Phuket, Thailand, November 6, 2009 -- For the fourth-straight year, the United States will be represented in the "final four" of the Phuket Thailand Open powered by PTT after the pairs of Jen Kessy/April Ross and Angie Akers/Tyra Turner each captured quarter-final matches in the winner's bracket here Friday in the US$190,000 SWATCH FIVB World Tour event on Karon Beach.

For Kessy, Ross and Turner, it is their second-straight Phuket Thailand Open semi-final appearance as all three players competed in the 2008 gold medal match. With Turner competing last November with Nicole Branagh, Kessy and Ross captured the title with an 18-21, 21-14 and 15-12 victory in the 63-minute gold medal win on the Karon Beach centre court.

American Olympic and world champions Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, who are sitting out the 2009 international season, were "final four" participants in the first two Phuket Thailand Open events in 2006 and 2007. After losing a 2006 Phuket semi-final to China's Chen Xue and Xi Zhang to eventually place third, May-Treanor and Walsh won the 2007 Karon Beach gold by defeating Branagh and Elaine Youngs in the final.

The top-seeded Kessy and Ross, who placed ninth in the 2007 Phuket Thailand Open, advanced to their 16th SWATCH FIVB World Tour "final four" in 32 international events together by posting a 24-22 and 21-16 win in 46 minutes over fourth-seeded Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel of The Netherlands.

It was Kessy and Ross'  second SWATCH quarter-final win over the Dutch after posting a win over Keizer and Van Iersel at August's Austrian Grand Slam in Klagenfurt. Kessy and Ross opened Phuket Thailand Open play Friday by defeating 24th-seeded Ying Huang and Xi Zhang of China 21-17 and 21-14 in 39 minutes.

Turner, who placed fifth in the 2007 Phuket Thailand Open with Rachel Wacholder after being eliminated by Branagh and Youngs, and Akers advanced to their third-straight SWATCH FIVB World Tour semi-final and fourth this season in 11 events with a 21-9, 19-21 and 15-10 in 48 minutes over 30th-seeded qualifiers Elsa Baquerizo and Liliana Fernandez Steiner of Spain.

The quarter-final win was Akers and Turner's third-straight three-set win as the Americans opened play with a 16-21, 21-19 and 15-4 win over 23rd-seeded qualifier Ekaterina Khomyakova and Anastasia Vasina of Russia. With the two wins Friday, Akers and Turner will be looking for their second-straight SWATCH medal after placing third last week in China where they were defeated by Kessy and Ross 22-20, 19-21 and 15-11 in a 60-minute semi-final on the Sanya centre court.

With the Phuket Thailand Open being the 202nd SWATCH FIVB World Tour event since the start of the women's international circuit in 1992, Elsa and Liliana are now guaranteed a fifth this week to post Spain's best-ever finish for the gender. The previous best placements for Spanish women teams were ninths, including two in 2008 by the pairs of Nadia Campisi/Clara Lozano (Gstaad, Switzerland) and Ester Alcon/Olga Matveeva (Marseille, France).

The teams of Keizer/Van Iersel and Elsa/Liliana will have a second opportunity to qualify for the 2009 Phuket Thailand Open semi-final Saturday as the event is the final stop on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour. The Phuket Thailand Open continues through Sunday with the semi-finals being played Saturday afternoon followed by the medal matches the next day where the winning team splits the $30,000 first-place prize.

Elsa and Liliana, who failed to qualify for last week's SWATCH stop in Sanya, will play the winner of the opening match Saturday morning between 17th-seeded Lauren Fendrick/Ashley Ivy of the United States and 19th-seeded Xue/Linjun Ji of China for a semi-final spot opposite of Kessy and Ross. Xue captured the first Phuket Thailand Open title in 2006 with her Beijing 2008 Olympic bronze medal partner Zhang.

Keizer and Van Iersel, who are seeking their third semi-final appearance this season in 13 FIVB events, will be challenged by either sixth-seeded Vassiliki Arvaniti/Maria Tsiartsiani of Greece or 22nd-seeded Maria Bratkova/Evgenia Ukolova of Russia for a "final four" berth opposite of Akers and Turner.