Elite16 - Gstaad, SUI - 2026

Cruz & Brasher make it three in a row in Gstaad

Cheng & Kraft settle for silver after all-American final; Stam & Schoon celebrate bronze in Switzerland

Published 06:44, 05 Jul 2026

Cruz/Brasher (USA) vs Kraft/Cheng (USA) - Final 1st Place #111762596

Kristen Cruz & Taryn Brasher triumphed at the Gstaad Elite for the third consecutive time. The American pair also picked up their third gold out of four appearances on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour in 2026, after the Joao Pessoa Elite and the Saquarema Elite, extending their Tour total to 14 gold medals, in addition to four silvers and two bronzes.

Watch the Gstaad Elite on VBTV

Another US duo – Kelly Cheng & Megan Kraft – brought home Gstaad silver on Sunday. It was their second podium together since the team’s debut on the Beach Pro Tour, which was decorated with a Joao Pessoa Elite bronze in March.

Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon of the Netherlands prevented an all-American sweep of the women’s podium in Switzerland, by beating USA’s Julia Donlin & Lexy Denaburg to the bronze. It was the second consecutive podium for the Dutch pair, after the Ostrava Elite silver they claimed last month. They have now collected a total of 13 medals on the Beach Pro Tour.

Gstaad bracket leaders Kristen Cruz & Taryn Brasher of the United States cruised to the title on a perfect run of seven wins in seven matches played at the tournament, dropping only one set in one of their pool matches. Interestingly, in their last five games, they faced fellow American opponents. Cruz & Brasher started their Sunday with a tight 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) semifinal victory over fifth-seeded Donlin & Denaburg. While Brasher impressed with five kill blocks in that game, Cruz delivered a match-high total of 20 points. In the gold medal showdown, last year’s FIVB World Championship silver medalists met 2023 world champion Kelly Cheng and her current partner Megan Kraft. This all-American duel went 2-0 (21-19, 21-15) Cruz & Brasher’s way, with another five stuffs from Brasher towards a match-high 19 points, including the match winner.

“That was just absolutely unreal! I think I am absolutely mind-blown right now,” Cruz told VBTV after the final. “This stadium is something very, very special. Gstaad really means so much to us every single year!”

15^th-seeded Cheng & Kraft also dropped only one set on the way to the gold medal showdown. In their semifinal, they put together a 2-0 (21-13, 21-19) shutout of Netherlands’ Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon.

The seventh-seeded Dutch duo finished the tournament on a 5-3 win-loss record and that was enough for a spot on the podium. In the bronze medal match, Stam & Schoon beat Donlin & Denaburg by 2-0 (21-19, 21-11) to take third place in the final standings.