Palisadians Jackson Bantle and Hagen Smith represented the United States at the FIVB U21 World Beach Volleyball Championships in Larnaca, Cyprus and they did their homeland proud.
Longtime friends, Bantle and Smith played together at Loyola High and and are currently indoor teammates at UCLA, but on the beach they play with different partners. Bantle and Harvard University’s Branden Clemens of Harvard went 2-3 but advanced out of pool play and reached the round of 16 in the knockout phase, finishing in ninth place out of 24 teams.
Smith’s partner and UCLA teammate Oliver Martin had to withdraw less than a week before. Despite never having played a tournament togther, Smith and alternate Christopher Orenic of USC made it through qualifying and went 1-4 in pool play. Smith is the son of beach volleyball great Sinjin Smith.
A few days before the U21 tournament began, the U17 World Championships were held in Acapulco, Mexico and Will Bantle, Jackson’s younger brother, also finished ninth with partner Rob Mullahey of Manhattan Beach.
— Steve Galluzzo
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