The World Series of Beach Volleyball got underway from Long Beach, California, on Thursday. The FIVB-sanctioned event takes a USA vs. The World format, with international teams and USA teams playing among themselves before being put into a single-elimination bracket on opposite sides, guaranteeing a USA vs. International final.
World Series of Beach Volleyball 2017 scores: April Ross and Lauren Fendrick beat Kerri Walsh Jennings and Nicole Branagh
The World Series of Beach Volley is underway and the first day of competition included a great match between Ross and Walsh Jennings, former partners.
Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images
The first day of matches included one very big one: the team of April Ross and Lauren Fendrick against the team of Kerri Walsh Jennings and Nicole Branagh.
Ross and Walsh Jennings were four-year partners, winning 12 AVP tournaments, and on the international circuit taking home 11 gold medals, three silver and three bronze.
They were among the most dominant beach volleyball duos to ever play, but they split in May due to Walsh Jennings’ boycott of the AVP tour.
Walsh Jennings is campaigning for higher pay and other benefits for competitors in the sport. She called it a “hobby” rather than a real sport due to the low pay versus the high expectations.
On Thursday, the two faced each other for the first time since the split. The match was incredibly close, but Ross and Fendrick won a hotly contested match, 22-20, 21-18.
Only time will tell if Walsh Jennings can bring some changes to the sport, or if she and Ross will ever partner up again. For now, though, Ross and Fendrick carry some momentum into Friday, which will feature more men’s and women’s pool play, as well as the AAU Junior National Championships.
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