(July 01, 2002)

FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Resumes Play In Norway
Pro Beach Volleyball Leaders through June 30 at end of release

STAVANGER NORWAY (July 1, 2002) After a weekend off, the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour resumes play here this week (July 2-7) for the fourth annual event on the docks of Norway's fourth largest city, often referred to as the country's largest "small town".

For the first time, the Stavanger stop will feature women's competition in the harbor town with a history of more than 900 years. The FIVB stop has become the most important summer sporting event in Norway, according to Vegard Hoidalen, who, with his partner Jorre André Kjemperud, is a fixture on the World Tour. "It's a great atmosphere," Hoidalen says. 'The whole town stops for this event."

More than 140 teams from 30 nations will entertain the packed stadium on the harbor of what is now the oil capital of Norway. While not playing, the competitors and fans will also have an opportunity to enjoy "Old Stavanger", a very pretty and vibrant part of town, with its small, wooden houses and cobblestone streets.

The women's Qualification Tournament will open play Tuesday to determine the final eight berths in the 32-team Main Draw that starts Thursday.

The women's semifinals and medal rounds will be played Saturday as the United States' Misty May and Kerri Walsh seek their third-straight Gold Medal on the 2002 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. The winning teams in each gender will share the $22,500 first-place prize.

The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour will return to North American after the Norway stop. Canada hosts the world's best pro beach players June 9-14 in Montreal with the international circuit traveling back to Europe for a July 16-21 Grand Slam event in Marseille, France.

With the FIVB staging events the next seven weeks, the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) will be idle until the annual Manhattan Beach Open August 9-11. The AVP Tour has staged events four the past five weeks with Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs winning all four women's stops.

USA Women's Main Draw Norway entries (July 4-6) - Misty May (Costa Mesa, Calif.)/Kerri Walsh (Saratoga, Calif.), Holly McPeak (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)/Elaine Youngs (Durango, Colo.) and Dianne DeNecochea (San Diego, Calif./Barbra Fontana (Manhattan Beach, Calif.).

USA Women Qualification Tournament Norway entries (July 2-3) - Danalee Bragado (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)/Rachel Wacholder (El Segundo, Calif.), Carrie Busch (Hermosa Beach, Calif.)/Leanne Schuster (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Cary Wendell (San Clemente, Calif.)/Ali Wood (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and April Chapple Zanella (Beverly Hills, Calif.) /MJ Smith (Lake Balboa, Calif.).

FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour
July 2-7, 2002 at Stavanger, Norway

Main Draw Entries
· Natalie Cook/Kerri Pottharst, Australia
· Adriana Behar/Shelda Bede, Brazil
· Leila Barros/Sandra Pires, Brazil
· Ana Paula Connelly/Tatiana Minello, Brazil
· Lina Yanchulova/Petia Yanchulova, Bulgaria
· Nancy Gougeon/Marie-Andrée Lessard, Canada
· Tian Jia/Wang Fei, China
· Valle Crespo/Dalixia Larrea Peraza, Cuba
· Tamara Fernandez Grasset/Yoselin Roque Palacios, Cuba
· Marika Teknedzjanova/Tereza Tobiasova, Czech Republic (1)
· Eva Celbova/Sona Dosoudilova, Czech Republic
· Stephanie Pohl/Okka Rau, Germany
· Vassiliki Karadassiou/Efrosyni Sfyri, Greece
· Daniela Gattelli/Lucilla Perrotta, Italy
· Chiaki Kusuhara/Ryoko Tokuno, Japan
· Rebekka Kadijk/Marritt Leenstra, Netherlands
· Susanne Glesnes/Kathrine Maaseide, Norway
· Heidi Byberg/Kristine Wiig, Norway
· Nila Ann Hakedal/Ingrid Torlen, Norway
· Granstrom/Ljungquist, Sweden
· Rattanaporn Arlaisuk/Manatsanan Pangka, Thailand
· Misty May/Kerri Walsh, United States
· Holly McPeak/Elaine Youngs, United States
· Dianne DeNecochea/Barbra Fontana, United States
· Eight (8) Qualification Tournament Teams

