Teams from Belgium, Canada, Italy and Ukraine secured their spots in the semifinals of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour one-star event in Sofia at the conclusion of the third day of competition in the Bulgarian capital.
Sophie Bukovec and Camille Saxton had to work the hardest among the four semifinalists as the Canadian qualifiers had to win a pair of matches on Saturday to move forward in the tournament after finishing second in their pool on Friday.
The 25-year-old Bukovec and the 30-year-old Saxton started the day in the Round of 12, where they defeated Iceland’s Elisabet Einarsdottir and Berglind Jonsdottir in two sets (21-9, 21-15). Later, in the quarterfinals, they pulled off a hard-fought, three-set (21-15, 19-21, 15-11) victory against Estonia’s Heleene Hollas and Liisa Soomets.
Ukrainians Makhno and Schumeiko play defence in their match against the AustriansTheir semifinal opponents will be Ukrainians Inna Makhno and Anna Schumeiko. The Europeans remain undefeated in Sofia after they won their third-straight match, a quarterfinal matchup against Austria’s Franziska Freidl and Eva Pfeffer, in two sets (21-17, 22-20).
Belgians Sarah Cools and Lisa van den Vonder, who started the tournament in the qualifier alongside the Canadians, won their fifth match in Sofia and advanced to the semifinals after they downed New Zealand’s Shaunna Polley and Alice Zeimann in two sets (21-18, 28-26).
They will now play against top-seeded Margherita Bianchin and Claudia Scampoli of Italy, who moved to the semifinals with a 2-1 (21-13, 15-21, 16-14) victory over the Austrian Klinger sisters Ronja and Dorina.
The semifinals and medal matches in Sofia will be streamed live on the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) YouTube channel.
Quick links:
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour - Sofia Beach Open 3
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
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