Kish Island, Iran, February 17, 2017 – All three Russian pairs made it through to the quarterfinals of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Kish Island 3-Star, after posting victories in the Round of 16 at the Kish Marine Recreational and Sports Complex on Friday.
Maxim Sivolap and Igor Velichko rallied from a set down to defeat Cherif Younousse/Julio Cesar Do Nascimento Junior 2-1 (18-21, 21-14, 15-13) and end their quest to earn back-to-back gold medals for Qatar at Kish Island. Their compatriots Nikita Liamin/Viacheslav Krasilnikov and Oleg Stoyanovkiy/Artem Yarzutkin defeated their rivals 2-0 and 2-1, respectively.
Russia's Oleg Stoyanovskiy and France's Maxime Thiercy jousting at the net
Germany also had three teams in the Round of 16 but had one casualty, as Jonathan Erdmann/Armin Dollinger lost to Belgians Dries Koekelkoren/Tom Van Walle in straight sets. Markus Bockermann/Lars Fluggen and Lorenz Schumann/Julius Thole recorded straight-set wins to advance to the quarterfinals.
Germany's Lars Fluggen spiking against Ukraine's Iaroslav Gordieiev
Meanwhile, Poland’s Piotr Kantor/Bartosz Losiak knocked France’s Arnaud Loiseau/Arnaud Gauthier-Art out of the race in straight sets, while Australia’s Cole Durant/Zachery Schubert trounced Swiss duo Mirco Gerson/Michiel Zandbergen in three sets.
Poland's Piotr Kantor