Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Beach volleyball
Seixas, Alves defeat fellow Brazilians in Fort Lauderdale.
FORT LAUDERDALE — In an all-Brazilian women’s final at the Fort Lauderdale Major, the beach volleyball tandem of Barbara Seixas and Fernanda Berti Alves overpowered fellow Brazilians, Taiana De Souza Lima and Carolina Horta Maximo, winning the gold medal with a convincing straight set victory.
“It means a lot. This event is very important,” said Seixas. “The fact that we were able to win, for our confidence, was really important. Especially since we were struggling a lot.”
In the opening set Seixas and Berti Alves trailed, 11-10, before they won seven of the next eight points to take a 17-12 lead. On set point, Berti Alves’ spike deflected off Lima and into the stands to take the first set, 21-16.
“She was incredible. She was on fire,” said Seixas of her partner who had three blocks, 13 attacks and two aces in the final. “She kept pushing me, I love when she plays that way.”
Seixas and Berti Alves continued their dominance opening the second set by winning seven of the first eight points. Their lead would never be less than five points for the remainder of the match as they won the final set, 21-13, finishing the tournament undefeated and earning the first place prize of $40,000.
“I’m not sorry at all,” said Seixas , who won a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, of defeating another Brazilian team in the final. It was the second consecutive year the women’s final paired two Brazilian teams.
In Saturday night’s first men’s semifinal, Italy’s Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo defeated Pedro Solberg Salgado and George Souto Maior Wanderley from Brazil in a tight straight set win.
Nicolai and Lupo converted their fifth set point to win the opening set, 24-22, which had 15 ties.
The second set was as close as the first set with the Italian duo winning, 25-23. The point of the match occurred at 18-all as Nicolai provided a spectacular play. Nicolai blocked a shot at the net, as the ball was falling to the sand, Nicolai saved the ball by kicking it high into the air and later he won the point with his shot down the line.
Nicolai and Lupo will face Americans Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena in Sunday’s final after Dalhausser and Lucena dominated Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins from Latvia in straight sets in the second semifinal, 21-14, 21-12.
“It was one of the better games we’ve played,” said Lucena of Cooper City. “I’m excited we’re here, I’ve got a lot of family and friends here.”
Earlier in the day in the women’s bronze medal match, the team of Brooke Sweat and Summer Ross from the United States knocked off Victoria Bieneck and Isabel Schneider from Germany, 21-17, 21-13.
In the opening set with the score tied at 16, Sweat and Ross, who were seeded 13th, won five of the final six points of the set to take the first set.
Early in the second set, Sweat and Ross trailed, 8-5, before the Americans won five consecutive points and 14 of the next 17 points to take a commanding 19-11 lead.