Men's and women's beach volleyball competition continued on Monday at the Paris Olympics at Eiffel Tower Stadium. Below are the details from each match.
Women's Round of 16: Latvia withstands Germany
The Latvian duo of Tina Graudina/Anastasija Samoilova defeated Germany's Svenja Muller/Cinja Tillmann, 2-1, to secure a spot in the quarterfinals.
Latvia won the first set easily, 21-13.
Germany put up a bit more of a challenge in the second set, securing a 12-10 advantage and fighting back to earn a 21-17 win in the second set and even the match.
Germany maintained its momentum in the third set as both teams exchanged points until Latvia managed to take a slight 12-10 advantage.
After two match points, the Germans tied the score at 14. The teams continued to battle until a well-placed serve by Graudina secured the 18-16 set victory for Latvia.
Latvia recorded eight blocks, 16 digs and five aces throughout to overpower the German team that tallied two blocks, 15 digs and six aces. Service faults proved to be a difference maker as Germany tallied seven total in the match.
Men's Round of 16: Spain tops Poland
The Spanish team of Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera topped the Poland duo of Michal Bryl/Bartosz Losiak, 2-0, to advance to the quarterfinals.
Both teams traded points in the opening set until Spain pulled ahead for a three-point advantage. Poland charged ahead though to tie the score at 19 apiece. After an unforced error by Poland, Spain secured a 23-21 victory in the set.
The second set remained evenly matched throughout, but the Spanish maintained their momentum to secure the 21-18 set win.
Spain recorded 24 attacks, three blocks and seven digs while Poland tallied 22 attacks, two blocks and seven digs. Service faults made the difference as Poland recorded 10 total in the match.
Women's Round of 16: Spain def. The Netherlands
Katja Stam/Raisa Schoon of the Netherlands couldn't continue their strong play, dropping a three-set match to Spain’s Daniela Alvarez/Tania Moreno in the Round of 16.
The Dutch duo cruised to win the first set by three points, but Spain rallied down 17-13 to win the second set. Back-to-back aces by Alvarez put the pressure on Stam/Schoon, and the Dutch found themselves locked at one set entering the third.
The third set was back-and-forth, with Spain coming up big when it mattered the most. Moreno went on a huge run, scoring five straight Spain points as the Netherlands couldn’t handle the pressure.
Alvarez/Moreno now advance to the quarterfinals in their first Olympic Games.
Men's Round of 16: Norway def. USA
U.S. duo Chase Budinger/Miles Evans couldn’t upset Norway’s Anders Mol/Christian Sorum, falling to the defending gold medalists 21-16, 21-14, in the men’s beach volleyball Round of 16.
Despite a scrappy effort from the Americans, the power and technical prowess of the Norwegians was simply too much to handle.
Mol/Sorum confidently handled the first set, never looking rattled against the first-tome Olympians. Norway carried that momentum into the second set, wearing out Budinger/Evans both at the net and on the defensive end.
Men's Round of 16: USA def. Italy
Miles Partain/Andy Benesh of the United States knocked off Italy’s Samuele Cottafava/Paolo Nicolai in straight sets, 21-17, 21-18, advancing to the men’s beach volleyball quarterfinals.
Partain/Benesh found immense success with the jump set technique, reading the Italian defense to perfection and converting for easy scores.
The youngest Olympic men’s beach volleyball team in U.S. history, Partain/Benesh defeated a veteran Italian team that featured a Tokyo silver medalist in Nicolai.
Women's Round of 16: Canada def. USA
U.S. podium hopefuls Kristen Nuss/Taryn Kloth were upset by Canada’s Brandie Wilkerson/Melissa Humana-Paredes in straight sets, failing to advance to the women’s beach volleyball quarterfinals.
The statistics of the match were near identical, but Canada stepped up in the biggest moments when it mattered the most.
The result is a disappointing one for an American team that had big expectations heading into Paris. The United States' gold medal hopes now reside solely on the shoulders of Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes, who face Switzerland tomorrow in the quarterfinals.
Wilkerson/Humana-Paredes – who lost in the Tokyo Olympic quarterfinals with different partners – have a chance at redemption in Paris.
Women's Round of 16: Brazil def. Japan
World No. 1 ranked team Ana Patricia/Duda of Brazil comfortably handled Japan’s Akiko Hasegawa/Miki Ishii, 21-15, 21-16, in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals.
The Brazilians never seemed pressured throughout the match, proving why they are arguably the best team in the world.
It was a near flawless performance from Duda, who had 19 attack points and was relentless around the net.
Ana Patrica/Duda move on to the quarterfinals and will look to earn Brazil its first women's beach volleyball medal since 2016.
Men's Round of 16: Qatar def. Chile
Ahmed Tijan/Cherif Younousse of Qatar defeated Chile’s Esteban/Marco Grimalt, 21-14, 21-13 in a dominant display in the Round of 16.
Tijan/Younousse — the Tokyo bronze medalists — controlled the match from beginning and never let up.
Qatar recorded four more attack points, four more digs and three more blocks than the Chileans to advance to the quarterfinals with ease.
Tijan/Younousse look to become Qatar's first-ever back-to-back medalists in men's beach volleyball, an achievement they are now one step closer to achieving.