Kiraly, Johnson Advance to Main Draw

San Clemente’s Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson defeated Russia’s Drmitri Karasev and Sergey Sayfulin, 15-6, Thursday to advance to today’s main draw of the FIVB tournament in Klagenfurt, Austria.

Kiraly and Johnson are the third-ranked U.S. team in the Olympic qualification rankings and need a 13th-place finish or better to improve their rankings point total. Only two more Olympic qualifying tournaments remain.

Kiraly and Johnson trail the top-ranked U.S. team of Kevin Wong and Rob Heidger and the No. 2 team of Eric Fonoimoana and Dain Blanton, formerly of Laguna Beach High. The top two ranked teams qualify for the Olympics.

* Misty May, formerly of Newport Harbor High, and Holly McPeak are the top-seeded team in the main draw for the FIVB women’s event at Osaka, Japan, which begins today. May, who was sidelined with a pulled stomach muscle, and McPeak have missed the last two FIVB events.

Tarzana’s Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan are the top-ranked U.S. team in the Olympic qualification rankings and Liz Masakayan and Elaine Youngs, formerly of El Toro High, are the second-ranked team in the U.S.