Gstaad, Switzerland, July 3, 2017 - For the second-straight week on the FIVB World Tour, Taiana Lima and Elize Maia won the Brazilian country quota playoff here Monday to gain a spot in Tuesday’s qualifying rounds at the US$600,000 Gstaad Major in the Swiss Alps village.
After defeating Josemari Alves/Liliane Maestrini 2-1 (25-27, 21-14, 15-9) in 58 minutes, Lima and Elize Maia posted a 2-0 (21-12, 21-17) win in 35 minutes over Maria Antonelli and Carolina Salgado. Last Monday in Croatia, Lima and Elize Maia also defeated Antonelli and Carolina in the preliminary rounds to earn a spot in the Porec Major qualification tournament.
With the win, Lima and Elize Maia will be the No. 1-seeded team in Tuesday’s 24-team women’s qualifier. Eight pairs will advance from Tuesday’s qualifier in the US$600,000 Gstaad Major to Wednesday’s 32-team Main Draw. The 18th annual FIVB World Tour event in the Swiss Alps village concludes Saturday when the winning team shares the $40,000 first-place prize.