TLAXCALA, MEXICO — Chase Budinger and Miles Evans piled it on. Had to. Had to run the score up as much as they possibly could against Ukraine’s Sergiy Popov and Eduard Reznik in the final round of pool play at the Beach Volleyball World Championships.
A win alone, after losing to Brazil’s George and Andre (17-21, 22-24) and Trevor Crabb and Theo Brunner (18-21, 18-21) in the first two rounds wouldn’t be enough. With a tiebreak between teams tied for third and fourth place in pool coming down to point differential, a win, should they alas get one, needed to be big. Nothing shy of their best match of the year was required.
The best is what they gave, a 21-15, 21-11 shellacking of a white-hot Ukrainian team. In a span barely longer than half an hour, Budinger and Evans had erased their -12 point differential and flipped it to a +4, which made the match happening simultaneously on center court, between Crabb and Brunner and George and Andre, suddenly infinitely more intriguing.
Once in a seemingly safe position, both teams were now in the odd scenario of a win likely being good enough to claim the top spot in pool — and a loss sending them home packing in fourth.
A late comeback in the first set for Brunner and Crabb, who stared down the barrel of a 16-19 deficit to tie it up at 19-19, was snuffed short with one final block from Andre, who tallied four on the set to seal it, 21-19.
Crabb and Brunner had no idea they were now on the verge of elimination.
Neither did George and Andre.
Another 21-19 score in the second, this one to Crabb and Brunner.
To three they went.
It felt as if the World Championship was on the line. For the loser, it was. Problem was, they didn’t know. Had no way of knowing.
A back and forth affair, that third set. A Brunner block gave the USA its biggest edge of the set at 10-8. A scramble rally won kept it at 11-9. Crabb sided out for 13-10. Then came the break: An error from George.
14-10, USA.
Four match points.
Brazil side-out to make it 14-11. George dug a Brunner angle swing and converted.
14-12.
Brunner’s next swing went wide but wait! Hold on. Check with the ref. Was that a touch?
Touch.
15-12 USA.
Crabb and Brunner, once on the verge of getting knocked out, claimed the top spot in pool.
George and Andre, once on the verge of claiming the top spot in pool, knocked out.
Bedlam in Tlaxcala.
Evans and Budinger, the team who only made it into the tournament due to Gambia having visa issues,…
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