In a thrilling display of international beach volleyball, the American duos of Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes and Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss have secured their spots in the Elite 16 Gstaad tournament’s semifinals. They will be joined by Brazil’s Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa/Ana Patrícia Ramos and Germany’s Cinja Tillmann/Svenja Müller.
Cheng and Hughes bounced back from a first-set defeat to clinch a tie-breaker win (20-22, 21-18, 15-11) against Canadian Olympians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Tillmann and Müller maintained their winning streak, marking their sixth consecutive victory in the Swiss Alps. They secured a thrilling three-setter (21-16, 15-21, 16-14) against Brazilians Bárbara Seixas and Carol Salgado.
Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa/Ana Patrícia Ramos – Photo: Volleyball World
Gstaad Elite16 defending champions, Duda and Ana Patrícia sailed smoothly through their quarterfinals match, easily dispatching Italians Marta Menegatti and Valentina Gottardi in straight sets (21-14, 21-14).
Equally impressive, Kloth and Nuss, who topped Pool D, powered past Australian Olympic medalists Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho in a clean sweep (21-10, 21-15).
The women’s tournament semifinals, nestled in the Swiss Alps, are set to be played this Sunday, just hours ahead of the medal matches.
