An exciting three-set battle and a fantastic crowd on the stands decorated the women’s beach volleyball opener of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Eiffel Tower Stadium on Saturday. In a Pool B match, Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallists Taliqua Clancy & Mariafe Artacho Del Solar of Australia persevered through extended first and third sets against the pairing of Beijing 2008 Olympic bronze medallist Xue Chen and Xia Xinyi of China to celebrate a tight 2-1 (22-20, 14-21, 16-14) victory.

Xue & Xia outplayed Clancy & Mariafe in most elements, but what tilted the balance the Australians’ way was the spiking. Both members of the Aussie team excelled in delivering the swings in attack at a high success rate. Mariafe finished with 21 points and Clancy put away 20, each producing two aces towards that count. Xia delivered a match-high 26 points, including four aces.

“It was awesome to finally get back out there. It’s nice to get the cobwebs out, for sure. China is such a great team, so it was never going to be an easy match,” 1.89m-tall blocker Clancy told FIVB after the match. “Everybody got their value’s worth. In the second set, we just had to stay patient, and we still had trust there, but they are a great team and it’s the Olympics, so I think we’ll see that happening a lot in these games. It was just nice we were able to bring it back, to get back on track and bring that aggression in the third set.”

14^th-seeded Clancy & Mariafe’s next match is against second-seeded Taryn Kloth & Kristen Nuss, who mastered a 2-0 (21-17, 21-14) shutout of Canada’s Heather Bansley & Sophie Bukovec in Saturday’s second women’s game in Paris. The Aussies and the Americans are set to lock horns on Monday, at 22:00 local time (20:00 UTC).

“We’ve had really great battles with them. They are a great team to watch, we know it’s going to be another strong battle and I can’t wait to get back out there,” Clancy added. “All the pools are tough. Every year the teams just get stronger and stronger, which is absolutely incredible. So you definitely have to stay on all the time.”

Despite the rain falling over Paris on the opening competition day, the stadium under the iconic Eiffel Tower was full of enthusiastic fans, cheering both teams on and applauding every great play in the sand.

“The venue is absolutely incredible!” Clancy exclaimed. “Others can’t beat it! I am more than happy to tell all the other sports that we definitely have the best venue. And the crowd was amazing as well. That’s what sets it apart from Tokyo, that it’s nice to share the experience with family and friends now, and all the fans... That’s what the Olympics is all about – bringing people together.”

The 32-year-old Australian blocker is in her third Olympic participation. At Rio 2016, she and Louise Bawden reached the quarterfinals. At the previous Games in Tokyo three years ago, Clancy & Mariafe earned a silver medal. In the absence of the other two pairs from that podium, the Aussies are the only Tokyo 2020 medallists competing in the Paris 2024 women’s tournament.

“Every Olympic journey is completely different. Out of all my three, none have been the same. It’s nice to have that experience in our pocket, knowing that we are the only team here among the medallists from Tokyo. We definitely know what it takes – one game at a time, one win at a time...”

Olympic Games Paris 2024 Beach Volleyball: schedule and results

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