Krieva/Zaķīte enters U-18 World Championship round of 16 with perfect group stage
Latvian beach volleyball duo Krieva/Zaķīte won all three matches in Group G to secure a spot in the round of 16. The men's team Lasmanis/Pastars has won its first two games.
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The Latvian beach volleyball pair, seeded 26th in the main draw after qualifying as the sixth seed, won all three group matches to advance directly to the round of 16. In their third group match, they defeated Kazakhstan's Gayan Galaş/Mareya Kozhakhmet (seeded 23rd) 2-0 (21:14, 21:15). Earlier on Thursday, the Latvians beat Canada's Julie McDougall and Natalie Kasasa (seeded 7th) 2-0 (21:9, 21:19) in the first match, and in the second they edged Venezuela's Valeria Figueredo/Mariana Esteves (seeded 10th) 2-0 (22:20, 25:23). With three wins in as many games, the Latvian beach volleyball players finished first in Group G, earning a direct berth in the second round of the elimination stage. In qualifying, they had a bye in the first round, then defeated Czech pair Lea Mifkova/Emma Šebová (seeded 22nd) 2-0 in the second round, and in the decisive match beat Austria's Helena Ferstl-Schmid/Emilia Gruša (seeded 3rd) 2-0. In the men's tournament, Renārs Lasmanis/Ernests Pastars are competing and have won their first two matches. The U-18 World Championships in The Hague will conclude on Sunday.
