Sochi, Russia, May 8, 2016 - After a listless semi-final setback to a team from Italy Saturday, Americans Tri Bourne and John Hyden bounced back here Sunday in the Sochi Open bronze medal match to post a three-set win over another team from the European country - Adrian Carambula and Alex Ranghieri.
Seeded third in the US$150,000 FIVB World Tour event, Bourne and Hyden scored’ a 2-0 (21-19, 19-21, 15-9) win in 49 minutes over the fifth-seeded Italians as Carambula and Ranghieri are currently the No. 1 team on the international circuit's 2015-2016 ranking list with two gold medals to their credit this season.
Interview with Sochi Open men's bronze medal winners Bourne/Hyden of the United States
When asked about a slow start against the Italians after trailing 4-1 and 6-2 in the first set, the 43-year old Hyden said it "was tough sitting around all day waiting to play at 4 p.m. We recovered and got back in the match with a pair of 5-point runs. I just glad we picked it up and defeated a very good team."
Bourne and Hyden, who dropped a 2-0 (21-17, 21-13) semi-final decision in 34 minutes to ninth-seeded Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai of Italy Saturday evening, shared the $6,000 third-place prize. Carambula and Ranghieri split $4,500 for finishing four.
The bronze medal was Bourne and Hyden's third this season and four overall in 27 FIVB World Tour events together. Three weeks ago in Xiamen, China, the Americans placed second. Bourne and Hyden, who are now 2-2 against Carambula and Ranghieri on the FIVB World Tour, were third last November in the Qatar Open in Doha.
Carambula and Ranghieri were playing in the bronze medal match after losing Saturday to eighth-seeded Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Konstantin Semenov 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) in 37 minutes.