Horst & Pristauz push through to Veracruz Challenge main draw

42-year-old Austrian veteran, four-time Olympian and 2017 World Championship silver medalist Alexander Horst and his new teammate Moritz Pristauz made it to their second Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour main draw together. After pushing through the Hamburg Elite qualifiers at the team’s debut, now they did it again at their second appearance on the Tour, at the Veracruz Challenge in Mexico.

· Watch the Veracruz Challenge on VBTV

Seeded second in the 15-team qualification bracket, Horst & Pristauz mastered a 2-0 (21-16, 21-19) victory over 2024 U19 world champions Szymon Pietraszek & Jakub Krzeminski of Poland in Wednesday’s single-round qualifiers. Pristauz led the way with 18 points, including four kill blocks, while Horst chipped in with another 12, including an ace. The Austrian pair were seeded 24^th in the 32-team main draw and will open their campaign on Thursday against ninth-seeded Chaim Schalk & James Shaw of the United States.

Two US duos engaged in the longest lasting and most interesting battle of the men’s qualifiers on Wednesday. After 48 minutes of play, 14^th-seeded Lev Priima & Ryan Wilcox squeezed out a tight 2-1 (21-19, 19-21, 16-14) victory over third-seeded fellow Americans Timothy Brewster & Ryan Ierna to knock them out of contention. Another American team, top-seeded Evan Cory & Derek Bradford, advanced to the main draw with a bye.

In the only other three-setter of the day, Mexico’s Antonio Lares & Carlos Andres Ayala pleased the home fans with a 2-1 (17-21, 21-18, 15-11) win over Switzerland’s Florian Breer & Luc Fluckiger.

Australian Olympian Thomas Hodges and his teammate Paul Burnett managed to take out 2023 U21 world champions Kyan Vercauteren & Joppe Van Langendonck of Belgium in straight sets, 2-0 (21-18, 21-14). New Zealand’s Bradley Fuller & Ben O'Dea produced a 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) victory over England’s Issa Batrane & Frederick Bialokoz.

Mads Mollgaard & Nicolai Hovmann of Denmark achieved a 2-0 (21-19, 21-12) win over Germany’s Jonas Reinhardt & Robin Sowa, while Norway’s Nils Gunnar Ringoen & Even Stray Aas celebrated a 2-0 (23-21, 21-15) victory over Canada’s Tynan Gannett & Luke de Greeff. Despite the loss, the Canadians also made the main draw as lucky losers.

Men’s main draw action at the Veracruz Challenge serves off at 14:00 local time (20:00 UTC) on Thursday.

VW Beach Pro Tour Veracruz Challenge: men’s main draw list
VW Beach Pro Tour Veracruz Challenge: schedule and results

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