Brazil's women survive beach volleyball quarter-finals and bid for two medals
Larissa Franca Maestrini and Talita Rocha hang on against tough Swiss team to set up showdown with Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross in the semi-finals
Talita Rocha, left, and Larissa Franca Maestrini celebrate after the Brazilian duo staved off a rally by Switzerland to advance to the semi-final round of the beach volleyball competition. (Photo: Getty Images/Sean M. Haffey)
Brazil's women's teams gritted their teeth at the Beach Volleyball Arena on Sunday (14 August) and are safely through to the semifinals, securing at least one medal for their country at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Larissa Franca Maestrini and Talita Rocha stayed strong to beat Switzerland's Nadine Zumkehr and Joana Heidrich 2-1 (21-23, 27-25, 15-13) in arguably the most exciting match at the Games so far.
Both the Brazilian and the Swiss pairings played fine volleyball, with Zumkehr and Heidrich attacking fiercely and working well in defence to surprise the Brazilians with a first-set win.
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Franca Maestrini and Rocha, who had not dropped a set in any of their preceding matches in the Rio competition, tried to control the second set better, but the Swiss did not concede spaces and the two teams traded points, making no mistakes until – in a nail-biting tie-break – the Brazilians managed to save three match points and eventually take the set 27-25.
Brazil's Barbara Seixas de Freitas digs deep on her way to victory in Copacabana. (Photo: Getty Images/Sean M. Haffey)
The third set was as tight, with the Brazilians carving out a three-point gap to 12-9 before the Swiss pair pulled it back to 12-11. But a series of incredible saves and a Rocha spike closed the set 15-13 to place Brazil in the semifinals.
"The strength we had in this match was unbelievable. Once more we have won through being united," Rocha said.
"They (Zumkehr/Heidrich) played really well, but we managed to keep control. We were fighting and we were not letting the ball drop. When the ball was almost on the ground, there we were on the ground, saving it."
Brazilians Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas De Freitas suffered in their first set, too, against Ekaterina Birlova and Evgenia Ukolova, but managed to hold off the Russians' threat with their serve and held out to win 23-21, 21-16.
Germans Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst beat Canada's Sarah Pavan and Heather Bansley, while Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross neutralised Taliqua Clancy and Louise Bawden of Australia in two sets on the day of Walsh Jennings' 38th birthday (Monday).
Monday's action
World champions Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt of Brazil play for a spot on the men's podium when they take on the USA's' Philip Dalhausser and Nicholas Lucena in a huge quarter-final match on Monday afternoon.
