Two months in the past, Megan Kraft was a left-side blocker, carrying a USC Trojans tank-top, competing towards NCAA expertise on an NCAA stage.
On Saturday afternoon in Vienna, Austria, Kraft was, as she has been since leaving USC as a four-time NCAA champion, a right-side defender, carrying a USA Volleyball tank prime, competing towards Elite16 expertise on the world’s largest stage.
She seems to be the identical in pink, white and blue as she did within the garnet: Dominant.
Following a convincing 21-16, 22-20 sweep over Brazilians Agatha and Rebecca within the bronze-medal match of the Vienna Elite16, Kraft and one other former Trojan, Terese Cannon, will return house from Europe with two medals in hand. Simply eight days earlier this new pair went all the best way to the Gstaad Elite16 closing earlier than shedding to fellow People Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss.
“Megan’s wonderful. She has utterly switched positions,” mentioned Cannon, who collected her eighth and ninth medals within the final two weeks in Gstaad and Vienna. “The truth that we’re capable of have such success towards unbelievable groups — it’s simply been so enjoyable. I’m excited to see the place we go.”
For a second, they virtually — virtually — went into a 3rd set towards Agatha and Rebecca. With Cannon and Kraft holding three match factors up 20-17, Brazil erased it with a facet out and consecutive earned factors, placing the People beneath duress for the primary time of the match. That is the place a typical rookie recent out of school would possibly get pinched, the stress of a three-point edge constructing to a nervy crescendo.
Which is exactly the place Kraft reminded everybody that she is not any typical rookie.
A missed serve from Agatha gave the USA a further match level, the place Kraft, simply two months into defending full-time, dug a bomb into the angle from Agatha and buried the following swing down the seam for the match-clinching kill.
“We wished to gradual it down,” Kraft mentioned. “They’re clearly a very good workforce, had a number of momentum, we wished to gradual to down, belief our go, and we simply stayed regular, trusting one another, trusting the sport plan.”
The sport plan was, it turned evident early on, to keep away from Rebecca, each in serve obtain and in protection. Throughout their semifinal in Gstaad — a 21-18, 15-21, 15-13 win for Kraft and Cannon that put them of their first Elite16 closing as a workforce — Rebecca sided out at 64 p.c and killed 50 p.c of her transition alternatives. They wished nothing to do along with her in Vienna, serving Agatha practically solely, looking the excessive arms of Agatha on the web versus taking pictures and bringing Rebecca’s protection and transition attacking in play. For the second straight week, it labored, and Cannon and Kraft have, for the primary time of their careers, consecutive medals due to it.
“Straightforward” is how Emily Stockman as soon as described taking part in with Kraft throughout their two years as companions. Certain sufficient, Kraft made it look simple all event, siding out at 75 p.c, 14 p.c larger than what they restricted their opponents to in Vienna. However simple can also be a phrase that rapidly involves thoughts relating to taking part in, and succeeding, with Terese Cannon.
Previously three seasons, Cannon has now medaled with 5 completely different gamers on the Seashore Professional Tour. Molly Shaw, Delaney Mewhirter, Sara Hughes, Sarah Sponcil, and now Kraft have all benefitted from her block and intangible means to make each one in every of her companions higher. Kraft, for the foreseeable future, is the one who will get to profit from the 6-foot-3 blocker who’s making a case for the world’s most improved participant.
But Cannon has stiff competitors in that class. Germany’s Svenja Muller gained her first Elite16 gold medal in additional than two years with Cinja Tillmann, sweeping Switzerland’s Anouk Verge-Depre and Joana Mader, 21-14, 21-18. Six straight matches did Germany win en path to their first podium because the Seashore Professional Tour Finals final December, dropping solely a single set within the course of.
The silver marks Switzerland’s first medal above the Problem stage since Verge-Depre and Mader gained bronze on the Tokyo Olympic s in 2021.
Andy Benesh, Miles Partain enhance with a fifth at Vienna Elite16
For the second straight Elite16, there might be no podium for the American males. Andy Benesh and Miles Partain, the lone USA males in the primary draw, fell within the quarterfinals to Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, who’re returning to peak kind after a foot damage stored Mol out for 3 months.
Whereas the fifth brings house no {hardware} for Benesh and Partain, who gained a bronze a month in the past on the Ostrava Elite16, it was the way by which they performed that ought to give American followers hope. The apathetic pair that was summarily dismissed of their closing three matches in Gstaad was changed by one with a rediscovered enthusiasm in Vienna, with three sweeps over Germany, Australia, and Austria. Their two losses got here to the 2 seed (Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler) and the three in Mol and Sorum.
It’s the closing time Benesh and Partain might be in motion till the Paris Olypic Video games, the place they’re in a pool that features Cuba’s Jorge Alayo and Noslen Diaz, Brazil’s George Wanderley and Andre Loyola, and Morocco’s Mohamed Abicha and Zouheir Elgraoui.