Women’s quarterfinal day in Tokyo had it all. There was a battle between legends April Ross and Laura Ludwig. Switzerland used hustle to get past Brazilian muscle. Latvia continued their Cinderalla run and Australia broke Canadian hearts. The winners move on to the semifinals and a chance to make history.
April wins the battle of legends
April Ross and Laura Ludwig entered the Tokyo Olympics as the most decorated beach volleyball players in the women’s tournament. It is fitting that if one of them was going to be eliminated it would be at the hands of the other. April Ross and Alix Klineman came out on top, beating Laura and Maggie Kozuch 21-19, 21-19. If April wins gold in Tokyo, she will have a full set of Olympic medals: gold, silver and bronze. As remarkable as April and Laura’s careers have been, the quick ascendance of their partners may be equally impressive. Maggie played on the world tour for the first time in 2017 and Alix made her debut in 2018. Yet there they were in Shiokaze Park Stadium playing for a chance at the Olympic semifinals.
Maggie was targeted by almost every American serve as they put her outdoor passing ability to the test and kept Laura out of a rhythm. The strategy prevented Ludwig from being a big factor, but Maggie rose to the occasion keeping her team in the match. The Germans took a different serving strategy. They elected to stay away from the hard hitting American blocker and see if April Ross could beat them. She did.
Ross knows how to finish a match
Late in the second set, America held a one point advantage every time Germany served. That meant that if they could side out three times, they would win. Throughout the Olympics we’ve seen players crumble under that kind of pressure. April Ross did not. At 18-17, the set was well behind her but instead of shooting into Ludwig’s zone, she reached back to rip one off Kozuch’s hands for a point. The next German serve at 19-18 targeted April but went into the net. The next one was at match point, 20-19, and the serve went to April again. She handled the pass and then calmly smashed it off the hands of Kozuch. Her swing was hard enough to send it caroming just out of Ludwig’s diving reach and seal the match.
Joana and Anouk are within striking distance of glory
Switzerland’s European Champions, Joana Heidrich & Anouk Vergé-Dépré, took on Brazilian duo Ana Patricia Silva and Rebecca in the second quarterfinal match. The Swiss are making a habit of winning three setters in Tokyo. They played with passion and great energy against the Brazilians who stayed calm and let the points come to them. The third set point saved by Brazil in set 1 is a case in point. Rebecca made a nice read and dove for the ball to keep it alive, Anouk and Joana scrambled all over the court while Ana Patricia and Rebecca always seemed to be in the right place without taking a step. Ana Patricia finally finished off the point with a block but the Swiss finally got their side out to win set one 21-19.
In Set two it was Ana Patricia’s blocking and Rebecca’s precision attack that proved the difference in Brazil’s 21-18 win. Rebecca got more digs than Anouk, but Vergé-Dépré probably covered 500 meters more with her tireless chasing down of Rebecca’s shots. Rebecca makes defense look easy with her positioning and ability to deal with hard driven balls.
The extra effort and hustle that the Swiss put in paid dividends in the third set. The wore Brazil down by winning some long rallies. Joana got three blocks, they each got an ace and Switzerland is in an Olympic semifinal for the first time ever.
Tina and Anastasija are playing for medals
Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised at all by Graudina & Kravcenoka. These two won the European championships in 2019. They won the Olympic qualification tournament the same year. While their competition was playing on the world tour in 2021, Tina was playing for USC in the American NCAA. When they did get to play together early in the summer, they made two semifinals. And here they are again.
They stormed out to a 21-13 first set win over Heather Bansley & Brandie Wilkerson. If we’ve learned anything about the Canadians in this tournament though, they never give up. Heather and Brandie came from behind to eliminate Sarah Sponcil and Kelly Claes in the first round and their 18-21 recovery in the second set made it look like they were ready for more of the same. Brandie was an attacking machine in the second, killing 10 of 11 opportunities. She struggled to put her serves in play though, a pattern that kept Canada from putting sustained pressure on the Latvians.
Tina and Anastasija were grateful for the service errors, reducing their side out burden significantly. In the end, Brandi missed ten serves total, but the Latvians had to earn a lot of their points, too. Anastasija made several big digs and was very efficient in transition. Tina picked up a block in each set, including the third which finished 15-11 for Latvia
Australia back in the semifinals
The first three times beach volleyball was included in the Olympics, Australia put a women’s team in the semifinals. Natalie Cook and Kerri Pottharst won gold at their home Olympics in Sydney, 2000. They hadn’t made it that far in the last three Olympics, but in Tokyo Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar are going back. To make it they had to overcome the Canadian World Champions Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Parades.
