33^rd-seeded Shaunna Polley & Olivia MacDonald of New Zealand achieved a sensational win over ninth-seeded Italians Valentina Gottardi & Reka Orsi Toth on the third competition day of the women’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship in Adelaide. Australian favorites Taliqua Clancy & Jana Milutinovic conceded their third defeat and dropped out of contention, while 36^th-seeded Germans Melanie Paul & Lea Kunst won that pool. The other three German pairs - Sandra Ittlinger & Anna-Lena Grune, Linda Bock & Louisa Lippmann and Svenja Muller & Cinja Tillmann – all achieved their second wins in Australia and also secured their spots in the sixteenthfinals.

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Polley & MacDonald recovered from Friday’s loss to USA’s Julia Donlin & Lexy Denaburg with a 2-1 (21-18, 13-21, 18-16) upset of the world’s number eight and Pool I seeding leaders Gottardi & Orsi Toth. In the tie-breaker, the Kiwis came back from a 14-11 deficit to push it to overtime and, after denying four Italian match points, claim their first win in Adelaide. MacDonald raised four kill blocks and fired two aces to top the match chart on a total of 23 points. Polley added another 15, including two aces and a block, while Gottardi and Orsi Toth finished with 21 and 20 points, respectively. Meanwhile in another three-setter, 16^th-seeded Donlin & Denaburg achieved their second win in the pool, 2-1 (21-16, 19-21, 15-7) over Lea Monkhouse & Marie-Alex Belanger, to top the pool standings and leave the Canadians winless at the bottom. Gottardi & Orsi Toth and Polley & MacDonald are on a 1-1 win-loss record each, with the Europeans ahead on point ratios.

The highest ranked Australian pairing of Jana Milutinovic with three-time Olympian and Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist Taliqua Clancy failed in their third match in Pool L and were surprisingly knocked out of further contention winless in three games played. On Sunday, the young Swiss team of 22-year-old Annique Niederhauser, who stepped in to replace injured Swiss star Tanja Huberli for this World Championship, and 20-year-old Leona Kernen, produced a 2-0 (21-13, 21-19) shutout of the Aussies to finish third in the pool and progress to the elimination rounds. In a direct duel for the first place in the pool, 36th-seeded Germans Paul & Kunst came back from a set down against 37^th-seeded Yan Xu & Xia Xinyi to celebrate a 2-1 (16-21, 21-18, 15-9) victory, their third since the start of the tournament, to top the table undefeated and leave their Chinese opponents in second place on 2-1, with both teams moving safely into the sixteenthfinal round.

In Pool H, eighth-seeded Germans Muller & Tillmann survived a first-set scare against Puerto Rico’s Maria Gonzalez & Allanis Navas to turn the course of the match towards a 2-1 (17-21, 21-18, 15-9) win, while their compatriots Bock & Lippmann hammered out a 2-0 (21-12, 21-13) shutout of Argentina’s Brenda Churin & Morena Abdala. This way, both German pairs secured their direct ticket to the sixteenthfinals. They lead the pool on 2-0 each and will play one another for the first place on Monday. The winless Puerto Ricans and Argentineans will battle it out for the third place to stay in contention.

Yet another German duo, Ittlinger & Grune, also qualified for the last 32 of the tournament. They claimed their second win in Pool D on Sunday, a 2-0 (21-10, 21-6) shutout of Mozambique’s Vanessa Muianga & Mercia Mucheza, and will take on Terese Cannon & Megan Kraft for the first place on Monday. The fourth-seeded Americans also stand on 2-0 after beating Lezana Placette & Alexia Richard by 2-0 (21-19, 21-13) and have qualified for the sixteenthfinals. The French Olympians and the African team will fight each other for survival.

Things are still unclear in Pool J. Only 10^th-seeded Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes & Brandie Wilkerson are certain to finish among the top three and progress beyond the pool phase after registering their second victory in Adelaide. On Sunday, they delivered an important win over Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon of the Netherlands, 2-0 (21-15, 24-22), handing the Dutch their first defeat of the tournament. France’s Clemence Vieira & Aline Chamereau, on the other hand, took their first win, a convincing 2-0 (21-7, 21-11) sweep of their second game, against Morocco’s Mahassine Siad & Dina Mellal, who remain winless at the bottom of the pool. Monday’s program offers Melissa & Brandie the opportunity to win the pool with a victory over the French pair. Stam & Schoon will try to bounce back against the African team.

Sunday was the last day of action in Pool G. Spain’s Daniela Alvarez & Tania Moreno produced a sensational upset of the American pairing of Molly Shaw with defending world champion Kelly Cheng to top the final pool standings undefeated. In a direct duel for the first place, the rising Spanish stars celebrated a 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) victory, leaving their opponents as pool runners-up on 2-1. Jasmine Fleming & Stefanie Fejes, seeded 42^nd in the 48-team draw, delighted the Australian fans with a 2-1 (26-24, 15-21, 15-10) upset of Lithuanian Olympians Monika Paulikiene & Aine Raupelyte to finish third in the pool on 1-2 and stay alive in the tournament.

Women’s action at Adelaide 2025 will resume on Monday at 09:00 local time (22:30 UTC on Sunday).

FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships: schedule and results

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