matches as the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour stages its first-ever event in the resort city famed for its vibrant nightlife and four-mile Strip.
The FIVB World Tour staged its fifth and sixth men’s and its fifth women’s event this past week, including a double-gender four-star event in Yangzhou, China and a men’s-only event in Babolsar, Iran.
In Yangzhou, Americans Alix Klineman and April Ross teamed for their second FIVB World Tour gold medal together by defeating Brazil’s Rebecca Cavalcanti/Ana Patricia Silva in the women’s finals. While it was Klineman's second FIVB gold medal, Ross was achieving the top spot on a World tour podium for the 23rd time.
In the men’s Yangzhou competition, Ilya Leshukov and Konstantin Semenov won an all-Russian final by defeating Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Oleg Stoyanovskiy. The gold medal was the second for Leshukov and fourth for Semenov.
In Babolsar, Iran, the host nation won the gold medal for a second-straight week with Abolhamed Mirzaali and Rahman Raoufi each winning their first World Tour title. Despite dropping the finale to Mirzaali and Raoufi, Alexandr Dyachenko and Alexey Sidorenko became the first men's team from Kazakhstan to medal at an FIVB event.
Iran - Babolsar, October 9-12, 2018, US$5,000, FIVB men's event No. 414
1. Abolhamed Mirzaali/Rahman Raoufi, Iran, $1,000
2. Alexandr Dyachenko/Alexey Sidorenko, Kazakhstan, $700
3. Alireza Aghajani/Abbas Pourasgari, Iran, $500
4. Gasper Plahutnik/Danijel Pokersnik, Slovenia, $400
Gold - Mirzaali/Raoufi def. Dyachenko/Sidorenko, 21-19, 21-19 (44 minutes)
Bronze - Aghajani/Abbas Pourasgari def. Plahutnik/Pokersnik, 21-18, 21-16 (38)
The Babolsar Open podium
China - Yangzhou, October 9-14, US$75,000, FIVB women's event No. 380
1. Alix Klineman/April Ross, United States, $20,000
2. Rebecca Cavalcanti/Ana Patricia Silva, Brazil, $16,000
3. Sara Hughes/Summer Ross, United States, $10,000
4. Melissa Humana-Paredes/Sarah Pavan, Canada, $8,000
Gold - Klineman/A. Ross def. Rebecca/Ana Patrica, 21-19, 21-16 (34)
Bronze - Hughes/S. Ross def. Humana-Paredes/Pavan, 16-21, 23-21, 15-5 (44)
China - Yangzhou, October 9-14, US$75,000, FIVB men's event No. 415
1. Ilya Leshukov/Konstantin Semenov, Russia, $20,000
2. Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Oleg Stoyanovskiy, Russia, $16,000
3. Saymon Barbosa/Gustavo "Guto" Carvalhaes, Brazil, $10,000
4. Sam Pedlow/Sam Schachter, Canada, $8,000
Gold - Leshukov/Semenov def. Krasilnikov/Stoyanovskiy, 14-21, 21-19, 15-13 (49)
Bronze - Saymon/Guto won by forfeit over Pedlow/Schachter
The Yangzhou Open podium with presenters
The 2018 portion of this season's schedule concludes with a women’s-only event in Chetumal, Mexico October 24-31 followed by a return visit to Slovenia November 29-December 2 for the men's and women's Ljubljana Open.