ISLE FILE
U.S. Junior National volleyball team beats Russia
Advertiser Staff
The U.S. Junior National volleyball team, captained by Honolulu's Kawika Shoji and Spencer McLachlin, beat Russia, 28-26, 25-22, 29-27, yesterday at the FIVB Men's Junior World Championships in Rabat, Morocco.
Matt Anderson scored 14 points (12 kills, two blocks) and Cole Reinholm 13 (13 kills) as Team USA improved to 2-0 as the only unbeaten team in Pool B. Iran and Japan are 2-0 in Pool A.
Shoji started at libero while McLachlin played a reserve role as an outside hitter and scored one point.
Team USA plays Brazil (1-1) today.
LAMBERT, METZGER WIN
Punahou grads Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger beat Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers, 23-21, 15-21, 15-13, yesterday in the championship match of the AVP Seaside Open at Seaside Heights, N.J.
"In the end, in the third set, it came down to two errors that were crucial points for us," Lambert said. "Phil hit one out and Rogers hit one out. If they don't have those two, then we just keep siding out and who knows what will happen."
The teams battled each other point-for-point in a match that lasted 90 minutes, the sixth-longest in beach volleyball history, international or domestic.
BODYBOARDING
STEWART, HUBBARD PLACE
Mike Stewart of the Big Island placed third and Jeff Hubbard from Kaua'i placed fourth in the final of the Human Cronulla Shark Island Challenge professional bodyboarding contest yesterday.
The final day of the contest was run in 4- to 5-foot waves at Shark Island, Australia.
Stewart and Hubbard both had high-scoring waves, but it was not enough to overcome a perfect heat by Ben Player of Australia.
Player received two perfect 10s from the judges for an unbeatable total of 20. Mark McCarthy of South Africa placed second with a near-perfect total of 19.5.
Stewart's two best waves received scores of 9.5 and 8.0.
"It basically got down to who got the waves and like the gentlemen that we are, we all took turns," Stewart said. "Whoever got the winning wave would win and Ben had two of them."
Hubbard, the defending world champion of bodyboarding, received scores of 9.0 and 7.0.
His younger brother, David Hubbard, was eliminated in the semifinals and tied for fifth place.
The contest was the first of eight stops on the International Bodyboarding Association's 2007 World Tour.
SURFING
GRANGERS GO 2, 3
Maui brothers Granger and Wesley Larsen placed second and third, respectively, at the Nike 6.0 Pier Pressure Junior Pro yesterday.
The final day of the contest was completed in 3- to 4-foot waves at Huntington Beach, Calif.
Granger, 17, was the standout of the morning heats, but came up four points short in the final. Adam Wickwire from Florida won the contest with a two-wave score of 14.57.
Granger's two-wave total was 10.7. Wesley, 19, placed third with a two-wave score of 9.04.
"I've surfed against Wesley my whole life, so it felt just like a free surf session in the final," Granger said. "Unfortunately, the conditions didn't really offer a lot of big-scoring waves."
Among other Hawai'i surfers, Kai Barger of Maui and Casey Brown of the Big Island were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
The contest was open to surfers are 20 and younger.
