Men's and women's beach volleyball competition continued on Friday at the Paris Olympics at Eiffel Tower Stadium. Below are the details from each match.
Women's Pool E: Japan def. Lithuania
The Japan women's team of Akiko Hasegawa/Miki Ishii handily defeated the Lithuanian team of Monika Paulikiene/Aine Raupelyte, 2-0, to open the beach volleyball competition on Friday.
Japan came out strong and won the first set, 21-11, going 14 of 20 on the attack.
The Japanese maintained control against Lithuania in the second set, jumping out to a commanding 15-4 lead. Hasegawa and Ishii dominated and won the second set on an ace serve, 21-5.
Japan recorded two blocks and four aces in the match to earn its first victory as a pair. Hasegawa and Ishii will await the results of other matches to determine whether they will advance.
Lithuania drops to 0-3 on the tournament and has been eliminated.
Men's Pool B: Chile def. Italy
Chile's Esteban Grimalt/Marco Grimalt defeated Italy's Adrian Carambula/Alex Ranghieri in a tight contest, 2-0.
Chile took control in the opening set, pulling ahead to secure a 21-15 victory against the Italian duo. Chile delivered stellar defense throughout, tallying four digs and three blocks.
Both teams were evenly matched in the second set as they traded scores back and forth. The Italians were trailing but nabbed back-to-back points to even the score at 17 apiece. With the scored tied at 19, Ranghieri served an ace to force a set point. Chile kept fighting,though, and saved two set points to win the second set, 23-21.
The victory is Chile's first of the tournament while Italy's record drops to 1-2.
Men's Pool E: Canada def. Austria
Canada’s Daniel Dearing/Samuel Schachter easily defeated Austria’s Alexander Horst/Julian Hoerl, 21-16, 21-15, to wrap Pool E action on Friday.
The Canadians jumped out to an early advantage and never let up, leading 11-8 at one point and carrying that momentum through the first set.
Dearing/Schachter did the same in the second set, taking a 7-3 lead and coasting past the winless Austrians.
The Canadian duo will have to wait and see how the competition plays out today as they hope to qualify for the Round of 16.
Women's Pool C: Czechia def. France
Barbora Hermannova/Marie-Sara Stochlova of Czechia beat Clemence Vieira/Aline Chamereau for their first Olympic win in Pool C.
Czechia ran away with the first set, 21-13, but France bounced back and won its first set of the tournament, 21-18.
A back-and-forth match resulted in a third set where Czechia pulled away for a 15-9 win. Hermannova/Stochlova went on a 4-0 run to take a 9-6 lead, and that's all the Czechs needed to grab the win.
Men's Pool F: Spain def. USA
Miles Evans/Chase Budinger of the United States fell to Spain’s Pablo Herrera/Adrian Gavira on Friday, dropping the U.S. to 1-2 in Pool F play.
Spain — the longest-tenured beach volleyball team in the Paris Games — clinched a spot in the Round of 16. The U.S. will have to see how action plays out and will likely need to earn a spot through the “lucky loser” matches that will take place on Saturday.
Men's Pool F: France def. Netherlands
Dutch duo Stefan Boermans/Yorick De Groot continued their perfect Olympics with a 21-15, 21-16 win over France's Youssef Krou/Arnaud Gauthier-Rat.
The Netherlands pair registered 13 digs in the win and finish atop Pool F, while the French finish 0-3 and confirm that U.S. duo of Miles Evans and Chase Budinger will play in the lucky loser playoffs on Saturday.
Women’s Pool E: Brazil def. Netherlands
Brazil’s Carol/Barbara handed Katja Stam/Raisa Schoon of the Netherlands their first loss of pool play, 2-1 (16-21, 21-17, 19-17).
The Netherlands narrowly nabbed the first set, 21-16. The lead went back and forth all throughout, but Brazil committed three consecutive errors to deliver the set win to the Netherlands.
Brazil came out hot in the second set, creating a 7-3 lead, and managed to keep Stam and Schoon at arm’s length the rest of the way to force a third set. Brazil’s Barbara sealed the set with a floater, 21-17.
In the decider, Carol and Barbara jumped out to another early advantage on a six-point swing, 8-4, but the Netherlands slowly chipped away and extended the set. Brazil’s Carol ended the match with a block at the net.
Both pairs have already secured their spots in the Round of 16.
Men's Pool B: Norway def. Netherlands
Defending gold medalists Anders Mol/Christian Sorum of Norway took their third win in as many matches to finish Pool B play, running through Dutch duo Matthew Immers/Steven Van de Velde in straight sets.
The win guarantees Norway a spot in the Round of 16, where Mol/Sorum will be a top seed.
In was a close match given it went two sets, with the Norwegians winning 21-16, 21-19. The Netherlands actually out-attacked Norway by one, but the big-match experience factor was too much to overcome.
Men's Pool E: Brazil def. Czechia
Brazil’s Evandro/Arthur bested Czechia’s Ondrej Perusic/David Schweiner in straight sets, 21-18, 21-16, during the final match of Pool E.
The two sides went point-for-point in the first set until they were tied at 15 apiece, but Brazil unleashed a 3-0 run to seize control. Evandro – one of the strongest servers and spikers in the world – overwhelmed Czechia.
The second set told a similar story, as a 4-0 Brazilian run created all the separation Evandro/Arthur needed.
Both teams will qualify for the Round of 16 as they are the top two teams points-wise in Pool E. Evandro/Aruthur will go into the next round riding a three-game winning streak while Perusic/Schweiner will look to gain momentum in their next matchup.
Women's Pool C: USA def. Germany
Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes of the United States defeated Germany’s Svenja Mueller/Cinja Tillmann in straight sets, 21-18, 21-18, to finish undefeated in beach volleyball Pool C play.
It was a convincing win for the Americans, who outplayed a strong German side and have thus far lived up to the billing of a gold medal contender through three matches.
Both teams already qualified for the Round of 16 before the match, but Cheng/Hughes advance with extra momentum riding a three-match win streak.