The Olympic beach volleyball tournament resumes at the beautiful Eiffel Tower Stadium with pool-play competition, including Americans Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng.
Details from each match of day one are below.
Women's Pool A: Spain def. Italy
The Spanish duo of Liliana Fernandez and Paula Soria celebrated in the sand as they defeated Italians Valentina Gottardi and Marta Menegatti, 2-1.
The Spaniards needed five set points before they could lock down the opener, 24-22. Set 2, however, wasn't nearly as close as the Italians jumped to a 5-0 lead and cruised to a 21-9 win.
Set 3 was more in line with the first, and with a similar result. Denied on their first match point, Fernandez and Soria converted their second to prevail, 16-14.
Men's Pool B: Italy tops Netherlands
The Italians defeated the Netherlands, 2-1, on Sunday at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
The Dutch duo of Steven van de Velde and Matthew Immers faced off against Italians Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Ignacio Carambula Raurich in an evenly-matched first set as both teams traded points back and forth until the very end of the set.
Italy ultimately proved the victor in the first set though, mounting a strong comeback to defeat the Netherlands, 22-20.
The second match came down to match points again as the Netherlands and Italy competed back and forth to the end. The Dutch hung on to win, 21-19, to set up a deciding third set.
On the third match point of the third set, Carambula Raurich scored the game-winning point to elevate the Italians to a 15-13 set win.
Women’s Pool E: Brazil def. Japan
As expected, medal hopefuls Carol/Barbara of Brazil knocked off Japan’s Hasegawa Akiko/Miki Ishii.
The Brazilians overwhelmed Akiko/Ishii in the first set, winning 21-12 and controlling the pace of play throughout.
At 36 years old, Carol made her long-awaited Olympic debut, while Barbara won a silver medal in Rio during 2016. The duo’s experience was on full display, as they won a competitive second set by two to take the match in straight sets.
Japan put up a valiant effort in the second set, but it wasn't enough to handle the pressure of the seasoned veterans.
Women’s Pool C: Germany def. France
Germany’s Svenja Mueller/Cinja Tillman ran away with the first set against France’s Aline Chamereau/Clemence Vieira, winning 21-14.
More of the same happened in the second set, with the Germans overwhelming France to a 21-12 set win.
It was an encouraging Olympic debut for Tillman/Mueller, with the team showing effortless chemistry in the dominant victory. Mueller was a force at the net as Germany went 29-for-40 on the attack, crushing a French side that went just 14-for-41.
Women's Pool E: Netherlands def. Lithuania
It was a competitive first set between two evenly matched teams, with Dutch duo Katja Stam/Raisa Schoon taking it over Lithuania’s Monika Paulikiene/Aine Raupelyte, 21-19.
Paulikiene/Raupelyte fought hard in the first, and if it wasn't for a service error by Paulikiene, they could have come out with the early lead. But Stam/Schoon, the No. 6 team in the world entering the Olympics, proved to be too much for Lithuania’s first-ever Olympic beach volleyball team.
The Dutch veterans — competing in their second Olympics together — pulled away in the second set, eventually fending off the gritty Lithuanian effort with a 21–17 victory.
Women’s Pool A: Brazil def. Egypt
The crown jewel team of Brazilian beach volleyball, world No. 1 Ana Patricia/Duda, was tested by Egypt’s Marwa Abdelhady/Doaa Elghobashy, but came away with a straight-set victory at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
Brazil took the first set fairly easily (21-14) before Egypt rallied for an intense second set. Playing with nothing to lose against the top-ranked team in the world, Abdelhady/Elghobashy actually took a surprising 12-11 lead in the second set, and had it knotted up at 19 apiece late.
Ana Patricia/Duda’s experience and pedigree reigned supreme, but the team was tested in their Olympic opener.
Men’s Pool E: Czechia def. Canada
Ondrej Perusic/David Schweiner of Czechia, one of the strongest teams in the men’s tournament, earned a hard-fought victory over Canada’s Daniel Dearing/Samuel Schachter in Pool E play.
Perusic/Schweiner controlled the first set, which they took 21-17 before Dearing/Schachter rallied for a stronger showing in the second. The Canadians pushed the Czech squad to a 19-all tie, but couldn’t overcome the pressure from one of the world’s best teams.
Czechia was a more efficient with its offensive chances, going 24-for-34 on the attack, as Canada went 23-for-48. Seven service faults also worked against the Canadians, but Dearing/Schachter made Perusic/Schweiner work for the victory in their Olympic opener.
Men’s Pool E: Brazil def. Austria
Brazil’s Evandro/Arthur won two tightly contested sets against Austria's Julian Horl/Alexander Horst in men’s Group E play.
A back-and-forth first set led to a competitive second set, with the world No. 8 Brazilians eking out the victory. The match stats finished nearly identical by the end, but Evandro/Arthur were able to continue Brazil’s early Olympic beach volleyball success.
Men’s Pool B: Norway def. Chile
Despite winning in straight sets, defending gold medalists Anders Mol/Christian Sorum of Norway had their hands full with Chilean cousins Esteban and Marco Grimalt.
Two separate three-point runs late in the first set proved to be the difference for the Norwegians, whose tactical approach served them well all match.
Mol/Sorum won the first set 21-14 and the second 21-16 in a match that looked more comfortable on the stat sheet than it actually was.
Women's Pool C: USA def. Czechia
U.S. gold medal hopefuls Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes began Olympic play with a straight-sets victory over Czechia’s Marie-Sara Stochlova/Barbora Hermannova at Eiffel Tower Stadium in Paris.
Cheng/Hughes went on a five-point run at the end of the first set to take the early lead, and the 2023 World Champions carried that momentum into the second set.
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