Defending champions Nuss and Brasher lead American trio into the Round of 12

Joining them, Cannon/Kraft and Cheng/Shaw also topped their pools in the Swiss Alps event.

Aiming to defend their 2024 title at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite event in Gstaad, Olympians Kristen Nuss and Taryn Brasher spearheaded three American duos advancing to this year’s tournament’s Round of 12 on Thursday.

The duo secured consecutive wins at the start of the main draw in the Swiss Alps, finishing first in their pool. This qualified them directly for the Round of 12, a stage also reached by fellow Americans Terese Cannon/Megan Kraft and Kelly Cheng/Molly Shaw, as well as teams from hosts Switzerland, Canada, and Germany. These six teams will have a rest day on Friday.

Defending Gstaad Elite champions Nuss (27) and Brasher (28) dominated Pool A with a smooth start, defeating French Olympians Lézana Placette and Alexia Richard 2-0 (21-13, 21-19) and Germans Sandra Ittlinger and Anna-Lena Grüne also in straight sets (21-18, 21-15) to secure the top rank in their group.

Cannon and Kraft, last year`s finalists against Nuss/Brasher, also began their campaign strongly, aiming for another shot at the title. They finished first in Pool E with straight-set victories over Dutch qualifiers Emi van Driel and Wies Bekhuis (21-12, 21-12) and Latvian Olympians Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova (21-18, 21-15).

Kelly Cheng, a 2022 world champion, and Molly Shaw faced a tougher route, needing two tie-breakers to claim the top spot in Pool F. They defeated fellow Americans Julia Donlin and Lexy Denaburg 2-1 (25-23, 14-21, 15-13) in their first match and then overcame the Swiss Vergé-Dépré sisters Anouk and Zoé, winning in three sets (19-21, 23-21, 19-17) a few hours later in what was arguably the day`s most thrilling match in Gstaad.

Hüberli and Kernen top Pool B

Following the Vergé-Dépré sisters` loss in their final match, Tanja Hüberli and Leona Kernen secured a spot in the Round of 12 for host nation Switzerland. They finished first in Pool B by defeating Spanish Olympians Daniela Álvarez and Tania Moreno 2-0 (21-19, 26-24) and securing another straight-set win against Dutch Raisa Schoon and Mila Konink (21-10, 21-15).

Canadian Olympic silver medalists Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes led Pool C. They had a comfortable two-set (21-15, 21-13) victory against Ukrainians Maryna Hladun and Tetiana Lazarenko in their first match and later showed resilience to win a three-set (21-14, 30-32, 15-7) battle against German qualifiers Louisa Lippmann and Linda Bock.

The sixth pool winners, German duo Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann, required six sets to advance from Pool D. The reigning European champions won 2-1 (19-21, 21-19, 15-9) against Czechs Marketa Svozilova and Marie-Sára Štochlová and again needed three sets (18-21, 21-17, 15-12) to overcome the Austrian Klinger sisters Ronja and Dorina in their pool final.

Friday will see the conclusion of women`s pool play and the Round of 18 matches. The Round of 12 and quarterfinals are set for Saturday, leading up to the semifinals and medal matches on Sunday.