Tina and Anastasija Secure Eighthfinal Spot, Shutting Out Melissa and Brandie

The highly anticipated clash between ninth-seeded Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova of Latvia and fourth-seeded Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson of Canada marked the culmination of the pool stage in the women’s Olympic beach volleyball tournament.

The Latvians showcased their formidable skills, earning a decisive 2-0 (21-14, 22-20) victory to secure second place in Pool D. This result propelled them to the eighthfinals, while the Canadian duo found themselves in the “lucky-loser” sixteenthfinal round.

“It was an excellent game,” exclaimed Anastasija after the match. “We executed our game plan effectively. The pressure was palpable, but we remained composed and demonstrated our capabilities.”

Tina, who led the scorers with 22 points, added, “Our performance has been steadily improving, which is crucial in a tournament setting. We’re ready to adapt our tactics for the upcoming matches.”

In other pool stage developments, Esmee Bobner and Zoe Verge-Depre of Switzerland secured the top spot in Pool D with a hard-fought victory over Giuliana Poletti and Michelle Valiente.

The Swiss duo, Tanja Huberli and Nina Brunner, dominated their match against Lezana Placette and Alexia Richard of France, earning a convincing 2-0 (21-11, 21-8) shutout. This result pushed the French pair into the “lucky-loser” round.

Unfortunately, Laura Ludwig and Louisa Lippmann of Germany failed to win a set in Paris, ending their Olympic journey. In their final match, they succumbed to a 2-0 (21-16, 21-19) sweep by Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno of Spain.

On Friday, the winners of Pools C and E were determined in head-to-head clashes. Carol Solberg and Barbara Seixas of Brazil narrowly defeated Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon of the Netherlands, securing the top spot in Pool E.

In the evening session, reigning world champions Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng of the United States finished first in Pool C after delivering a 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) shutout of Svenja Muller and Cinja Tillmann of Germany.

Among the six third-placed teams, Xue Chen and Xia Xinyi of China and Valentina Gottardi and Marta Menegatti of Italy had the best records and advanced directly to the eighthfinals.

The “lucky-loser” sixteenthfinal match-ups saw Akiko Hasegawa and Miki Ishii of Japan facing Placette and Richard, while Barbora Hermannova and Marie-Sara Stochlova of Czechia challenged Melissa and Brandie.