Latvia’s Samoilovs/Smedins roar to bronze medal win at FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam

Long Beach, California, USA, August 28, 2016 — A bronze medal finish for Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins of Latvia in the ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball FIVB Long Beach Grand Slam was just about the right way to finish the 2016 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.But the Latvians also got a bonus to add to their achievement. Their 21-18, 21-19 win Sunday over Italians Alex Ranghieri and Marco Caminati enabled them to capture the FIVB World Tour season points title, edging Americans Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena.The 2016 FIVB World Tour regular season is concluding in the United States with the ASICS World Series of Beach Volleyball being held through Sunday on a colorful purpose-built venue at Alamitos Beach adjacent to Marina Green Park on East Shoreline Drive. The medal bronze and gold medal matches are being played on Sunday and the awarding ceremonies for each gender are being held after the gold medal match for each gender. The women’s gold medal match played after the men’s bronze medal features USA’s top-seeded Kerri Walsh Jennings/April Ross against Spain’s seventh-seeded Liliana Fernandez/Elsa Baquerizo.“It was so important because we were fighting against Nick and Phil for points ranking winner,” said Samoilovs, a three-time Olympian. “I know that they always play well at home and almost every tournament they’re in the final. We knew that we needed to get a medal to guarantee first place.“After a not-so-successful Olympic Games it was good for our confidence. We had a great season if we’re not counting the Olympic Games. Almost every tournament we played in the final four, but the key tournament was the Olympics for sure so it’s a little bit bittersweet.”Samoilovs and …

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