New Zealand Open Beach Volleyball Championships 

New Zealand locals Anna Scarlett and Susan Blundell upset AVP stars Angie Akers and Tyra Turner on Sunday in Auckland to book themselves a spot in the championship match of the 2010 McEntee Hire New Zealand Open.

In the finals, however, New Zealand’s luck ran out as Blundell/Scarlett could not overcome the world’s fourth-ranked team of Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig (Germany), losing 14-21, 19-21.

Akers/Turner rebounded in the bronze medal match to defeat Olympic silver medalists Tian Jia and Wang Fei of China.

In the men’s final, Zhou Shun and Liu Wei of China once again defeated the surprise team of Michael Watson and Ben O'Dea, 21-18, 21-17 to take home the gold medal.

International Men’s Update

A full recap of U.S. men’s players and their most recent performances as they compete professionally overseas can be found here. 

NCAA Men’s Top 10

Upset of the Week:  Seventh-ranked Pepperdine fell victim to the biggest upset of the week as twelfth-ranked UC San Diego visited Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu and emerged victorious for the first time in 38 career meetings, 33-31, 30-28, 23-30, 30-25.

#1 Southern California (6-1, 4-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)

Jan. 20: Def. #8 Long Beach State 3-0 (Home)
Jan. 22: Def. #12 UC San Diego 3-0 (Home)

#2 Cal State Northridge (6-1, 3-1 MPSF)

Jan. 20: Def. #4 UC Irvine 3-1 (Home)
Jan. 22: Lost to #10 UCLA 0-3 (Home)

#3 Stanford (3-1, 3-1 MPSF)

Jan. 22: Lost to #5 BYU 1-3 (Away)
Jan. 23: Def. #5 BYU 3-1 (Away)

#4 UC Irvine (4-4, 1-3 MPSF)

Jan. 20: Lost to #2 Cal State Northridge 1-3 (Away)
Jan. 22: Lost to #11 UC Santa Barbara 1-3 (Home)

#5 BYU (5-2, 3-1 MPSF)

Jan. 22: Def. #3 Stanford 3-1 (Home)
Jan 23: Lost to #3 Stanford 1-3 (Home) 

#6 Penn State (4-1, 2-0 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association)

Jan. 23: Def. Springfield 3-0 (Away)

#7 Pepperdine (1-4, 1-3 MPSF)

Jan. 20: Lost to #12 UC San Diego 1-3 (Home)
Jan. 23: Lost to #8 Long Beach State 0-3 (Home)

#8 Long Beach State (3-4, 2-2 MPSF)

Jan. 20: Lost to #1 Southern California 0-3 (Away)
Jan. 23: Def. #7 Pepperdine 3-0 (Away)

#9 Hawai'i (4-3, 2-2 MPSF)

Jan. 19: Def. Pacific 3-1 (Away)
Jan. 20: Def. Pacific 3-0 (Away)

#10 UCLA (3-4, 2-2 MPSF)

Jan. 20: Def. #11 UC Santa Barbara 3-2 (Home)
Jan. 22: Def. #2 Cal State Northridge 3-0 (Away)