Two German pairs qualified for the women’s semifinals at the Cape Town Elite on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. Svenja Muller & Cinja Tillmann will take on Latvia’s Tina Graudina & Anastasija Samoilova in one of Sunday’s battles for the spots in the final. Sandra Ittlinger & Anna-Lena Grune will meet Netherlands’ Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon in the other.

· Watch the Cape Town Elite on VBTV

In the longest lasting of the four quarterfinals on Saturday, seventh-seeded Ittlinger & Grune, one of the teams that made it to the last eight despite losing their round-of-12 game, achieved a 2-1 (21-17, 17-21, 15-11) victory over ninth-seeded Corinne Quiggle & Chloe Loreen of the United States. Ittlinger led the way with 22 points, including two aces and a kill block, while Grune fired three aces towards a 19-point total. Loreen led the Americans with 14 points, including four blocks and two aces.

In another three-set quarterfinal, fifth-seeded Tina & Anastasija came back from a set down against American qualifiers Teegan Van Gunst & Piper Ferch to snatch a 2-1 (16-21, 21-14, 15-8) victory and advance to the semis. Tina contributed three kill blocks, two aces and 14 successful swings to finish with a team-high 19 points, while Anastasija scored three aces towards an 18-point tally. Ferch was the best scorer of the match with 23 points.

In a high-profile encounter between the number nine and number 10 teams in the FIVB World Ranking, third-seeded Muller & Tillmann took a 2-0 (21-16, 22-20) victory over fourth-seeded Anouk Verge-Depre & Zoe Verge-Depre of Switzerland. Muller put away two kill blocks and an ace to share the top scorer honors of the match with Anouk on 16 points each. Tillmann chipped in with 11 points.

Seeded 17^th in the 24-team main draw, Stam & Schoon, who emerged from the qualification bracket, mastered a 2-0 (21-18, 21-15) shutout of second-seeded Italians Valentina Gottardi & Reka Orsi Toth. Three players topped the scorers chart of the match with 14 points each – Stam with five kill blocks and an ace, Schoon with four aces, and Orsi Toth with three aces.

In the first women’s semifinal on Sunday, Tina & Anastasija will take on Muller & Tillmann at 12:00 local time (10:00 UTC). An hour later, Stam & Schoon will face Ittlinger & Grune. The bronze medal game is set to serve off at 16:00 (14:00), while the grand finale for the gold is scheduled at 18:00 (16:00).

Beach Pro Tour Cape Town Elite: schedule and results

Quick links:
Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour
VBTV
Beach Volleyball World Facebook
Beach Volleyball World X
Beach Volleyball World Instagram
Beach Volleyball World YouTube
Subscribe to Volleyball World's Newsletter