TEAM USA
USA (Klineman/Ross) def. GER (Kozuch/Ludwig), 21-19, 21-19
Germany's Laura Ludwig won beach volleyball gold alongside former partner Kira Walkenhorst at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She won't have the opportunity to defend her medal in Tokyo.
Ludwig and new partner Maggie Kozuch fell to the second-seeded U.S. team of Alix Klineman and April Ross in their quarterfinal match, and were bumped from the tournament. It was a big win for the only Americans left in either the men's or women's beach volleyball competitions. The pair is now just two victories away from a gold medal, facing Switzerland in the semifinals on Aug. 5.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S MATCHES
SUI (Verge-Depre, A./Heidrich) def. BRA (Ana Patricia/Rebecca), 21-19, 18-21, 15-12
Brazil won't defend its silver medal in women's beach volleyball following a close loss to Switzerland in the quarterfinals.
The 22-year-old Ana Patricia and 28-year-old Rebecca made an impressive Olympic debut in Tokyo, but their run ended against the comparatively more experienced Anouk Vergé-Dépre and Joana Heidrich. Both Heidrich and Verge-Depre had competed at Rio 2016, but lost in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, respectively. Five years later, they've earned a shot in the semis, but are certainly the underdogs against Team USA's April Ross and Alix Klineman.
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LAT (Graudina/Kravcenoka) def. CAN (Bansley/Brandie)
Any idea of an all-Canada semifinal in beach volleyball were dashed on Tuesday when Latvia’s Tina Graudina and Anastasija Kravcenoka upset Canada’s Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson in the third quarterfinal match of the day.
The Latvians, ranked 23rd in the world, crushed their Canadian rivals 21-13 in the first set. But the Canadian duo, tied for 15th in FIVB world rankings, rebounded for a 21-18 second-set win.
Latvia dispatched the Canadians 15-11 in the third set and advance to face the Australia in the semifinals.
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AUS (Artacho Del Solar/Clancy) def. CAN (Pavan/Melissa)
Make that 0-2 for Canada in Tuesday’s beach volleyball quarterfinals.
The Canadian pair of Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes, ranked No. 2 in the world, fell in three sets to Australia’s Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy 21-15, 19-21, 15-12.
The Aussie pair, ranked 17th in the world, advances to face Latvia in the semis.