Pepperdine, USC recruits lose in Round of 24 at U19 World Championship

The two U.S. teams with incoming college men’s volleyball recruits advanced beyond the pool-play stage but could not go further in the FIVB U19 Beach Volleyball World Championship.

Pepperdine recruit Rob Mullahey and his partner Clay Messenger along with the team of USC recruit Lucas Lossone and Adian Brown both lost in the Round of 24 and were eliminated from the international tournament during the weekend.


Both pairs representing the United States were among the 24 teams in the 32-team tournament field that qualified for the elimination round following pool-play.

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Mullahey and Messenger lost to the New Zealand’s Daniel Kilpatrick and Gregory David Vukets 21-16, 21-19 in its Round of 24 match. The U.S. pair finished its pool in third place and swept Namibia’s Daniel and Fabian Pfeiffer to earn Pool C’s final berth to the Round of 24.

The other U.S. team of Lossone and Brown lost to Latvia’s Mihails Samoilovs and Kristaps Smits 21-16, 21-19 in its opening match of the elimination round. In addition, Lossone and Brown finished a three-way tie for second place Pool F, including defeating the German pair of Dan John and Simon Kulzer to help secure a berth in the Round of 24.

Lossone is the third USC player to compete at an international beach volleyball event. USC outside attackers Lucas Yoder and Christopher Orenic finished in the top 25 at the beach volleyball World Championship earlier this month.

A U.S men’s team has not medaled at the FIVB U19 Beach Volleyball World Championship since Yoder and Long Beach State outside attacker TJ DeFalco won the bronze medal in 2013. This was one of three medals the United States has won at the event’s 14-year history.