Seasoned professional beach volleyball players Priscilla Piantadosi-Lima and Kristen Batt-Rohr were shocked Sunday when the top-seeded team lost twice to a pair of 18-year-old Canadians at the National Volleyball League West Coast Championships held in Hermosa Beach.
It was quite a weekend for twin sisters Megan and Nicole McNamara, of Delta, British Columbia, Canada who, after being seeded 21st in the Qualifiers Bracket, earned the final spot as the 16th seed in the Main Draw on Friday.
The 5-foot-9, blonde-haired young women quickly made their presence known knocking Piantadosi-Lima and Batt-Rohr down to the Contender’s Bracket with a 21-14, 21-14 victory.
Incoming freshmen who will play beach volleyball at UCLA, the McNamaras went on to sweep the eighth-seeded team before suffering their first loss in a 21-19, 21-9 defeat to eventual champions Vivian Cunha and Raquel Ferreira of Brazil.
Meeting for a second time, Piantadosi-Lima and Batt-Rohr seemed on their way to avenge their opening-match loss to the McNamaras by capturing the first set 21-17.
But youth prevailed as the McNamaras evened the match with a 21-15 win and, in the the third set played to 15 with the victor having to win by two points, the Canadians outlasted the two-time NVL Champions in a thrilling 21-19 game.
The McNamaras finished third, losing to Kimberly Hildreth and Karolina Sowala 21-13, 17-21, 15-13 in the semifinals. Also placing third were Texans Meghan Mannari and Taylor Nyquist.
Seeded fifth, Cunha and Ferriera defeated third-seeded Hildreth and Sowala 21-16, 21-15 in the championship match for their third consecutive NVL title.The match was a repeat of the Midwest Championships women’s finals last month in Ohio.
In men’s competition, second-seeded Dave Palm and Eric Zaun defeated fourth-seeded Skylar DelSol and Piotr Marciniak 21-19, 21-23, 15-9. The championships was the second of the season for Palm and first for Zaun.
Third-place finishes went to the teams of Mike Placek/Jeff Samuels and Skyler McCoy/Mark Williams.
Complete results are available at thenvl.com.
