Italy’s Valentina Gottardi & Reka Orsi Toth achieved a stunning victory over top-seeded home favorites Thamela Coradello & Victoria Lopes in the winners match of Pool A at the Brasilia Elite on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour on Thursday and advanced directly to the last 12 of the tournament along with the other five pool winners – USA’s Taryn Brasher & Kristen Nuss, Brazil’s Ana Patricia Ramos & Eduarda Santos Lisboa (Duda), Latvia’s Tina Graudina & Anastasija Samoilova, Brazil’s Carol Solberg & Rebecca Cavalcanti and Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes & Brandie Wilkerson.
Elite16 - Brasilia, Brazil - 2025
Gottardi & Orsi Toth stun top seeds in Brasilia
The Italians are one of six teams already in the last 12 of the women’s tournament
Published 04:39, 18 Apr 2025
Gottardi on the block against Victoria
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13th-seeded Gottardi & Orsi Toth, a team that took shape after the end of Olympic summer 2024, managed to outblock the top-seeded Brazilians on the way to a 2-0 (21-15, 23-21) victory and the first place in Pool A. Gottardi raised as many as six kill blocks, to which she added one ace and 11 kills in attack to finish with a match-high 18 points, supported by Orsi Toth with another 13, while Thamela led the home team with 17 points to her name. Victoria with four aces and Thamela with one did better than the opponents in serving. As pool runners-up, the Brazilian duo advanced to the first knockout round, along with third-placed Dorina Klinger & Ronja Klinger. In the losers match of the pool, the Austrian sisters produced a 2-0 (21-13, 21-13) shutout of Canadian qualifiers Marie-Alex Belanger & Lea Monkhouse, who were eliminated from the competition.
Second-seeded Brasher & Nuss topped the final standings in Pool B. The Americans put together a 2-0 (21-14, 22-20) win over experienced Brazilians Talita Antunes & Taiana Lima to book their spot in the round of 12. Dutch qualifiers Emi van Driel & Wies Bekhuis surprised the other American team in the pool, Toni Rodriguez & Kylie Kuyava-De Berg, with a 2-0 (22-20, 21-17) win in the pool’s third place match and advanced to the round of 18, knocking the opponents out of contention.
Reigning Olympic champions Ana Patricia & Duda mastered a 2-0 (21-16, 21-12) sweep of the first place match in Pool C against French Olympians Lezana Placette & Alexia Richard. Third-seeded Americans Terese Cannon & Megan Kraft bounced back from their first-leg loss to the French team with a 2-0 (21-13, 21-19) shutout of Lithuanian Olympians Monika Paulikiene & Aine Raupelyte to stay alive in the tournament.
Fourth-seeded Tina & Anastasija qualified for the round of 12 with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-17) victory over Switzerland’s Tanja Huberli & Leona Kernen in the Pool D final. In the third place match, Finnish qualifiers Taru Lahti-Liukkonen & Niina Ahtiainen knocked out Brazil’s Andressa Cavalcanti & Taina Bigi in a 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) sweep.
The final Pool E standings were topped by fifth-seeded Carol & Rebecca. In the only women’s three-setter of the day, the Brazilian standouts came back from a set down to celebrate a 2-1 (14-21, 21-18, 15-12) victory over Switzerland’s Anouk Verge-Depre & Zoe Verge-Depre. Carol owned the net in the match and put away as many as eight kill blocks and 21 successful spikes towards her team’s success. Italy’s Claudia Scampoli & Giada Bianchi finished third in the pool after knocking out Spanish qualifiers Belen Carro & Paula Soria with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-17) shutout.
In the big Pool F final, Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalists Melissa & Brandie celebrated a 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) win over the American pairing of reigning world champion Kelly Cheng with Molly Shaw. In the survival match, another American duo, Hailey Harward & Molly Phillips, delivered a 2-0 (21-10, 21-18) straight-setter against Brazil’s Verena Figueira de Oliveira & Kyce Mikaele Martins Silva.
Friday’s women’s program, serving off at 12:00 local time (15:00 UTC), offers the round of 18, followed by the round of 12, which will determine the line-up for Saturday’s quarterfinals.
