The Xiamen FIVB four-star tournament was all we had hoped it to be. The big teams came to play but the upstart leaders of the early season were not impressed. The men’s tournament was full of excitement with huge match ups at every stage. Phil and Nick lost in the group stage. Evandro and Bruno were sent home from the first round. Alison didn’t make it much further. Norway, Poland, Latvia and Holland were all eliminated from the quarter-finals. And the young guns (plus some old Spaniards) rolled on. But look, the sand has hardly settled from last weekend’s FIVB four-star event in Xiamen and the Kuala Lumpur three-star is already underway. The qualification round in Malaysia is over and the group draw is done. More big matches are on the way tomorrow, but first, lets have a look at the Olympic rankings in the aftermath of Xiamen.

Rebecca and Ana Patrica domination continues

The FIVB released the updated Olympic Rankings yesterday and although there was considerable movement, there was none at the top. That’s because the teams on top of the men’s and women’s rankings continued their fine form in Xiamen. Rebecca Cavalcanti and Ana Patricia Silva showed that they are for real, winning their third tournament together. They had to knock off nearly all of the top women’s teams to do it this time. First they had to escape the always difficult qualifying round. Then, in the group stage they beat their compatriots, number three in the world ranking, Maria and Carol. After beating the top Chinese team in the first round, they went on to beat the world’s top ranked Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson of Canada. In the semifinal they saw off fifth ranked Sara Hughes and Summer Ross of the USA. And in the final they showed their mental strength by winning two long sets against second ranked Hermannova and Slukova of the Czech Republic. Victories over those powerful teams in one tournament shows just how fast this young team has risen.

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Australians Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho Del Solar made a big jump by finishing third in China. They moved up 17 spots into 15th. America’s Alix Klineman and April Ross jumped three spots into second place thanks to their 5th place finish and Bansley and Wilkerson moved into third after finishing 5th as well. Remember, the top 15 teams in the Olympic rankings qualify for Tokyo, but only two teams can go from each nation. With seven American teams in the top 19, five won’t be going. So, the final spot falls to the 20th placed team at the moment. The table below shows the top 15 with the Americans that don’t make the country quota grayed out. For an interactive look at the top 50, have a look here.

1 Rebecca Cavalcanti and Ana Patricia Silva Brazil 3,480 2 Alix Klineman and April Ross United States 2,440 3 Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson Canada 2,420 4 Miki Ishii and Megumi Murakami Japan 2,360 5 Marta Menegatti and Viktoria Orsi Toth Italy 2,260 6 Emily Day and Betsi Flint United States 2,180 7 Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan Canada 2,120 - Brooke Sweat and Kerri Walsh Jennings United States 2,080 8 Fan Wang and Chen Xue China 2,060 9 Elize Maia and Maria Clara Salgado Brazil 1,780 10 Nina Betschart and Tanja Huberli Switzerland 1,680 - Kelley Larsen and Emily Stockman United States 1,680 - Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil United States 1,600 - Sara Hughes and Summer Ross United States 1,600 11 Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho Del Solar Australia 1,540 12 Michaela Kubickova and Michala Kvapilova Czech Republic 1,480 12 Xinxin Wang and Xinyi Xia China 1,480 14 Angela Lobato and Amaranta Navarro Spain 1,420 - Brittany Howard and Kelly Reeves United States 1,400 15 Khanittha Hongpak and Varapatsorn Radarong Thailand 1,380

The Russians can’t be stopped

For the men, Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovskiy of Russia are more than 800 points clear of their nearest rivals in the Olympic rankings. Styanovskiy, the young blocker, was truly dominant for large stretches of the Xiamen tournament while his partner, Krasilnikov, was a side out machine. The top three of the Olympic rankings didn’t change at all last week. Gulf pair Cherif Samba and Ahmed Tijan stayed solidly in second place of the Olympic rankings after winning bronze. The Chilean Grimalt cousins stumbled to a disappointing 17th place finish, but managed to hold on to the third spot. The biggest jump was by Xiamen runners-up from Spain, Adrian Gavira and Pablo Herrera, who jumped 21 places into 5th place. Alexander Brouwer & Robert Meeuwsen, Anders Mol & Christian Sorum and Michal Bryl & Grzegorz Fijalek all jumped into the top 10 with solid performances. Click here to see the current men’s top 50.

Kuala Lumpur Three-Star

Kuala Lumpur is a three-star tournament, but there is more than usual at stake for some teams. This is the last chance to qualify for the World Championships. This FIVB article explains what that means for some big teams. Since getting to the World Championships in June is of utmost importance, success in Malaysia is a must for many teams.



There are several women’s stories to watch in Kuala Lumpur. Barbora Hermannová and Marketa Slukova look to improve on last week’s silver medal. Olympic gold medalist and World Champion Laura Ludwig hopes to have a better performance with her new partner Margareta Kozuch after a disappointing first tournament together. Brooke Sweat and Kerri Walsh Jennings have an opportunity to move up in the very crowded American Olympic rankings. And Megumi Murakami & Miki Ishii hope to continue on their success for Japan. There will be a different winner this week as the on-fire Brazilians have mercifully taken the week off.

Rossi and Carambula of Italy have come through the men’s qualifying round once again this morning in Kuala Lumpur. They have been a factor in every tournament they’ve entered this year and want to move up from their 30th spot in the Olympic rankings. However, the focus will be on two new Brazilian partnerships that are vying for a spot in the World Championships. Andre Loyola Stein is desperate to defend his World Championship with his new partner Geroge Souto Maior Wanderley while Alison Cerutti needs the points available in Hamburg if he want the chance to defend his Olympic gold with new partner Álvaro Morais Filho. If either of them are going to get a chance, they will have to go deep into this weeks tournament.

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