Editor's note: This article will be updated throughout the day's action.
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Early errors abounded in the round of 16 match between the U.S.' second-seeded April Ross and Alix Klineman and Cuba's 20th-seeded Lidy and Leila, but the Americans ultimately prevailed: 21-17, 21-15.
Ross and Klineman are off to the quarterfinals, where they will play Germany. They're just three wins away from a gold medal -- which would be Ross' first.
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It was the beach volleyball equivalent of David vs. Goliath: Spain's 14th-seeded Liliana Fernandez Steiner and Elsa McMillan against Canada's first-seeded Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes.
The match went pretty much as expected, with Canada's relentless attacks resulting in a 21-13 first-set victory. Pavan and Humana-Paredes ripped open a 10-4 lead in the second set when a ball went wide, and began to pile on point after point (with a few exceptions). Final score: 21-13, 21-12.
Could we be headed toward a North American gold medal match, Canada vs. the United States? Canada has two pairs left, both in the top half of the bracket, while Ross and Klineman are on the bottom.
SEE MORE: Canada thrashes Spain in straight sets to advance
INTERNATIONAL MEN'S MATCHES
Latvia's Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs continue to improve their bonafide with a straight-sets defeat of Brazil's Bruno Schmidt and Evandro, 21-19 and 21-18. The Brazilians were tied 16-16 in the first set and pulled within 19-18 in the second but Plavins and Tocs stood strong (and leapt stronger) in reaching the quarterfinals.
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