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AVL Players Rank Among The World's Best
CARLSBAD, CALIF. - Four teams from the newly-created American Volleyball League are ranked among the top eight tandems on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour rankings.
Led by Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak, the four teams begin competing Friday (August 7) in a FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour event at Osaka, Japan. The Osaka stop is the first of two Asia events for the international circuit as the women compete in Dalian, China August 14-16.
Three other AVL tandems of Krista Blomquist/Ali Wood, Marla O'Hara/Kristen Schritter and Annett Buckner-Davis/Jenny Johnson-Jordan will be attempting to qualify as the fifth AVL in the 32-team Osaka main draw starting Wednesday.
The AVL will stage its inaugural women's professional beach volleyball tournament August 28-30 in Del Mar, Calif., before launching a proposed 11-event schedule in 1999. Recently formed, the AVL has been licensed by Trident Media Group, Inc. to host the women's professional beach volleyball tour in the United States. The $100,000 Del Mar Open will feature a 32-team main draw double-elimination competition.
The Del Mar Open will be the second domestic event of the 1998 season for the AVL women. Arce won the 1998 Op Best of the Beach Invitational in Huntington Beach, Calif., with Angela Rock second in the competition to determine the United States best women's beach volleyball player. Barbra Fontana and Holly McPeak tied for third.
Arce and McPeak, who won a Bronze medal Sunday at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York, currently rank fourth on the FIVB standings followed by Fontana and Linda Hanley, who won a FIVB event in Portugal last weekend by beating the second-ranked team internationally (Sandra Pires/Adriana Samuel) in the finals. The AVL tandems of Karolyn Kirby/Liz Masakayan (sevneth) and Nancy Reno/Elaine Youngs (eighth) are also ranked international.
| Rank | Team, Country (1998 event titles) | Points | Earnings |
| 1 | Shelda Bede/Adriana Behar, BRA (3) | 2,602 | $140,000 |
| 2 | Sandra Pires/Adriana Samuel, BRA (2) | 2,393 | $102,000 |
| 3 | Monica Rodrigues/Jackie Silva, BRA | 2,155 | $59,000 |
| 4 | Lisa Arce/Holly McPeak, USA | 1,928 | $46,500 |
| 5 | Barbra Fontana/Linda Hanley, USA (1) | 1,642 | $74,000 |
| 6 | Pauline Manser/Kerri Pottharst, AUS | 1,456 | $58,850 |
| 7 | Karolyn Kirby/Liz Masakayan, USA | 1,298 | $30,350 |
| 8 | Nancy Reno/Elaine Youngs, USA | 1,252 | $30,050 |
| 9 | Maike Friedrichsen/Danja Musch, GER | 1,120 | $27,500 |
| 10 | Laura Bruschini/Annamarie Solazzi, ITA | 1,038 | $20,850 |
| NA | Krista Blomquist/Ali Wood, USA | 479 | $13,900 |
| NA | Annett Davis/Jenny Jordan, USA | 130 | $3,200 |
| NA | Marla O'Hara/Kristen Schritter, USA | NA | $0 |
1998 FIVB Results
Feb 26-March 1 at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1st - Bede/Behar, Brazil
2nd - Manser/Pottharst, Australia
3rd - Pires/Silva, Brazil
4th - Friedrichsen/Musch, Germany
June 18-21 at Toronto, Canada
1st - Pires/Samuel, Brazil
2nd - Bede/Behar, Brazil
3rd - Arce/McPeak, United States
4th - Fontana/Hanley, United States
July 3-5 at Vasto, Italy
1st - Bede/Behar, Brazil
2nd - Rodrigues/J. Silva, Brazil
3rd - Pires/Samuel, Brazil
4th - Fontana/Hanley, United States
July 23-25 at Marseille, France
1st - Pires/Samuel, Brazil
2nd - Bede/Behar, Brazil
3rd - Rodrigues/Silva, Brazil
4th - Fontana/Hanley, United States
July 29-August 2 at New York (Goodwill Games)
1st - Bede/Behar, Brazil
2nd - Manser/Pottharst, Australia
3rd - Arce/McPeak, United States
4th - Bruschini/Solazzi, Italy
July 31-August 2 at Espinho, Portugal
1st - Fontana/Hanley, United States
2nd - Pires/Samuel, Brazil
3rd - Reno/Youngs, United States
4th - Rodrigues/Silva, Brazil
Remaining 1998 FIVB Schedule
August 7-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . at Osaka, Japan
August 14-16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . at Dalian, China
September 29-October 1 . . . . . . . . . . . at Salvador, Brazil
1999 Proposed AVL Schedule
March 26-28. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Daytona Beach, FL
April 2-4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Deerfield Beach, FL
April 9-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clearwater, FL
April 27- May 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Louisville, KY
May 7-9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indianapolis, IN
May 21-23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Texas site to be announced
June 7-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Milwaukee, WI or Muskegon, MI
July 9-11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Seattle, WA
August 13-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Atlantic City, NJ
August 27-29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Del Mar, CA
September 10-12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Las Vegas, NV