Brazil, U.S. women advance to semifinals of beach volleyball world championships

STAVANGER, Norway, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Teams from beach volleyball powers Brazil and United States will vie for the women's medals at the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships as their beach volleyball tandems won a pair of matches each here on Friday.

Enjoying the warmest, driest and sunniest weather for this time of the year in nearly three decades in this southwestern Norwegian city, the women's medal matches will be played late Saturday afternoon.

Competing in mid-day semi-finals Saturday will be four of the top five-seeded teams in the competition with the first match featuring Americans Jen Kessy/April Ross against Brazilians Shelda Bede/Ana Paula Connelly.

The second "final four" match will be an All-Brazilian affair between Talita Antunes/Maria Antonelli and Juliana Felisberta Silva/Larissa Franca.

The USA-Brazil semi-final confrontation was established when the fifth-seeded Shelda and Ana Paula scored a 17-21, 22-20 and 15-12 win in 63 minutes over the fourth-seeded Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youungs of the United States while top-seeded Kessy and Ross ousted sixth-seeded compatriots Angie Akers and Tyra Turner 17-21, 21-12 and 15-9 in 51 minutes.

The All-Brazilian semi-final was set when second-seeded Talita Antunes and Maria Antonelli scored a 21-17 and 21-16 win in 42 minutes over the 12th-seeded Austrian Schwaiger sisters (Doris and Stefanie) while the third-seeded Juliana and Larissa posted a 21-13 and 21-16 win in 35 minutes over 14th-seeded Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel of the Netherlands.

Aslo on Saturday the men's quarterfinals will be held. Those eight teams competing for the "final four" positions are from Brazil, the United States, Germany and Spain respectively.