Nancy Moore closes her eyes as she dives for the ball in a recent beach volleyball match. (Photo by )
Beach volleyball duo dominatesby Leila Hanaumi on September 8, 2009 U.S. beach volleyball’s Mike Bruning and Dimitri Nikiforov dominated in a 31-minute match against Brazil on Tuesday at Pacific Green Bay. Although the match began very close, Bruning and Nikiforov out-performed their opponents. “Dimitri and I communicated last night about the unforced errors we [had] made [before], and we cut down 80 percent of our mistakes today,” said Bruning. Their preparation showed on the court as they played an incredibly clean game. The first game ended quickly, with a score of 21-8 in just less than 15 minutes. The U.S. decided to change its plan for the second game, with Bruning reducing his blocks and Nikiforov working on his defense set-up. Bruning also performed a wild high underhand serve, called sky ball, ten times, eight of which resulted in aces. The Brazilians, a duo of brothers, lacked Bruning and Nikiforov’s chemistry. Bruning and Nikiforov walked away with a spotless 3-0 record. While Laurie Achin and Stacy Nikiforov had the day off, 20-year-old Jessica Ensign and Nancy Moore, who won silver in indoor volleyball at the 1989 Deaflympics, got ready for their second day of action. The first half of Ensign and Moore’s game against Ukraine held a steady pace, with Ensign and Moore trailing only a few points behind. In the second half, though, the U.S. fell into a slump, allowing Ukraine to take a 14-7 lead. Ukraine then made a run of six straight points, setting the U.S. up for an 8-21 loss. Unfortunately, Ensign and Moore were unable to bounce back in the second game, suffering a 4-21 loss. They’ll continue looking for their first win. Steve Haynie and Josh Malasheskie waited all day for their turn to play and, they hoped, their first win. Haynie and Malasheskie played quite well, perhaps better than ever, but they simply weren’t fast enough for Germany’s well-executed hits. When the ball was set right, Germany’s hitter performed attacks that seemed impossible to receive. Haynie and Malasheskie never stopped diving or attempting to save balls, but their good hits weren’t enough to save them from defeat. Germany won the first game, 21-9. The results were similar in the second game, and Haynie said he had an off-day with his passing. He and Malasheskie pushed hard until the end, but dropped the second game to the Germans, who claimed a 21-7 victory. |
 Nancy Moore closes her eyes as she dives for the ball in a recent beach volleyball match. (Photo by )
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