Moscow Grand Slam Quarter-finals will be interesting

Moscow, Russia, May 28, 2016 – Led by Beach Volleyball power Brazil, 16 teams from nine countries will be competing here Saturday in the men’s and women’s quarter-finals matches at the US$800,000 Moscow Grand Slam with the “Elite 8” winners advancing to the afternoon and early evening semi-finals at the Vodny Stadium Beach Sports Centre.

Brazil, which will host the Rio 2016 Olympic Beach Volleyball competition August 6-18 on iconic Copacabana, has five pairs left in the competition led by reigning FIVB world champions Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt.  The Netherlands, Poland and the United States will each have two teams playing in Saturday’s quarter-finals along with pairs from Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. 

With the FIVB World Tour returning to the Russian capital for the ninth-straight season, defending Moscow Grand Slam champions Talita Antunes/Larissa Franca of Brazil and Adrian Gavira/Pablo Herrera of Spain are still playing in the women’s and men’s elimination bracket seeking to return to Sunday’s medal matches where the winning pairs will share the $57,000 first-place prizes.

Vodny Stadium Beach Sports Centre

Talita and Larissa are one of three Brazilian women’s teams still playing as the 12-time winners of the FIVB World Tour since former their partnership in July 2014 will be challenged by 10th-seeded Karla Borger and Britta Buthe of Germany.  Both teams have won four-straight matches in the Moscow Grand Slam this week without losing a set.

The series between the two teams is tied 1-1 with Borger/Buthe winning the last meeting by defeating Talita and Larissa 2-1 (23-21, 15-21, 15-11) in a 47-minute elimination bracket match February 26 in Maceio, Brazil.  When the Brazilians …

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