Spoiler alert!
After the last three marathon days (you wouldn't think of yesterday as a long day, but all eight matches were shown in their entirety, which was about the same as the duration of previous days' webcasts), this one was bound to be over much sooner. Just two matches on the docket today, both awarding some hardware.
We started with the bronze medal final, putting Lauren Fendrick and Nicole Branagh of the USA against the lone Brazilian team present in Bangsaen, Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas. This match was bound to produce a first-time medal-winner, as Agatha and Seixas played on Sunday for the first time in their partnership, and Fendrick and Branagh were playing together for the first time ever here in Bangsaen. Agatha has one previous medal, a silver from 2008, but this is the first time in any FIVB World Tour final for 23-year old Barbara Seixas. On the other side of the net, Branagh has numerous previous medals. She won several with former regular partner Elaine Youngs, and in 2010 she actually won medals with both Kerri Walsh and Misty May. This would be Fendrick's first-ever, though, and in her 48th tournament appearance.
And I'd love to give a detailed account of this match. But as it happens I can't. There was no live video! Can you believe that? I was forced to follow along from a ticker, the barbarity! So I can really only describe scoring trends. The first 16 points were split evenly, after which Agatha and Seixas ran out to a 12-9 lead. Fendrick and Branagh rallied to tie it at 15. They went up one at 17-16, and then two at 19-17, closing the set out 21-19. Sounds like it was very tight and entertaining.
The second set also began very tightly and evenly, with the Brazilians up 11-10 at the automatic timeout. But Agatha and Seixas scored the first three out of the timeout, to go up 14-10. The Americans rallied back to draw within one at 16-15, and I'm pretty sure that got the Brazilians to call time. Fendrick and Branagh tied it at 16 before the Brazilians were finally able to side out. After a couple of quick mini-runs that shifted who had the advantage of serving with the lead (if you can't go up 2, serving with the lead is the next best thing), Agatha and Seixas got the first set point at 20-19. They converted it to take set two by the same score the Americans won set one, and set up the decider.
Agatha and Seixas took the first 2-point edge in set number three at 5-3, and extended it to 4 in advance of what I'm pretty sure was a timeout. A four-point edge should always be enough to put away a race to 15, and it indeed was in this case. The Brazilian duo poured it on late to lock up the bronze medal 15-9.
Oh, Hosanna, there was video for the gold medal final! I would have called serious shenanigans were there not. In a neat touch, the down referee for this match was a local Thai official, and he was set to retire from the circuit after this match. Silver lining for a local team not making this far, I guess, because he would not have been allowed to officiate the match if a Thai team were present.
I love all the butt shots this TV crew was giving. Sure, it shows the block signals the net player gives the serving player, but, c'mon, it's a butt shot. You know why they're going to it.
Speaking of blocking, Ross' big block gave the Americans the first scoring edge. A service ace, definitely a big weapon for April, made it 5-2 at the side change. This match marked the fourth time in five seasons that Kessy and Ross had made the final of the Thailand Open (previously held in Phuket), winning twice before. The Russians closed it to 8-6 at the second change, but they might have made it even closer. The rally on 7-5 ended with both of them sort of just looking at each other as the ball fell harmlessly between them. Either could have got it and neither did.
They made further errors, long hits and netballs, to run the score to 11-6 in Kessy and Ross' favor before calling time. This advantage held steady to the automatic timeout, at 13-8. Coming out of the timeout, Kessy and Ross turned defense into offense like an art form on the first couple of points, to go up 7. Khomyakova, though, was undeterred, taking two really nice points on blocks to close it back to 5 at 15-10. From there, it was mostly sideout after sideout to the finish, with the Americans on top 21-17.
Ross afforded the Russians their first two points of the second set with hitting errors, before she was able to side out on the third rally of the set. Another hitting error on the American side, this by Kessy, put Ukolova and Khomyakova up 5-2 at the side change. They ran it back level at 5-5 on Kessy's serve, and it remained even at the second side change. At the automatic timeout, the Russians edged to a tight 11-10 lead. Ukolova and Khomyakova were able to go up by 2 a few times, but Kessy and Ross always had the answer to draw even again. The Russian team took their timeout trailing 13-12.
At 14-12, Kessy's block attempt would have been a very close line/out call, one the up referee was inclined to come take a better look at, but she actually told him directly that the ball was out. The teams switched sides for the fourth time at 15-13. The lead extended to 3 when the Russians were unable to return Ross' serve within three contacts. On 17-15, Kessy's serve reception was a bit less than optimal, putting them well out of system to give the Russians an easy to kill to close to within a single point. They gave it back with a service error on the next ball, and still trailed a point holding the serve at the fifth side change. But sitting with a 2-point lead, they were in position to side their way out to the championship. Russia staved off the match point at 20-18 and Kessy and Ross decided to ice the server Ukolova before the second match point, calling time there. Kessy put it away to give the American duo the final championship of the season.
In their post-match interview, April mentioned that her grandfather had passed away two days' prior, and she very sweetly dedicated the win to his memory. Kessy errantly referred to the tournament as the Phuket Open. Evidently they were told the climate would not be inhospitably hot during the tournament. They were told wrong.
Day Four results
Bronze medal final
#5 Agatha/Seixas (BRA) d. #7 Fendrick/Branagh (USA) (19-21, 21-19, 15-9)
Gold medal final
#2 Kessy/Ross (USA) d. #3 Ukolova/Khomyakova (RUS) (21-17, 21-19)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
