Elite16 - João Pessoa, BRA - 2025

Cheng & Shaw beat Cannon & Kraft in all-American Joao Pessoa Elite final

Ana Patricia & Duda outlast Carol & Rebecca in all-Brazilian bronze medal game

Published 09:59, 21 Sept 2025

Shaw/Cheng (USA) vs. Cannon/Kraft (USA) - Final 1st Place #60388942

Kelly Cheng & Molly Shaw won their first ever Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour medal together and it was gold. The ninth-seeded pairing of reigning world champion Cheng and her current teammate Shaw cruised through the Joao Pessoa Elite in Brazil undefeated in six matches played to top the women’s podium.

· Watch Joao Pessoa Elite replays on VBTV

Another US duo, eighth-seeded Terese Cannon & Megan Kraft, earned silver, the team’s sixth medal on the Tour.

The bronze went to reigning Olympic champions Ana Patricia Ramos & Eduarda Santos Lisboa (Duda). For the fourth-seeded Brazilians, it was the fourth consecutive bronze medal on the Beach Pro Tour, with which their impressive Tour collection has increased to a total of 19 medals.

The 2025 Joao Pessoa Elite women's podium

Cannon & Kraft jumped into the all-American gold medal match with a 3-0 lead. Cheng & Shaw quickly recovered and the lead went back and forth through 15-14 Cannon & Kraft’s way. At that moment, Cheng & Shaw went on a six-point run to reach set point, which Shaw converted to a 21-16 win. The second set unfolded in a similar manner. Once again Cheng & Shaw ran off with a solid lead in the second half of the set and pushed on until Cheng’s successful block put an end to the match at 2-0 (21-16, 21-17). With three aces and three kill blocks to her name, Cheng led her team with a total of 16 points. Shaw chipped in with another 16, including two aces and a block. Cannon put away two aces and two stuffs to emerge as the best scorer of the match with 17 points, while Kraft finished with six.

“It was a tough tournament. Every team we played was on their game,” Shaw told VBTV after the final. “It’s always hard playing Terese and Meg, because I love them so much. But it was an honor to be able to even play at this level and next to Kelly, so I am really grateful and shocked right now.”

Shaw/Cheng vs. Cannon/Kraft - Beach Volleyball - Women - Match Highlights, 21/09/2025

The bronze medal match was an all-Brazilian affair between Ana Patricia & Duda and 11^th-seeded Carol Solberg & Rebecca Cavalcanti, the number two team in the FIVB World Ranking. The first set was competitive only until 10-10, when the Olympic champs broke away and never looked back. They were even more dominant in set two, cruising on to a 2-0 (21-16, 21-13) victory. Duda contributed one ace and 14 spike kills towards a match-high 15 points. Ana Patricia tallied three kill blocks and two aces to finish with a total of 11 points. Carol & Rebecca scored 13 points apiece.

Carol/Rebecca vs. Ana Patrícia/Duda - Beach Volleyball - Women - Match Highlights, 21/09/2025

In the more interesting of the two semifinals earlier in the day, Cannon & Kraft came back from a set down against Ana Patricia & Duda to deliver a 2-1 (13-21, 21-13, 15-13) upset. Kraft produced 20 points, all in swings, while Cannon chipped in with 17, including five kill blocks. Duda was the best scorer of the match with 22 points, including two aces.

Before that, Shaw & Cheng mastered a 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) sweep of their semifinal against Carol & Rebecca. With six kill blocks under her belt, Cheng led the way with a match-high 24 points, while Carol scored 19 points for the Brazilian pair.