Men's and women's Olympic beach volleyball quarterfinals began Tuesday at Eiffel Tower Stadium. Below are the details from each match.
Men's quarterfinals: Germany def. Netherlands
Germany's Clemens Wickler/Nils Ehlers defeated Yorick de Groot/Stefan Boermans of the Netherlands in straight sets (22-20, 21-15), advancing to the men's semifinals in convincing fashion.
A back-and-forth first set came to an end when Wickler scored two straight points to give Germany a close 22-20 Set 1 victory.
The second set wasn't as competitive, as a 3-0 run gave Germany a 10-6 lead. Wickler/Ehlers carried that momentum through to the finish.
It's a redemption arc of sorts for Wickler, who was eliminated during the Tokyo quarterfinals.
Men's quarterfinals: Sweden def. Brazil
World No. 1 team David Ahman/Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden bested Brazil’s Arthur/Evandro in straight sets (21-17, 21-16) to advance to the men’s semifinals.
The Swedes’ innovative jump set technique was too much for the Brazilians, as they powered through one of the hottest teams in the tournament in impressive fashion.
Ahman/Hellvig jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first set and traded points with Brazil for an easy Set 1 victory. The second set saw more of the same, as Arthur/Avandro couldn’t keep up with the technical prowess of Sweden.
Evandro attempted to use his power serve to overwhelm Ahman/Hellvig, but the top-ranked team handled the attacks with ease.
Ahman/Hellvig — each 22 years old — move on to the semifinals in their Olympic debut.
Women's quarterfinals: Australia def. Switzerland
Australia’s Mariafe Artacho/Taliqua Clancy knocked off Zoe Verge-Depre/Esmee Bobner of Switzerland in three tightly contested sets to reach the women’s semifinals.
Artacho/Clancy — the defending silver medallists — used experience to their advantage as they persevered through multiple Swiss runs to survive in the quarterfinals.
Australia controlled the first for a 21-19 win set before Verge-Depre/Bobner ran away with the second set, 21-16.
The third set had all the makings of big match under the lights of the Eiffel Tower, with Artacho/Clancy outlasting the Swiss in 15-12 fashion.
The Australians will look to make the podium in back-to-back Olympics.
Women's quarterfinals: Switzerland def. USA
Top-ranked Americans Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes were upset by Swiss duo Nina Brunner/Tanja Huberli (21-18, 21-19) in straight sets to be eliminated from the Olympic women’s beach volleyball tournament.
It was a frustrating night for Cheng/Hughes, who couldn’t match Switzerland's adjustments and the windy conditions at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
The Americans were out-attacked by five and were hampered by four service faults. With Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss' loss to Canada in the Round of 16 on Monday, neither highly-touted U.S. squad will have a chance to win a medal in Paris.
The loss marks the first time a U.S. women’s team won’t make the Olympic beach volleyball podium since 2000.