Americans eyeing domination on home soil before Rio

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Can anyone stop top seeds Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross in Cincinnati this week? Photo credit: Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool.

It’s off to Ohio we go as the competition for all-important Olympic qualification points hots up in the United States this week at the Cincinnati Open.

The FIVB World Tour’s last stop in the USA before Rio rocks up in the Midwest for an eagerly-anticipated week on the sand in Cincinnati.

And the pursuit of medals, points and podium places is as competitive as ever, especially with a bucket-load of American teams gunning for gold in front of their home crowd.

The Open, which is being organized in conjunction with the AVP, last took place in Cincinnati in 2014 and was dominated by the hosts with all six medals taken by American teams.

You only have to take a look at the results from two years ago to see what the rest of the world are up against!

Men:

• Gold Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson (USA)
• Silver Ryan Doherty/Nick Lucena (USA)
• Bronze Tri Bourne/John Hyden (USA)

Women:

• Gold April Ross/Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA)
• Silver Lauren Fendrick/Brooke Sweat (USA)
• Bronze Lane Carico/Kim DiCello (USA)

Give the rest a chance, eh guys!

Well this year Gibb and Patterson and Ross and Walsh Jennings are back to attempt to win gold, and if the seeding is anything to go by the States could have another stranglehold on the tournament.

Three of the top four seeds in the men’s tournament hail from the USA – and it’s two of the top three in the women’s half of the competition.

So the question is who’s going to wrestle this domination away from the Americans? Can Canadians Ben Saxton and Chaim Schalk or Mexico’s Lombardo Ontiveros and Juan Virgen stop the American charge in the men’s draw?

Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson won gold in Cincinatti two years ago. Photo credit: Andreas Langreiter/Red Bull Content Pool.

There are three Canadian pairs in the top 10 seeds in the women’s draw, with Heather Bansley and Sarah Pavan second seeds. Can they knock Ross and Walsh Jennings off their perch? Or will it be time for Spain’s Elsa Baquerizo and Liliana Fernandez to reign supreme?

So many questions – it’s the beauty of beach volleyball at the minute! The competition could not get tougher which makes viewing for us even more exciting! It’s at times like these we’d wish we could travel forward in time to the start of our Major Series, but good things come to those who wait, dear reader.

The pool play begins in Cincinnati on Wednesday and we’ll have a round-up of the latest news from the States on our website over the coming days. And remember if you can’t log on, why not sign-up to our newsletter? It’s free and easy! Click here for more details!