The FIVB Moscow Three Star event was the sixth double-gender event on the 2017 beach volleyball World Tour. Two American teams made it to the final on Sunday in Moscow, with Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena taking home the men's gold medal, while Brazil's Talita Antunes and Larissa Franca captured top honors on the women's side.

Here are four thought nuggets from the event to consider.

1. Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena are on fire.

The top American men's duo kicked the season off with a bronze medal at the FIVB Fort Lauderdale Five Star and won the first two AVP events of the season in Huntington Beach, CA, and Austin, Texas.

Over the weekend in Moscow, Dalhausser and Lucena won a second World Tour medal, defeating Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Nikita Liamin in the gold medal match.

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As a pair, Dalhausser and Lucena now have 14 World Tour medals and boast a 112-26 overall record. The Moscow victory marked Dalhausser's 35th FIVB gold, giving him the third-most gold medals on the men's side behind Emanuel Rego and Ricardo Santos.

2. Another good showing for Brooke Sweat and Summer Ross.

In only their second tournament together, Brooke Sweat and Summer Ross earned a silver medal in Moscow. In their journey to the final, Sweat and Ross defeated fellow Americans Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes as well as defending Olympic gold medalists Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst of Germany. Sweat and Ross eventually lost to Talita Antunes and Larissa Franca in the gold medal match, 21-16, 21-14.

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This marks the second consecutive FIVB event that Sweat and Ross have made it to the medal rounds--the pair finished fourth at the FIVB Fort Lauderdale Five Star in February.

Sweat and Ross will now travel to New York, where they will compete in their first AVP tournament of the season after sitting out the first two tour stops.

3. Snow volleyball?

During the beach tournament in Moscow, the FIVB hosted an exhibition of snow volleyball, a sport which the organization says it is trying to get into the Olympic Games and become the first international sports federation to participate in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.


Meanwhile, the snow infiltrated the beach volleyball event as well, with a snow storm delaying play on Friday, and the frigid temperatures continuing throughout the weekend.


Photo by FIVB

4. Some prize money math to consider.

When Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena won the 2017 AVP Austin Open, they took home $7,500 each. Two weeks later, they were each awarded $5,000 when they pulled out a 21-17, 22-24, 18-16 victory over a good Russian team in the championship match of the FIVB Moscow Three Star.

For a little perspective, last year, when the FIVB event in Moscow was a Grand Slam, the total prize purse was $400,000, and the first-place winners split $57,000.

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