USA Volleyball

April Ross And Kerri Walsh Suffer First AVP Set Loss In Two Years

April Ross And Kerri Walsh Suffer First AVP Set Loss In Two Years

In San Francisco, Sara Hughes and Kelly Claes handed Olympians Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross their first AVP set loss since August 2014.

Jun 25, 2016 by Megan Kaplon
April Ross And Kerri Walsh Suffer First AVP Set Loss In Two Years
Remember when we said Sara Hughes and Kelly Claes are even more legit than we thought? The rising USC seniors continue to prove they are more than capable of not only dominating the college beach volleyball scene, but also competing with the best in the world.

Hughes and Claes won set one of their AVP San Francisco Open quarterfinal match versus Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross 21-17. Ross and Walsh Jennings then rallied back to win sets two and three, 21-18, 17-15, but at the end of the match rising USC seniors Hughes and Claes had something to celebrate even so. Not only had they played one of the most exciting matches we’ve seen on the AVP this year, they had just handed three-time Olympic gold medalist Walsh Jennings and silver medalist Ross their first domestic tour set loss since August 2014.

Hughes and Claes, who went 2-0 in competition on Friday, will now move to the contenders’ bracket where they will play the winner of Jen Fopma and Jen Kessy versus Ali McColloch and Kelly Reeves for a chance to appear in the semifinals tomorrow morning.

Last week, Claes and Hughes finished third at the AVP New York City Open, matching their previous career-high.