USA Olympic hopefuls Dalhausser/Lucena start fast with men’s pool play win at FIVB Cincinnati Open

Mason, Ohio, USA, May 18, 2016 – Phil Dalhausser, a veteran of the last two Olympiads, took a moment to ponder not only what it would take to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games but also what kind of seeding would be most favorable once he and partner Nick Lucena reach their goal.Then Dalhausser caught himself.“You can do all the little numbers and whatever,” Dalhausser said. “But if anything, if you worry about it, it takes you off your game.”That came moments after the second-seeded men’s team in the double-gender FIVB Cincinnati Open, presented by AVP, escaped a disastrous start by defeating Switzerland’s Adrian Heidrich and Gabriel Kissling, 21-16, 20-22, 16-14, to open pool play in the main draw at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. The men played one of their three pool play matches on Wednesday and will finish with two final pool play matches on Thursday before single elimination play starts on Friday.Dalhausser/Lucena, who are battling Jake Gibb/Casey Patterson plus John Hyden/Tri Bourne for the two United States slots in Olympic qualifying, had to rally from a 7-3 deficit in the third game. They righted their ship with five consecutive points, with Lucena scrambling to save one point and Dalhausser scoring with three blocks during the run.“Yeah, I guess you could call it rust,” Dalhausser said. “It wasn’t how we planned it. We kind of took off the gas in the second. We got a little bit of a lead and they came back and it almost screwed us.”It was the first time the duo took the court since they pulled out of the AVP Huntington Beach Open after one match a week and a half ago due to Lucena’s sore right shoulder. It was a precautionary move with three FIVB World Tour events that are the final three Olympic qualifying events looming for Dalhuasser and Lucena, who still need to play at least one more tournament in order reach the minimum eligibility requirement of 12 tournament participations.“It’s doing …

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