Men’s and women’s beach volleyball competition continues on Tuesday at the Paris Olympics at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
Below are the details from each match.
WOMEN’S STANDINGS
MEN’S STANDINGS
Men’s Pool C: Poland def. Australia
Poland defeated Australia, 2-0, to open the beach volleyball competition on Tuesday in Paris.
Poland’s Michal Bryl/Bartosz Losiak and Australia’s Zachery Schubert/Thomas Hodges exchanged points back-and-forth to open the contest. But the experience of Poland showed itself at the end as the duo pulled ahead to claim a 21-16 victory in the first set.
There was a bit of a turnaround in the second set as Poland gained a three-point advantage with an 11-8 lead. Though Australia edged Poland in blocks, Poland was able to pull off a monster block to set up matchpoint and ultimately win the second set, 21-16.
Losiak and Bryl competed in Tokyo with different partners and finished third at 2023 world championships. The two came together to top Schubert and Hodges, who are considered Australia’s top team on the beach.
Poland and Australia will return to action on Aug. 1 against France and Germany, respectively.
Men’s Pool C: Germany def. France
Germany topped home-team France, 2-0, in the second match of Tuesday’s beach volleyball competition at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
No. 3-ranked Germany opened strong to win the first set, 21-15. The German duo of Nils Ehlers/Clemens Wickler have been among the world’s most consistent teams and are outside medal contenders.
The Germans harnessed that consistency when they jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the second set. The French duo of Julien Lyneel/Remi Bassereau did not go down easily, forcing three match points. But Germany was able to finish strong and win the second set, 21-17.
France will return to the court on Aug. 1 against Poland and Germany will take on Australia, also on Thursday.
SEE MORE: Germany handles France in straight sets
Women’s Pool A: Italy def. Egypt
Italians Marta Menegatti/Valentina Gottardi defeated Marwa Abdelhady/Doaa Elghobashy of Egypt in Pool A play at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
Menegatti/Gottardi wore out the Egyptians en route to a 21-16 set one victory, and they took that momentum into the second set.
The Italians jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the second, cruising to a straight-sets win. A minor finger injury to Elghobashy resulted in timeout, but the extended break didn’t deter the Italians.
Italy ended the match with a five-point run and went 24-for-37 on the attack in two sets during the dominant win.
SEE MORE: Italy runs through Egypt in Pool A play
Men’s Pool D: Cuba def. Brazil
Cuban stars Jorge Alayo/Noslen Diaz ran through Brazil’s George/Andre, 21-13, 21-18, in a highly-anticipated Pool D matchup.
Alayo overwhelmed the Brazilians with his power at the net, while Diaz’s crafty serving set up multiple scoring opportunities. Alayo/Noslen ran away with the first set and fought through a stronger Brazil showing in the second set.
Cuba was an excellent 26-for-35 on offense and out-blocked Brazil by four. Alayo and Diaz are the only undefeated team in a stacked Pool D.
The Cuban duo have now beaten the United States and Brazil in their first two matches, proving they are one of the top teams in the men’s tournament.
SEE MORE: Cuba dominates Brazil in convincing victory
Men’s Pool D: USA def. Morocco
Following an opening-match loss to Cuba, U.S. beach volleyball team Miles Partain/Andy Benesh bounced back and grabbed a much-needed Pool D win against Morocco at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
Partain/Benesh — the youngest Olympic beach volleyball team in U.S. history — defeated Zouheir El Graoui/Mohamed Abicha in straight sets, 21-12, 28-26, amid the blistering Paris heat.
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