Dalhausser, Lucena win gold at Long Beach's World Series of Beach Volleyball

LONG BEACH >> It wouldn’t be a championship Sunday at the World Series of Beach Volleyball in Long Beach without Phil Dalhausser. The three-time Olympian has been in the gold medal match of all five WSOBV events, and this year he won his third title along with partner Nick Lucena. The Americans topped the Canadian duo of Sam Pedlow and Sam Schachter in the first year of the WSOBV’s “USA vs. the World” format, 21-18, 21-15.

“I’ve always done well on home turf,” said Dalhausser. “I think every FIVB event I’ve played at in America I’ve medaled. It’s like any sport, the home crowd gives a boost to the home team, I definitely feel that in Long Beach.”

Dalhausser won the gold in 2013 and 2014 with partner Sean Rosenthal, then took silver each of the last two years with Lucena before finally breaking through this year.

“We’re playing good ball right now,” said Dalhausser. “This is a nice win and a nice paycheck for us.”

The winning duo netted a $50,000 check while the silver medalist Canadians brought home a $30,000 payday.

Dalhausser’s block was the dominant factor. He piled up 11 blocks in two sets in the gold medal match. The Americans took a commanding 12-3 lead in the first set before Pedlow and Schachter worked their way back in, pulling within two points at 20-18 before a kill from Dalhausser ended it.

“We eased off the gas pedal a little bit but we were able to regain some momentum at the end and carry it into the second set,” he said.

The second set was all Americans, as they once again took a commanding lead and then won gold medal point on a ball served long by the Canadians, setting off “USA!” chants in the stands and a champagne celebration on the podium.

In the bronze medal match, Poland’s Piotr Kantor and Bartosz Losiak defeated Americans Theodore Brunner and Casey Patterson in a three-set thriller, 20-22, 21-15, 15-13.

Brunner’s block keyed an American comeback in the first set, but Losiak and Kantor easily took the second set to tie it up. In the third, the Americans were within a point for most of the frame as Brunner notched six blocks. But the hyper-fast Polish offense won out on a roll shot and a big kill from Losiak.

Most of the FIVB beach volleyball pros are hitting the road to Olsztyn, Poland for an FIVB World Tour stop that begins Wednesday; the AVP also has its Hermosa Beach event beginning Thursday.

The FIVB men’s and women’s world championships will be hosted in Austria July 28 through Aug. 6.

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