Simply take a have a look at all of these Olympians, posing in entrance of the Olympic rings, trying all Olympic-like, with their sponsored shirts and hats and informal demeanor that claims “Sure, we’ve executed these shoots earlier than, loads of them, thanks.”
Eleven gamers on this week’s AVP Atlanta Gold Collection ventured into downtown Atlanta to pose in entrance of the rings, with 18 complete Olympic appearances between them, a sum that doesn’t embrace Larissa Maestrini’s three Olympics and 2016 bronze medal.
After which you will have Brook Bauer and Katie Horton.
Seeded thirteenth on this week’s occasion, Bauer and Horton have skilled the Olympics solely on tv. Their solely official win over a person who had as soon as competed in an Olympic Video games got here in a Futures occasion final June, once they upset China’s Xinxin Wang.
One thing this week is seemingly completely different for Bauer and Horton, a crew who for 2 years now has been on the border of turning into an elite crew or remaining a superb crew that often performs elite. Friday in Atlanta, they had been elite, knocking off Sarah Sponcil and Terese Cannon (21-18, 21-14), earlier than upsetting the AVP Hermosa Seashore champions, Corinne Quiggle and Sarah Schermerhorn (16-21, 21-16, 15-8).
“We all know that each crew we face right here goes to be elite. They’re going to make nice performs they usually’ll push us to seek out an additional gear,” Bauer stated. “We embraced that actually nicely, let the sport develop, made changes alongside the best way, and performed with pleasure and depth.”
They’ve executed this earlier than, Bauer and Horton, engineering upset wins within the first two rounds of AVP Hermosa Seashore final month, over the 8 and the 1 seeds, to earn a spot within the quarterfinals with two cracks on the semifinals. Twice they had been swept in Hermosa Seashore, ending with an admirable fifth, their fourth such end this 12 months.
“It’s an superior feeling,” Bauer stated of being again within the quarterfinals of the winner’s bracket. “We’re excited and hungry to push for extra.”
That push will start with a date towards the highest seed, Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes, who received a pair of shut sweeps on Friday. On the opposite aspect of the bracket is a quarterfinal that comes as little shock. Second-seeded Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth additionally received each of their matches in sweeps, whereas Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, recent off a gold medal on the Montreal Elite16, picked up two wins as nicely, although their first, towards Jen Keddy and Katie Dickens, did require a 3rd set.
It makes Bauer and Horton the lone Cinderella within the first Gold Collection occasion of the 12 months. The boys’s aspect was principally a chalk stroll, the one minor upset within the winner’s bracket coming from fifth-seeded Chase Budinger and Miles Evans beating Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander (21-19, 17-21, 15-12), except you rely Alison Cerutti and Billy Allen, the 11, sweeping sixth-seeded Tim Brewster and Kyle Good friend, an upset solely on paper. Whereas the 5 beating the 4 isn’t a lot of an upset, the win for Budinger was vital. Getting into that match, Evans had by no means beat Crabb, and Budinger had misplaced 9 straight.
The streak is, alas, over for each, as they proceed to play a few of their greatest volleyball of their nascent partnership after a ninth in Montreal.
In the meantime, the streak, or worrying tendency, of Tri Bourne and Chaim Schalk to place themselves down three or 4 factors after which mount a comeback stays alive and nicely. Twice, they discovered themselves in a gap, first towards John Hyden and Invoice Kolinske, then towards Alison and Allen. By some means, a way, they only kind of proceed to determine it out, beating Hyden and Kolinske, 25-23, 23-21, regardless of trailing the overwhelming majority of each units. That solely preceded one other magic act within the subsequent spherical, dropping the primary set, 17-21, and digging themselves a 9-12 gap within the second.
Once more, they fended off set and match factors, discovering a option to win the second, 27-25, and the third, 15-13 (they didn’t spot Allen and Cerutti a lead within the third). It units up a semifinal by which Bourne and Schalk will play their former companions, Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner, for the primary time on the AVP. Their solely assembly since splitting got here within the first spherical of the Ostrava Elite16 qualifier, the place Brunner and Crabb received 21-15, 21-16.
As they did in Hermosa Seashore, the place they received their first AVP title as a crew, Brunner and Crabb wasted little time on Friday, successful each of their matches with sweeps. Even their power effectivity, nonetheless, couldn’t be in comparison with top-seeded Andy Benesh and Miles Partain, who received their two matches with a median set rating of 21-13.75 and can play Budinger and Evans at 6:30 p.m. Jap.
Click on right here for full outcomes and the schedule.All stadium courtroom matches of AVP Atlanta are streamed on ESPN+, whereas courts 1 and a couple of are on the Bally Stay app.