(Photo by Jessica Ensign)
Beach volleyball has lukewarm day on hot sandsTwo teams lose, but Bruning and Nikiforov surviveby Leila Hanaumi on September 6, 2009 It was a hot day at Pacific Green Bay on Sunday, and it wasn’t just because of the sun. The U.S. Men’s and Women’s Beach Volleyball teams played heated matches that didn’t allow fans to relax much. “It was a nonstop battle from start to finish,” U.S. athlete Laurie Achin said of her two close games, both of which she and partner Stacy Nikiforov lost to Japan, 19-21 and 18-21. Four missed serves and one out-of-bounds serve cost Achin and Nikiforov their match. Otherwise, their defense was good and their offense sharp. “If not for the careless serves, it would’ve been a perfect match,” Achin said. Nevertheless, Achin and Nikiforov, both originally indoor volleyball players, said they feel great about their game. Coach Lauren Mills agreed: “I thought Laurie and Stacy did great. Japan just got lucky.” Partners Steve Haynie and Josh Malasheskie also fell short on the first day of the 2009 Taipei Games. Although they had a good start against Ukraine, they lost, 16-21, due to errors. “Ukraine took some control further in the game. You can tell that their coach disciplined the players well; they’re a very technical team,” Haynie said. The duo kept their chins up though. “Considering our last-minute transition from indoor to beach volleyball, we did well,” Malasheskie said. “I’m looking forward to playing Canada tomorrow!” However, U.S. Beach Volleyball didn’t lose it all. Partners Mike Bruning and Dimitri Nikiforov won a big match against Russia. Bruning has a long history with the Russian volleyball team, reaching as far back as 1992. “Seventeen years of stealing victories back and forth from each other. It’s like the Cold War,” Bruning said. Or rather, the Hot War. After losing in the first game, 21-16, the Russian opponents became more comfortable on the sand and beat Bruning and Nikiforov, 25-23. Things began to look bad after that point. During the third game, the was Americans were down by five when Coach Said Soukiane made some adjustments in their strategy. Instead of focusing on the young and inexperienced Russian, Bruning and Nikiforov targeted the older player, who became uncomfortable. The U.S. won the final game, 15-13. That was the turning point for the U.S., and Bruning acknowledged the potentially bad timing. “We were almost too late when we changed our strategy, but if we play Russia again, we’re not going to make the same mistake,” Bruning said. Both the U.S. and Russian players are confident they will meet again in the championship game in a continuation of the Hot War. In the meantime, the rest of the U.S. Beach Volleyball Team has other matches to look forward to. Nancy Moore and Jessica Ensign play their first game Monday against Germany, and the other three U.S. duos continue play as well. |
 (Photo by Jessica Ensign)
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