Pushing hard to defend the title they won in 2024 at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite event held in Gstaad, Olympians Kristen Nuss and Taryn Brasher led three American duos into this year’s tournament’s Round of 12 on Thursday.

The two got back-to-back victories in the Swiss Alps at the start of the main draw on Thursday and finished first in their pool, advancing directly to the Round of 12, alongside compatriots Terese Cannon/Megan Kraft and Kelly Cheng/Molly Shaw and teams from hosts Switzerland, Canada and Germany - the six teams will get a day off on Friday.

• Watch Beach Pro Tour Gstaad Elite live on VBTV

The defending Gstaad Elite champions Nuss, 27, and Brasher, 28, spearheaded Pool A and had a smooth first day of action in the Swiss Alps, taking down French Olympians Lézana Placette and Alexia Richard 2-0 (21-13, 21-19) and Germans Sandra Ittlinger and Anna-Lena Grüne also in straight sets (21-18, 21-15) to rank first in their pool.

Cannon and Kraft, who faced their compatriots in the gold medal match last year, also had a promising start to their campaign as they want to fight for the title again. The two emerged on top of Pool E after getting sweeps against Dutch qualifiers Emi van Driel and Wies Bekhuis (21-12, 21-12) and Latvian Olympians Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova (21-18, 21-15).

Cheng, a 2022 world champion, and Shaw had a rougher path than the other two American pools winners, playing a pair of tie-breakers to come out on top in Pool F. The two took down compatriots Julia Donlin and Lexy Denaburg 2-1 (25-23, 14-21, 15-13) in their first match and came back to upset the Swiss Vergé-Dépré sisters Anouk and Zoé, winning in three sets (19-21, 23-21, 19-17) a few hours later in what was arguably the best match of the day in Gstaad.

Hüberli and Kernen top Pool B

With the Vergé-Dépré sisters dropping their pool’s final, it was Tanja Hüberli and Leona Kernen who earned a spot in the Round of 12 for the host country. The Europeans ranked first in Pool B after beating Spanish Olympians Daniela Álvarez and Tania Moreno 2-0 (21-19, 26-24) and getting another sweep (21-10, 21-15) over Dutch Raisa Schoon and Mila Konink.

Paris Olympic silver medalists Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes of Canada were the top team in Pool C. The two had a smooth two-set (21-15, 21-13) victory against Ukrainians Maryna Hladun and Tetiana Lazarenko in their first match and showed grit to overcome German qualifiers Louisa Lippmann and Linda Bock in a three-set (21-14, 30-32, 15-7) battle later.

The sixth pool winners, Germans Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann had to play six sets to earn their spot in the Round of 12 from Pool D. The reigning European champions triumphed 2-1 (19-21, 21-19, 15-9) against Czechs Marketa Svozilova and Marie-Sára Štochlová and needed all three sets (18-21, 21-17, 15-12) again to overcome the Austrian Klinger sisters Ronja and Dorina in the pool final.

Beach Pro Tour Gstaad Elite – Match Schedule & Results

On Friday, pool play will be completed in Gstaad for the women and the Round of 18 will be held. The Round of 12 and the quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday, with the semifinals and medal matches bringing the event to an end on Sunday.

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