Jinjiang, China, June 1, 2018 – Seeded pairs Laura Caluori/Dunja Gerson of Switzerland, Ksenia Dabizha/Daria Mastikova of Russia and Suzuka Hashimoto/Sayaka Mizoe of Japan opened their respective bids at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Jinjiang 2-star with a pair of victories on Friday.
Caluori/Gerson defeated Asian rivals to reign in Pool B. The Swiss pair defeated Japan’s Sakurako Fujii/Samaa Miyagawa 2-0 (22-20, 21-15) in the first round, then cruised to a 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) win over China’s Cao Shuting/Zeng Jinjin.
After an easy 2-0 (21-9, 21-12) win over China’s Dong Jie/Hang Ting, Russian duo Dabizha/Mastikova rallied to win a long 2-1 (26-28, 24-22, 21-19) thriller in Pool C against Canada’s Marie-Christine Lapointe/Charlotte Sider.
In Pool D, Mizoe/Hashimoto sailed through the next round with straight-set finishes. The Tuan Chau land 1-star winners beat China’s Wang Jingwen/Yuan Lvwen 2-0 (21-16, 21-12), before trouncing their compatriots Reika Murakami/Chiyo Suzuki 2-0 (21-17, 21-19).
Quick links - Beach volleyball:
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour - Jinjiang
In other matches, Latvia’s Alise Lece/Ilze Liepinlauska topped Pool E, as they outshined Japan’s Minori Kumada/Yui Nagata 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) and Lithuania’s Ieva Dumbauskaite/Irina Zobnina 2-1 (12-21, 21-18, 15-8).
USA tandems Aurora Davis/Bree Scarbrough and Caitlin Ledoux/Kendra Vanzwieten held their winning streak since the qualification round with two wins apiece.
Scarbrough/Davis started with a 2-0 (21-14, 21-12) win over China’s Bai Bing/Wang Xinxin, then completed their dominance in Pool A with a 2-0 (21-13, 21-15) triumph over Israel’s Noy Chorin/Sofia Starikov.
Ledoux/Vanzwieten ruled Pool F following their conquests against compatriots Amanda Dowdy/Irene Pollock 2-0 (21-19, 21-14) and Chinese Taipei’s Kou Nai-Han/Liu Pi Hsin 2-0 (21-18, 21-16).