Germans Sandra Ittlinger and Kim Van de Velde went undefeated for a second-straight day in Brazil and are guaranteed in the elimination rounds of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour João Pessoa Elite16.

The Europeans were the sensations of the first day of the women’s main draw at the Tambaú Beach, silencing the crowd and beating home teams not once, but twice on Thursday to take control of Pool B.

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The 30-year-old Ittlinger and the 32-year-old Van de Velde have recently started their second stint as partners and are playing in just the third tournament after their reunion – they were on the same side of the net for 21 events between 2018 and 2021.

One of the four women’s teams to advance from Wednesday’s qualifier in Brazil, where they didn’t even drop a set, the Germans caused a big upset in their first pool match, beating Brazilian Olympians Ágatha Bednarczuk and Rebecca Cavalcanti 2-1 (14-21, 21-19, 15-12).

A few hours later, they returned to the court and topped Andressa Cavalcanti and Tainá Bigi 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) to confirm their presence in the elimination rounds. On Friday, they can ‘upgrade’ to having a direct spot in the quarterfinals if they beat Argentineans Ana Gallay and Brenda Churrin, who lost to both Brazilian duos on Thursday, and finish first in Pool B.

Beach Pro Tour João Pessoa Elite16 – Match Schedule & Results

American qualifiers ahead in Pool A

Pool A was the only other one to complete two rounds on Thursday and Americans Kimberly Hildreth and Teegan Van Gunst took a similar route to the Germans, following a pair of qualifier victories with another two in the main draw. On Thursday, they topped Spanish Maria Carro and Sofía González 2-0 (21-15, 21-10) and got the better of Canadian qualifiers Heather Bansley and Sophie Bukovec, winning in the tie-breaker (14-21, 21-11, 15-8).

Brazilians Vitoria Rodrigues and Hege Almeida faced the same opponents, falling to the Canadians in two sets (24-22, 21-13) and defeating the Europeans also in straight sets (25-23, 21-17).

In Pool C, Lithuanian Olympians Monika Paulikiene and Aine Raupelyte, who downed Italians Reka Orsi Toth and Giada Bianchi 2-0 (21-10, 22-20), and American qualifiers Lexy Denaburg and Deahna Kraft, who overcame Brazilians Thamela Coradello and Victoria Lopes 2-1 (20-22, 21-13, 19-17), got the head start.

Pool D brought mixed results to the host country as while Paris Olympians Bárbara Seixas and Carol Salgado topped Ukrainians Valentyna Davidova and Tetiana Lazarenko 2-0 (21-17, 21-17), veterans Talita Antunes and Taiana Lima fell to the Austrian Klinger sisters Ronja and Dorina in the tie-breaker (19-21, 21-18, 15-11).

Pool play continues on Friday in João Pessoa, with the remaining 12 matches. The four pool winners advance directly to the quarterfinals, with teams ranked second and third progressing to the Round of 12 – both rounds will be held on Saturday, with the semifinals and medal matches following on Sunday.

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