Teams from Thailand, Vanuatu and USA also mount Coolangatta podium
Stefanie Fejes in action at the Coolangatta Futures (source: volleyball.org.au / Rogue Gun Photography)
Ha Likejiang & Wu Jiaxin won their third consecutive gold on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. After topping the podiums in Sohar and Mount Maunganui Beach, the Chinese pair celebrated another victory at the Futures even in Coolangatta. An all-Australian women’s final pleased the home crowd, as Jana Milutinovic & Stefanie Fejes upset top-seeded Georgia Johnson & Jasmine Fleming on the way to the title.
Main draw action on Australian sand was streamed live on the **Beach Volleyball World YouTube channel**.
Thailand’s Pithak Tipjan & Poravid Taovato and bottom-seeded American qualifiers Jordan Hoppe & Charles Siragusa completed the men’s podium, while the women’s bronze went to Vanuatu’s Majabelle Lawac & Sherysyn Toko.
30-year-old Ha Likejiang and 29-year-old Wu Jiaxin went through the men’s main draw undefeated in five matches played. After winning Pool B, the second-seeded Chinese duo cruised through the knockout rounds without losing a single set: 2-0 (21-13, 21-17) over Australia’s Lucas Josefsen & Ben Hood in the quarterfinals, 2-0 (21-16, 21-14) over Hoppe & Siragusa in the semifinals, and 2-0 (21-9, 25-23) over Pithak & Poravid in Sunday’s final.
For the third-seeded Thai pairing of 24-year-old Pithank and 21-year-old Poravid, the Coolangatta silver was the second back-to-back and second overall medal on the Beach Pro Tour, after their Subic Bay Futures gold in December. They also reached the final match unbeaten, but had to resort to tie-breaker wins in both the quarterfinals and the semifinals – 2-1 (22-10, 18-21, 15-12) over Australian top seeds James Takken & Solomon Bushby and 2-1 (21-11, 19-21, 15-10) over German qualifiers Simon Kulzer & Bennet Poniewaz, respectively.
The Coolangatta Futures was the first-ever world-level tournament for 25-year-old Hoppe and 24-year-old Siragusa. They started off as the bottom-ranked (seed 16) team in Wednesday’s qualification bracket, went on as the bottom-ranked (seed 16) team in the main draw, and after playing a total of eight matches and winning six of them made it all the way to the podium. The Americans finished third in their pool, so they had to go through an eighthfinal match with Japan’s Kensuke Shoji & Jumpei Ikeda, in which they mounted a 2-1 (16-21, 21-15, 15-13) comeback. In the quarterfinals, Hoppe & Siragusa delivered a 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) shutout of New Zealand’s Bradley Fuller & Alani Nicklin, and after losing to champions-to be Ha & Wu in the semis, they produced another comeback in the bronze medal match, 2-1 (18-21, 21-14, 15-12) against Kulzer & Poniewaz.
21-year-old Milutinovic and 18-year-old Fejes had their first appearance as a team on the Beach Pro Tour and made their way to the trophy, the first podium for either of them. After finishing second in Pool C, the sixth-seeded Aussies hammered out a 2-0 (21-8, 21-12) sweep of Japan’s Shion Tsubouchi & Maho Yabumi in the eighthfinals, persevered through a three-set quarterfinal battle with fourth-seeded compatriots Caitlin Bettenay & Tara Phillips to win by 2-1 (21-17, 18-21, 15-12), came back from a set down against second-seeded Lawac & Toko for another tie-breaker win, 2-1 (16-21, 21-18, 15-9), in the semifinals, and finally managed a 2-0 (22-20, 21-11) straight-setter against Johnson & Fleming for the gold.
Despite suffering this upset in the final, the top seeds celebrated their first-ever medal on the Beach Pro Tour. On the way to the silver, 24-year-old Johnson and 20-year-old Fleming did not drop a single set. They emphatically won Pool A. Then, they mastered a 2-0 (21-15, 21-18) quarterfinal victory over Japan’s Harumi Sakai & Miharu Kashihara and a 2-0 (21-9, 21-18) semifinal win over Canada’s Darby Dunn & Olivia Furlan.
While 25-year-old Sherysyn Toko had won medals on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour and the Beach Pro Tour, it was the first time for her current partner, 21-year-old Majabelle Lawac. On the way to the podium, the Vanuatuans had to play three tie-breakers in their playoff matches. In the quarterfinals, the Pool B winners managed a 2-1 (21-17, 15-21, 15-8) success over Japan’s Kana Motomura & Riko Tsujimura. After losing to the champions-to be in the semifinals, Lawac & Toko earned the bronze with a 2-1 (24-22, 16-21, 15-6) victory over Dunn & Furlan in the third place match.
Coolangatta Beach Futures: all results
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7-dKapB8Os
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