Johnson/Kiraly & Agrentina Pair Earn Medal Round Berths

NEW YORK, N. Y. - The final two berths for the medal round semi-finals in the 1998 Goodwill Games men's beach volleyball competition were determined here Friday (July 24) with the tandems of Adam Johnson/Karch Kiraly of the United States and Martin Conde/Esteban Martinez of Argentina earning spots.

Saturday's two sessions at Wollman Rink in Central Park start at 12 p.m. (EDT) and 4:30 p.m. with the two semi-final matches scheduled for 1:15 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. The men's Gold and Bronze medal matches will be Sunday starting at 12 p.m. The Goodwill Games men's beach competition features $100,000 in prize money with Sunday's winners sharing $30,000 for first-place in the FIVB-sanctioned event.

Saturday's first semi-final match features Group B round-robin pool play winner Julien Prosser and Leo Zahner of Australia against Johnson and Kiraly. The Brazilian tandem of Guilherme Marques and Para Ferreira, who won the Group A pool play with a perfect 3-0 mark, play Conde and Martinez in the second semi-final at Wollman Rink in Central Park.

In a 63-minute match that featured four ties and 84-sideouts, Johnson and Kiraly rallied from a 3-0 deficit at the start to take an 11-7 lead over Ricci Luyties and Sinjin Smith, the Goodwill Games' other USA entry. The match was tied at 12s and 14s before Johnson's service ace and Kiraly's kill netted the win.

Martin and Paul Laciga of Switzerland eliminated Jan Kvalheim and Bjorn Maaseide of Norway from medal contention earlier Friday evening, lifting Conde and Martinez into the medal round. The Lacigas rallied from a 14-11 deficit to score a 16-14 decision over Kvalheim and Maaseide to oust the Goodwill Games defending champions from medal contention. The Norweigians had to win the match by four points or better against the Swiss to advance.

However, the Lacigas mounted a "tremendous" comeback to tie Kvalheim and Maaseide in the Group B standings with a 1-2 marks. The Norweigians had a better point differential (minus-2 to minus-9) to earn a spot in the fifth-sixth playoff, while the Lacigas will play for seventh in the overall Goodwill Games standings.

With the Swiss win, Conde and Martinez advanced as the second-place Group B team while Prosser and Zahner of Australia won the pool. Both teams tied with a 2-1 marks with the Aussies having a point differential edge (plus-8 to plus-3). Prosser and Zahner downed Conde and Martinez 15-7 in Friday's first match before the Brazilians rallied to defeat John Child and Mark Heese of Canada 15-11. Guilherme and Para, the top-rated team on the 1998 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, were down 6-0 to the Canadians before rallying to take a 10-9 lead. The two teams were tied at 11-11 before Brazil scored the last four points.

Saturday's play begins at 12 p.m. with the fifth- and sixth-place playoff game followed by the first semi-final match in the 1998 Goodwill Games. Kvalheim and Maaseide face Child and Heese, who won the Bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, in the fifth-place match. Luyties and Smith challenge the Lacigas at 4:30 p.m. for seventh-place followed by the second semi-final match at approximately 5:45 p.m.