In one of Sunday’s most interesting matches of the women’s beach volleyball tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon of the Netherlands achieved a hard-fought victory over Olympic rookies Monika Paulikiene & Aine Raupelyte of Lithuania.

In a Pool E game, the eighth-seeded Dutch team managed a 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) win despite Raupelyte’s strong blocking effort and mostly thanks to Stam’s spiking performance, which brought in 16 points towards her match-high 18.

“There were some nerves before the game and I am happy that it’s over,” Stam told the FIVB. “I am happy that we did it together and we spoke about it a lot. The fact that it worked out on the court and we won is good for the next one. The next game is in two days against Japan, also a tough opponent. I think the last time we played against them we lost. But it’s a new game, at a beautiful stadium with all the orange... I can’t wait!”

It is Stam & Schoon’s second appearance at the Olympic Games. Three years ago, they snatched a last-minute ticket to Tokyo 2020, but now their pair is among the top teams in the world, aiming for something much more than just participating.

“There is a big difference between the two Olympics,” Stam continued. “In Tokyo, we were really happy that we could participate, and it was a really different tournament in multiple ways. In this tournament we are playing in the top of the world. I think there are more teams who are playing for the medals than there are medals, and we are one of them, so we will work hard every game to get to that goal.”

“And it’s a full stadium, with a lot of family and friends, who get to see what you work for every day!” Schoon exclaimed. “It’s just amazing to play here.”

In the other Pool E match, fifth-seeded Carol Solberg & Barbara Seixas of Brazil managed a 2-0 (21-12, 21-19) shutout of Japan’s Akiko Hasegawa & Miki Ishii, seeded 20^th, with a 20-point match high from Carol, including four kill blocks and an ace.

After Spain’s Liliana Fernandez & Paula Soria opened Pool A action with a hard-fought 2-1 (24-22, 9-21, 16-14) victory over Italy’s Valentina Gottardi & Marta Menegatti on Sunday morning, another Brazilian team, top-seeded Ana Patricia Ramos & Eduarda Santos Lisboa (Duda), produced a straight-set win over bottom-seeded Marwa Abdelhady & Doaa Elghobashy of Egypt, although the Africans put up quite a fight in the second set, 2-0 (21-14, 21-19). Ana Patricia led the way with 18 points to her name.

The first Pool C matches were also played on Sunday. First, Germany’s Svenja Muller & Cinja Tillmann, seeded 10^th, did not allow the inspired French team of Clemence Vieira & Aline Chamereau, seeded 15^th, to produce a surprise and achieved an emphatic 2-0 (21-14, 21-12) sweep, with some prolific spiking from Muller, who topped the charts with 20 points, including one ace and one kill block. In the last match of the day, reigning world champions Sara Hughes & Kelly Cheng of the United States, seeded third in the Olympic bracket, achieved a 2-0 (21-16, 21-11) victory over 21^st-seeded Barbora Hermannova & Marie-Sara Stochlova of Czechia with an 18-point match high from Cheng.

Olympic Games Paris 2024 Beach Volleyball: schedule and results

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