New Women's Partnerships Debut in Trinidad and Tobago

The NORCECA Trinidad and Tobago tournament featured new USA women's beach volleyball partnerships between Summer Ross and Kim DiCello and Emily Day and Brooke Sweat.

Nov 28, 2016 by Megan Kaplon

New Women's Partnerships Debut in Trinidad and Tobago

Beach volleyball fans received a glimpse of what could be some of the new women's partnerships for 2017 during the Norceca Beach Volleyball Circuit Trinidad and Tobago tournament on November 25-27.

Rio Olympian Brooke Sweat paired with Emily Day and took a bronze medal, defeating Yanisleidis Sanchez and Lidiannis Echeverria of Cuba in the third-place match. Sweat went to the 2016 Olympics with Lauren Fendrick, while Day spent most of the 2016 playing with Jen Kessy. After Kessy and Day failed to qualify for Rio, Day tested out partnerships with Brittany Hochevar and Irene Hester Pollock.

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Kim DiCello and Summer Ross made their debut as partners in Tobago as well. Ross spent 2015 and 2016 paired with Lane Carico, and DiCello played with Kendra VanZwieten the past two seasons. DiCello and Ross finished in second place at the final NORCECA tournament of the year, losing to Canadians Jamie Broder and Melissa Humana-Paredes in the final.

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The Trinidad and Tobago event marked the first time playing together for Broder and Humana-Paredes, too. Humana-Parades partnered with Sarah Pavan at the Swatch World Tour Finals, and the duo lost to Pavan's former partner Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson in a playoff match. We doubt Broder is a threat to Pavan in the battle for Humana-Paredes as a partner, however, since both Broder and Humana-Paredes are defenders.

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On the men's side, Billy Allen and Theo Brunner finished fourth. This duo played together for most of the 2016 season, including taking ninth place at the FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam.

Stafford Slick and Mark Burik took fifth. Newly formed team Sam Pedlow and Sam Schachter of Canada won gold, while Cuba's Nivaldo Diaz/Sergio Gonzalez and Karell Pena/Daicel Quesada took silver and bronze, respectively.

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