Lexy Denaburg and Deahna Kraft continue to enjoy a remarkable experience in their first time in a Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite16 event and on Friday they advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament held in João Pessoa, Brazil.

The Americans were one of the four pool winners at the Tambaú Beach and will start Saturday’s elimination rounds straight into the quarterfinals, alongside a second duo from the United States and teams from Germany and Brazil. Eight teams qualified for the Round of 12.

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On Friday, the 23-year-old Denaburg and the 26-year-old Kraft extended their winning streak in João Pessoa, which started on Wednesday’s qualifier, to five matches and, for the first time in three days, didn’t have to play tie-breakers.

The two, who prior to this week had only appeared together in one Challenge and two Futures Beach Pro Tour events, started the day with an impressive two-set (24-22, 21-15) victory over Lithuanian Olympians Monika Paulikiene and Aine Raupelyte. Later, they claimed the top spot of Pool C with another sweep (21-16, 21-9), this one against Italians Reka Orsi Toth and Giada Bianchi.

Denaburg and Kraft’s opponents in Saturday’s quarterfinals will come from the Round of 12 duel between the Brazilian duos of Bárbara Seixas/Carol Salgado and Vitoria Rodrigues/Hege Almeida, which will be held earlier in the day.

Beach Pro Tour João Pessoa Elite16 – Match Schedule & Results

Talita and Taiana fight back to win pool

The winners of Pool D, Brazilian veterans Talita Antunes and Taiana Lima showed strength, winning back-to-back matches on Friday after dropping their opening encounter on Thursday. Their reaction started with a huge 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) win over compatriots and Paris Olympians Bárbara and Carol and continued with another two-set (21-16, 21-19) win against Ukrainians Valentyna Davidova and Tetiana Lazarenko.

They now wait the Round of 12 duel between Brazil’s Andressa Cavalcanti/Tainá Bigi and Canada’s Heather Bansley/Sophie Bukovec to know their quarterfinal opponents.

The other two pools had undefeated winners, with Kimberly Hildreth and Teegan Van Gunst topping Pool A and Sandra Ittlinger and Kim Van de Velde prevailing in Pool B. The Americans completed their pool schedule with a straight-set (21-11, 27-25) victory over Spanish Maria Carro and Sofía González and now wait for the winners of the duel between Brazil’s Ágatha Bednarczuk/Rebecca Cavalcanti and Paulikiene/Raupelyte in the quarterfinals.

The Germans, who like the two American duos started their campaign in João Pessoa in the qualifier, swept (21-15, 21-18) Argentineans Ana Gallay and Brenda Churrin to go undefeated in Pool B. Their next opponents will be either Brazil’s Thamela Coradello/Victoria Lopes or Austria’s Ronja Klinger/Dorina Klinger.

Saturday’s schedule in João Pessoa will include the Round of 12 and the quarterfinals. The semifinals and medal matches will bring the tournament to an end on Sunday.

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