Playing a Brazilian team on its home turf is no day at the beach.
Local pro beach volleyball professionals Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser ran up against the fifth-seeded Emanuel Rego and Alison Cerutti in the quarterfinals at the FIVB World Tour season-opening tournament in Brasilia and appeared to be in trouble.
On a hot, humid day in Brazil’s capital city, the Brazilians had the crowd going crazy after winning the first game, 21-16. But the unflappable Rogers-Dalhausser rebounded and took the next two games, 21-19, 15-11, and advanced to Friday’s semifinals.
“It was a war of attrition,” Rogers said in an email to Presidiosports.com. “It was hot with no wind on center court. I got every serve and we mostly served Alison. They were fresh and I wasn’t feeling it in the first game.”
“After the first set I wasn’t sure we would win because Emanuel and Alison were playing very good,” Dalhausser told the FIVB. “If I had to use only one word to describe the match, it would be tough.”
The top seeds and defending tour champions traded side outs with the Brazilians throughout the second game, and Rogers sided out to win the game.
In the third game, Rogers-Dalhausser worked on Alison and forced him into mistakes.
“Alison wore down at the end,” Rogers said. “He made two errors, and we got a dig and a stuff by Phil.”
Said Dalhausser: “We felt Alison was a little tired in the third set, so we focused on serving him. Fortunately, it was the right decision.”
Earlier, Rogers-Dalhausser bounced back from first-game loss and beat Herrera-Gavira of Spain.
They’ve now won 27 straight matches on the FIVB World Tour, a tour record.
Rogers-Dalhausser won nine gold medals on last year’s FIVB World Tour. They are playing in their 38th international event together and are in their 30th final four.
It was a tough day for the Brazilians, as their top team and tournament second seed, Ricardo Santos-Marcio Arajuo, lost to 10th-seeded Xu and Wu of China in the other quarterfinal match.
The semifinals are Friday and the final on Sunday.
On the women’s side, former UCSB star Brooke Hanson advanced to the semifinals with partner Patty Fendrick and lost to the reunited Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh, 21-15, 21-18.
May Treanor-Walsh will play Brazil’s LarissaJuliana for the title on Friday.
Hanson-Fendrick will take on fellow Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross for third place.