residence (titles), Points
1. Holly McPeak, Manhattan Beach, Calif. (4), 756
Elaine Youngs, Durango, Colo. (4), 756
3. Annett Davis, Tarzana, Calif., 594
Jenny Johnson Jordan, Tarzana, Calif., 594
5. Barbra Fontana, Manhattan Beach, Calif., 554
Dianne DeNecochea, San Diego, Calif., 554
7. Carrie Busch, Hermosa Beach, Calif., 540
Leanne Schuster, Manhattan Beach, Calif., 540
9. Lisa Arce, Redondo Beach, Calif., 481
Linda Hanley, Pacific Palisades, Calif., 481
11. Rachel Wacholder, El Segundo, Calif., 423
12. Nancy Mason, Hermosa Beach, Calif., 398

2002 AVP Earnings (Through June 30, 2002)

residence (titles), Earnings
1. Holly McPeak, Manhattan Beach, Calif. (4), $30,450.00
Elaine Youngs, Durango, Colo. (4), $30,450.00
3. Dianne DeNecochea, San Diego, Calif., $15,850.00
Barbra Fontana, Manhattan Beach, Calif., $15,850.00
5. Annett Davis, Tarzana, Calif., $14,195.00
Jennifer Johnson Jordan, Tarzana, Calif., $14,195.00
7. Carrie Busch, Hermosa Beach, Calif., $11,070.00
Leanne Schuster, Manhattan Beach, Calif., $11,070.00
9. Lisa Arce, Redondo Beach, Calif., $8,512.50
Linda Hanley, Pacific Palisades, Calif., $8,512.50
11. Rachel Wacholder, El Segundo, Calif., $6,912.50
12. Nancy Mason, Hermosa Beach, Calif., $6,542.50

2002 AVP SCHEDULE - A total of seven combined men's and women's events highlight the seven-stop schedule for the AVP.

Date, City, State, Site (Women Winners)
May 24-26, Huntington Beach, Calif. (Holly McPeak/Elaine Youngs)
June 7-9, Hermosa Beach, Calif. (McPeak/Youngs)
June 14-16, Santa Barbara, Calif. (McPeak/Youngs)
June 28-30, Belmar, N.J. (McPeak/Youngs)
August 9-11, Manhattan Beach, Calif., The Pier
August 23-25, Chicago, Ill., North Beach
September 4-7, Las Vegas, Nev., Hard Rock Hotel

2002 AVP Tour - Final Four Finishes

Huntington Beach, Calif. (May 24-26)
1. Holly McPeak/Elaine Youngs
2. Dianne DeNecochea/Barbra Fontana
3. Annett Davis/Jenny Johnson Jordan
3. Lisa Arce/Linda Hanley
Title Match (winners split $14,500; losers split $9,750) - McPeak/Youngs (No.
1-seeded main Draw Team) def. DeNecochea/Fontana (2), 21-18, 20-22 and 15-9
(69 minutes).

Hermosa Beach, Calif. (June 7-9)
1. McPeak/Youngs
2. DeNecochea/Fontana
3. Davis/Johnson Jordan
3. Carrie Busch/Leanne Schuster
Title Match (winners split $17,400; losers split $11,700) - McPeak/Youngs (1)
def. DeNecochea/Fontana (2), 21-15 and 21-14 (38).

Santa Barbara, Calif. (June 14-16)
1. McPeak/Youngs
2. DeNecochea/Fontana
3. Davis/Johnson Jordan
3. Busch/Schuster
Title Match (winners split $14,500; losers split $9,750) - McPeak/Youngs (1)
def. DeNecochea/Fontana (2), 21-15 and 21-13 (45).