At 195 cm (6′ 5″) Sarah Pavan is a force, not only as a blocker but in attack as well. For that reason, most teams stay away from her. Taliqua and Mariafe did just the opposite. They are one of the best serving teams in the tournament and they tested Sarah from the outset. They are also great setters that constantly change the point and speed of attack. In the first set, serving Sarah and reducing her impact as a blocker worked perfectly. They stormed to a 21-15 win.
The second set was the same story with one major exception. With Melissa serving, the Canadians put together a seven point run of points, including an ace and a block. Pavan didn’t have to score with a stuff block to make a difference. She touched everything in that sequence and the game completely reversed. Canada suddenly seemed unstoppable building a 9-4. Australia stayed with their plan, however, and fought back. Canada held on 21-19, but they didn’t enter the third set with any momentum.
The third set belongs to Mariafe
The third set started with Mariafe hitting three aces very early on. Pavan blocked to get a point back, but Clancy got a block of her own to build a four point lead in the race to 15. The Australians are known for Taliqua’s great second ball attack, but it was her setting and Mariafe’s sensational hitting that helped them maintain their lead through the middle portion of the deciding set. When Clancy hit her only second ball attack of the third set, Australia held an 11-6 lead. Melissa served down the middle for an ace and Clancy lifted a bad set making things interesting, but the Aussies held it together against the World Champs and finished it off 15-12.
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Men’s day in Tokyo
Men’s semifinal places are on the line today. The three pretournament favorites are still alive, but they’ve all taken very different routes to get here.
Rematch time
Anders Mol and Christian Sorum looked very shaky up until their first round victory over Brouwer and Meeusen. They lost the final match of pool play to Ilya Leshukov & Konstantin Semenov. The Russians not only beat Anders and Christian, but they have not lost a set in Tokyo. They are the only team, men’s or women’s, that can make that claim. They have to do it again in the quarterfinals. The first encounter in Pool A ended 21-19, 21-19 with Leshukov making big plays down the stretch. He and his giant blocker are looking to pull off the same result and prevent the Beachvolley Vikings from getting a shot at Olympic gold.
Brazilian giant slayers back for more
Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs pulled off the biggest surprise of the first round by eliminating Evandro and Bruno from the competition. Now they have their sights set on Alison and Alvaro. The Brazilians lost to Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena in pool play but have not dropped a set since. With Bruno and Laura Ludwig already eliminated, Alison is the only Rio champion still in action. He better not look past Plavins and Tocs if he wants to keep it that way.
Nicolai and Lupo looking dangerous for Qatar
Italians Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai had a very different experience at their last Olympics. They lost twice in pool play and were pushed to three-sets in every elimination win. The Italians had to fight tooth and nail for their silver medal in 2016. In Tokyo they have had a very different trajectory. They are undefeated and won their first round match over Grzegorz Fijalek & Michal Bryl in straight sets. That doesn’t necessarily mean gold is in their future.
They are about to get a very big test. Ahmed Tijan and Cherif Samba have been the best team on the sand in 2021 and survived their first Olympic scare in the first round against Phil and Nick. Nicolai and Lupo are one of the few teams that have beaten the Qataris this year. They won in pool play in Sochi. Cherif and Ahmed bounced back that time to take silver, while Italy settled for fifth. The head to head win will give Nicolai and Lupo a solid plan of attack against Ahmed and Cherif. That match also gives Ahmed and Cherif recent knowledge of their Italian rivals.
This is the only quarterfinal to feature two teams that haven’t lost in Tokyo. Something has got to give, and although Qatar has got the world’s attention, Italy are in fine form. This is going to be a good one.
2019 World Championships 2.0
Viacheslav Krasilnikov & Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Julius Thole & Clemens Wickler met in the gold medal matches of The World Championships and the World Tour Finals. The Russians won both times and are favored again, but Germany is a huge threat to end their Olympic dream.
Thole and Wickler didn’t get many chances to play this year due to injury and illness, but they have returned to their great form of 2019. Krasilnikov and Styanovskiy are still a step below the level they achieved that year. They were beaten by Plavins and Tocs and were pushed to three sets against the other teams in Pool B.