Agadir, Morocco, July 21, 2017 – Second-seeded Nicole Eiholzer and Dunja Gerson survived a late scare in their second set against 15th-seeded Laura Caluori and Elena Steinemann to claim a 2-0 (21-13, 23-21) victory in the all-Swiss duel of the first round in the women’s main draw at the Agadir stop on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 2017.
The match that propelled Eiholzer and Gerson to Saturday’s quarterfinals lasted 52 minutes and happened to be the longest women’s match on the first competition day at Plage Jour et Nuit on Morocco’s Atlantic coast.
The round of 16 featured two three-setters. In the last match of the day, the seventh-seeded Italians Laura Giombini and Agata Zuccarelli managed a 2-1 (21-7, 15-21, 15-10) win in the all-European clash with tenth-seeded Austrians Eva Freiberger and Elisabeth Klopf.
Earlier, ninth-seeded Akiko Hasegawa and Azusa Futami from Japan mastered a 2-1 (15-21, 21-17, 15-11) victory in their 45-minute encounter with Venezuela’s Norisbeth Isais Agudo Gonzalez and Gabriela Brito with #8. This game will remain in history as the first ever official FIVB women’s beach volleyball match held in Morocco.
Japan’s Azusa Futami about to serve
The only other break in the seeding came from the 2-0 (21-12, 21-12) victory of 13th-seeded Andrea Galindo and Claudia Galindo from Colombia over the fourth seed - Mahassine Siad and Imane Zeroual from host country Morocco.
The remaining four duos to take part in Saturday’s women’s quarterfinals are Canada’s Megan Nagy and Marie-Christine Lapointe, Scotland’s Lynne Beattie and Melissa Coutts, France’s Lezana Placette and Aline Chamereau and Paraguay’s Erika Sofia Mongelos Bobadilla and Gabriela Filippo. The first whistle on Saturday morning is scheduled for 09:00 local time.