Belmar, N. J. (June 28-30)
1. McPeak/Youngs
2. Davis/Johnson Jordan
3. Nancy Mason/Rachel Wacholder
3. Busch/Schuster
Title Match (winners split $14,500; losers split $9,750) - McPeak/Youngs (1)
def. Davis/Johnson Jordan (3) 16-21, 21-14 and 15-12 (60).

FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour

The next FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event is July 2-7 in Stavanger, Norway.

Women's Points (through June 22, 2002)

Rank, Team, Country, Earnings
1. Misty May/Kerri Walsh, United States (2 Golds), $45,000
2. Natalie Cook/Kerri Pottharst, Australia (2 Bronzes), $23,880
3. Ana Paula Connelly/Tatiana Minello, Brazil (1 Silver), $21,675
4. Adriana Behar/Shelda Bede, Brazil (1 Silver), $18,900
5. Alexandra Fonseca/Mônica Rodrigues, Brazil, $18,600
6. Daniela Gattelli/Lucilla Perrotta, Italy, $13,350
7. Eva Celbova/Sona Dosoudilova, Czech Republic, $10,575
Stephanie Pohl/Okka Rau, Germany, $10,575
9. Leia Barros/Sandra Pires, Brazil, $9,195
10. Laura Bruschini/Annamaria Solazzi, Italy, $8,325
11. Lina Yanchulova/Petia Yanchulova, Bulgaria, $7,800
Susanne Glesnes/Kathrine Maaseide, Norway, $7,800
Tamara Fernandez Grasset/Yoselin Roque Palacios, Cuba, $7,800
14. Holly McPeak/Elaine Youngs, United States, $6,675
15. Annette Hugyens-Tholen/Nicole Sanderson, Australia, $6,420
Nicole Benoît/Simone Kuhn, Switzerland, $6,420

2002 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Schedule

Dates, Country, Site (Gold Medallists)
June 5-9, Spain, Madrid (May/Walsh)
June 18-22, Switzerland, Gstaad (May/Walsh)
July 2-6, Norway, Stavanger
July 9-13, Canada, Montréal
July 16-20, France, Marseille
July 24-28, Greece, Rhodes
July 31- August 3, Austria, Klagenfurt
August 7-11, Japan, Osaka
August 14-18, China, Maoming
September 3-7, Spain, Mallorca
September 17-22, Brazil, Vitoria

2002 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour - Final Finishes

Madrid, Spain (June 5-9)
1. Misty May/Kerri Walsh, United States
2. Ana Paula Connelly/Tatiana Minello, Brazil
3. Natalie Cook/Kerri Pottharst, Australia
4. Alexandra Fonseca/Mônica Rodrigues, Brazil
Gold Medal Match (winners split $22,500; losers split $15,000) - May/Walsh,
United States (No. 2-seeded Main Draw Team) def. Ana Paula/Minello, Brazil
(18), 23-21 and 21-14 (35 minutes)
Bronze Medal Match (winners split $11,940; losers split $9,300) -
Cook/Pottharst, Australia (3) def. Alexandra/Mônica, Brazil (29, No.
36-seeded Qualification Tournament Team), 21-10 and 21-17 (34).

Gstaad, Switzerland (June 18-22)
1. May/Walsh, United States
2. Adriana Behar/Shelda Bede, Brazil
3. Cook/Pottharst, Australia
4. Alexandra Fonseca/Mônica Rodrigues, Brazil
Gold Medal Match (winners split $22,500; losers split $15,000) - May/Walsh,
United States (2) def. Ana Paula/Minello, Brazil (1), 21-17 and 21-17 (39).
Bronze Medal Match (winners split $11,940; losers split $9,300) -
Cook/Pottharst, Australia (5) def.. Alexandra/Mônica, Brazil (6), 21-19 and
21-15 (39).

[Source: Tim Simmons, 303/678-8484; 303/678-7474 (FAX)]