AVP Stars Win Silver in Dominican Republic

April 1, 2013 - AVP beach volleyball stars Brad Keenan and John Mayer captured the silver medal in this weekend’s second round of the 2013 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour at Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic.

Mayer and Keenan won their opening match Friday, handily defeating Dominican Republic C-team Luis Rodriguez and Francisco Arredondo, 21-7, 21-3, on a day when U.S. teams went 6-1 overall.

On Saturday Mayer and Keenan went on to defeat defending champions Roberto Rodriguez and Erik Haddock of Puerto Rico, 21-16, 21-12. Then on Sunday they bested Canadians Chaim Schalk and Benjamin Saxton on their way to a final showdown with Mexican duo Juan Virgen and Lombardo Ontiveros.

After winning their marathon three-set match against Schalk and Saxton (21-18, 16-21, 16-14), the Americans were effectively crushed in the final, conceding the gold to Virgen and Ontiveros, 21-14, 21-17.

On the women’s side, AVP player Brittany Hochevar along with her partner, Summer Ross opened their tournament with a hard fought three-set win over Canadians Jamie Broder and Kristina Valjas, 23-25, 21-18, 15-13. That same day, they defeated Gina Flores and Martha Euceda of Honduras, 21-8, 21-10.

Hochevar and Ross eventually went on to win the silver medal, after suffering a narrow final defeat at the hands of fellow Americans Jennifer Fopma and Brooke Sweat, 19-21, 21-17, 17-15.

“It is never fun to play against a team of your own country,” said Fopma, speaking to reporters afterwards.

“Both teams played really good and we had to battle with the rainy conditions and the wet balls,” added Sweat.

The next round of the 2013 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit is set to take place April 17-22 in Guatemala.