The three FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 4-star tournaments in the Cancun Hub represent the best opportunity for Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar to compete ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and the Australians are determined to make their final tournament in Mexico last as long as possible.
On Friday, the Australians took another step forward at Playa Delfines as they advanced to the quarterfinals and secured a top five finish in Cancun for the second time in three weeks. After winning Pool C on Thursday, the bronze medallists of the 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships defeated Poland’s Kinga Wojtasik and Katarzyna Kociolek 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) to advance from the Round of 16.
“It was a really good match,” Artacho del Solar commented. “The Polish girls are really skillful so we had to remain focused and patient until the end and to stick to our plan. This is our best start to a tournament here in Mexico. In the first two, we didn’t win our pools and that has consequences. By winning our pool this time, it allowed us to prepare better and focus on the elimination round.”
Clancy works against Kociolek at the netClancy and Artacho del Solar, who are both Rio 2016 Olympians, have already played in 12 matches over the last three weeks in Mexico and they want to get as many more as they can. That’s because due to the rigorous travel restrictions implemented by the Australian government, every time they leave the country they need to quarantine for 14 days upon their return.
With that in mind, the Australians have decided to skip the upcoming 4-star tournaments in Sochi and Ostrava and play only in Gstaad, at the beginning of July, before heading to Tokyo.
“These tournaments here in Cancun are really important for us,” the 27-year-old defender explained. “It’s been great to be here and play. It’s a big part of our preparation and we’re trying to make the most of every opportunity we have to be ready for Tokyo.”
In the quarterfinals, the Australians will face Cuban qualifiers Lidiannis ‘Lidy’ Echeverria and Yanisleidis Sanchez, who eliminated Dutch veterans Sanne Keizer and Madelein Meppelink with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) victory.
Agatha and Taiana in action during the All-Brazilian Round of 16 matchupThe Round of 16 has also put the winners of the first two tournaments in Cancun face-to-face with Brazilians Agatha Bednarczuk and Eduarda 'Duda' Lisboa defeating compatriots Talita Antunes and Taiana Lima 2-0 (21-16, 21-15). It was the third meeting between the teams in as many tournaments and the first in which one of the teams won in two sets.
"Even though they've played together before, they're still a new team, so there are some things we pick up on from one tournament to the other," Agatha commented. "I also think Taiana didn't serve as well as she did in the previous matches and that helped us. We're really tired and because of that we're very focused on each point, which has been really helpful."
Their next opponents will be Dutch qualifiers Marleen van Iersel and Pleun Ypma, who secured their fifth win in a row in Cancun to defeat Americans Emily Stockman and Kelley Kolinske 2-1 (21-14, 16-21, 15-11) in the Round of 16.
The elimination round also featured an All-American duel with Alix Klineman and April Ross downing Kerri Walsh Jennings and Brooke Sweat 2-0 (21-8, 21-17). The USA duo will now face Switzerland’s Nina Betschart and Tanja Huberli, who knocked Czechs Marketa Slukova and Barbora Hermannova out of the tournament with a 2-0 (21-17, 21-16) win.
Olympic medallists Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross battle at the netThe fourth and final quarterfinal matchup will feature reigning world champions Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes of Canada and Kelly Claes/Sarah Sponcil of the United States. The Canadians advanced with a 2-1 (21-10, 12-21, 17-15) victory against Russia's Nadezda Makroguzova/Svetlana Kholomina while the Americans ousted Germans Karla Borger and Julia Sude also in three sets (21-16, 19-21, 17-15).
Saturday's schedule in Cancun features the quarterfinal and semifinal matches. The medal matches will take place on Sunday, the final day of the event in Mexico.
The finals in Cancun are streamed live on the Beach Volleyball World Youtube channel. Subscribe, log in and set reminders to receive notifications when streams begin.
Go to:
Cancun Hub - 3rd event
Cancun Hub - 3rd event - Match schedule
Provisional Olympic ranking - Men
Provisional Olympic ranking - Women
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