Siem Reap, Cambodia, February 9, 2020 - With the United States guaranteed the top two spots on the US$25,000 Anchor Beach Volleyball Carnival podium here Sunday, Lauren Fendrick and Sara Hughes validated their top seeding by winning the gold medal in their second-ever FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event together.
Competing together for the first time since February 2017, Fendrick and Hughes posted a 2-0 (21-13, 21-6) gold medal win in 36 minutes over 15th-seeded Terese Cannon and Kelly Reeves in the 23rd all-American women's finale on the FIVB World Tour since the start of sanctioned events in August 1992.
With their fifth straight victory after dropping their opening pool play match Friday to 24th-seeded qualifiers Traci Callahan and Crissy Jones of the United States, Fendrick and Hughes shared the $4,000 first-place prize while Cannon and Reeves split $3,000 for placing second in their first FIVB World Tour start together.
Competing at the Anchor Beach Volleyball Carnival net are Terese Cannon (left) and American rival Sara Hughes (center).
In the bronze medal match, fourth-seeded Yurika Sakaguchi and Chiyo Suzuki of Japan scored a 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) win in 38 minutes over 16th-seeded Sofia Bisgaard and Cecilie Olsen of Denmark. The victors shared $2,000 for placing third as Sakaguchi and Suzuki have now won six World Tour medals in 15 FIVB starts together.
Anchor Beach Volleyball bronze medal winners Chiyo Suzuki (left) and Yurika Sakaguchi of Japan
The next World Tour event for women is March 5-8 in Guam (March 5-8) followed by stops in Malaysia (March 12-15 at Langkawi), Australia (March 18-22 at Coolangatta) and Mexico (March 25-29 at Cancun).
The men resume play February 20-23 with a Cambodian stop in Phnom Penh. The men will also compete in Malaysia, Australia and Mexico along single gender stops in Iran (March 3-7 at Bandar Abbas) and Qatar (March 12-15 at Doha).