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Kirby, Masakayan lose opening match Defending Goodwill champs beaten by Australian pair
Posted: Wednesday July 29, 1998 08:57 PM
NEW YORK (AP) - It didn't take long for the defending women's beach volleyball champions at the Goodwill Games to find out that four-year-old titles don't count for much with the referees. The San Diego pair of Karolyn Kirby and Liz Masakayan lost to Pauline Manser and Kerri Pottharst of Australia 15-10 Wednesday in a preliminary group opener marked by arguments over officials' calls. The Americans trailed 6-0 and 10-2 before running off six points in a row to get within 10-8, and trailed 12-10 before Manser hit three straight kills. "It [the loss] puts us in a tougher spot," Masakayan said. "We're going to have to beat both of the teams we still have to play." That includes Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar of Brazil, the world's top-ranked team, who opened with a 15-1 win over Canada's Kristine Drakich and Guylaine Dumont. Two referees' calls went against Masakayan and Kirby, No. 7 in the world, including a reversal of a sideline out that would have cut the deficit to 10-9. "That was pretty crucial," Masakayan said. Pottharst and Manser, ranked No. 6, said the Americans were just looking for an edge. "I think Liz and Karolyn were searching for some help, and when there are calls that are close and you're not playing so well, you sometimes wish it would go your way," Manser said. The highest-ranked U.S. pair, No. 4 Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak of Manhattan Beach, Calif., be Italy's Laura Bruschini and Annamaria Solazzi 15-4. Maike Friedrichsen and Danja Musch of German opened the tournament with a 15-4 victory over Eva Celbova and Sona Dosoudilova of the Czech Republic.
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