Men's and women's beach volleyball competition continued on Tuesday at the Paris Olympics at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
Below are the details from each match, including a statement win from Cuban duo Noslen Diaz and Jorge Alayo in the men's tournament.
Men's Pool C: Poland def. Australia
Poland defeated Australia, 2-0, to open the beach volleyball competition on Tuesday in Paris.
Poland's Michal Bryl/Bartosz Losiak and Australia's Zachery Schubert/Thomas Hodges exchanged points back-and-forth to open the contest. But the experience of Poland showed itself at the end as the duo pulled ahead to claim a 21-16 victory in the first set.
There was a bit of a turnaround in the second set as Poland gained a three-point advantage with an 11-8 lead. Though Australia edged Poland in blocks, Poland was able to pull off a monster block to set up matchpoint and ultimately win the second set, 21-16.
Losiak and Bryl competed in Tokyo with different partners and finished third at 2023 world championships. The two came together to top Schubert and Hodges, who are considered Australia's top team on the beach.
Poland and Australia will return to action on Aug. 1 against France and Germany, respectively.
Men's Pool C: Germany def. France
Germany topped home-team France, 2-0, in the second match of Tuesday's beach volleyball competition at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
No. 3-ranked Germany opened strong to win the first set, 21-15. The German duo of Nils Ehlers/Clemens Wickler have been among the world's most consistent teams and are outside medal contenders.
The Germans harnessed that consistency when they jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the second set. The French duo of Julien Lyneel/Remi Bassereau did not go down easily, forcing three match points. But Germany was able to finish strong and win the second set, 21-17.
France will return to the court on Aug. 1 against Poland and Germany will take on Australia, also on Thursday.
Women's Pool A: Italy def. Egypt
Italians Marta Menegatti/Valentina Gottardi defeated Marwa Abdelhady/Doaa Elghobashy of Egypt in Pool A play at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
Menegatti/Gottardi wore out the Egyptians en route to a 21-16 set one victory, and they took that momentum into the second set.
The Italians jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the second, cruising to a straight-sets win. A minor finger injury to Elghobashy resulted in timeout, but the extended break didn’t deter the Italians.
Italy ended the match with a five-point run and went 24-for-37 on the attack in two sets during the dominant win.
Men's Pool D: Cuba def. Brazil
Cuban stars Jorge Alayo/Noslen Diaz ran through Brazil’s George/Andre, 21-13, 21-18, in a highly-anticipated Pool D matchup.
Alayo overwhelmed the Brazilians with his power at the net, while Diaz’s crafty serving set up multiple scoring opportunities. Alayo/Noslen ran away with the first set and fought through a stronger Brazil showing in the second set.
Cuba was an excellent 26-for-35 on offense and out-blocked Brazil by four. Alayo and Diaz are the only undefeated team in a stacked Pool D.
The Cuban duo have now beaten the United States and Brazil in their first two matches, proving they are one of the top teams in the men’s tournament.
Men's Pool D: USA def. Morocco
Following an opening-match loss to Cuba, U.S. beach volleyball team Miles Partain/Andy Benesh bounced back and grabbed a much-needed Pool D win against Morocco at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
Partain/Benesh — the youngest Olympic beach volleyball team in U.S. history — defeated Zouheir El Graoui/Mohamed Abicha in straight sets, 21-12, 28-26, amid the blistering Paris heat.
Women's Pool E: Brazil def. Lithuania
Brazilians Carol/Barbara cruised to victory against Aine Raupelyte/Monika Paulikiene of Lithuania, winning 21-13, 21-14, in straights sets during Pool E play.
Carol/Barbara controlled the match throughout, proving why they are one of the top teams in the women’s tournament. Brazil’s 12 digs and 22-for-35 attacking ratio showcased their ability to shine on both the offensive and defensive ends.
Men's Pool F: Spain def. France
The Spanish duo of Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera grabbed their first win of the Olympic Games after a tough battle with French pairing of Yousesef Krou/Arnaud Gauthier-Rat.
Spain took the first set of the match after fighting back from an early deficit. The two teams kept pace with each other for the entire set, pushing the score until the Spanish pairing was able to find a two-point advantage and take the set 23-21. The second set was similarly competitive, but instead went to the French, who battled back from a Spanish match point to even the match at one set a piece. In the third set, two separate four-point runs put the Spain in the lead, and they took the final set 15-8 to grab the first win.
With its victory, the Spanish pair moves to the top of the group F standings with three points, while the French duo drops to the bottom with two.
Men's Pool F: Netherlands def. USA
Chase Budinger/Miles Evans of the United States fell to Dutch duo Stefan Boermans/Yorick de Groot in straight sets during their second Olympic beach volleyball match at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
The U.S. duo was coming off a dominant victory over France, but couldn’t muster enough against a strong Dutch side that was ranked No. 1 in the world during 2022.
Women's Pool A: Brazil def. Spain
Gold medal contenders Ana Patricia/Duda of Brazil steamrolled Spain’s Liliana Fernandez/Paula Soria Gutiérrez in their second win in as many matches.
The Brazilians used a jump set technique to completely overwhelm the Spaniards, winning 21-12, 21-13. Their chemistry was seamless, as they gained immediate control of the match and maintained it through the second set.
Brazil was an incredibly efficient 27-for-38 in the match, continuing their strong play through two matches.
Women's Pool E: Netherlands def. Japan
Katja Stam/Raisa Schoon of the Netherlands defeated Japan’s Miki Ishii/Akiko Hasegawa for their second win in Pool E.
After rolling through the first set, Stam/Schoon rallied off a five-point run in the second set to take control again. Stam’s 6-foot-4 frame proved to be too much for Japan on offense and defense, with the blocker commanding the net throughout the match.
The convincing win tied Stam/Schoon with Brazil for the top spot in Pool E.