The quarter-finals of beach volleyball's Porec Cup took place in Croatia on Friday (1st July) as pairings look to hone their skills ahead of the Rio Olympics.

The quarter-finals of the Porec Cup in Croatia on Friday some saw plenty of excitment for the fans in attendance.

Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst of Austria were clearly delighted in their 21-19, 27-25 win over Netherlands.

Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt produced a strong finish to beat Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Raurich of Italy 21-19, 21-9, while Jacob Gibb and Casey Patterson of the USA just edged past their Austrian opponents 21-19, 21-19.

In the women's compeition tenth-seeded Karla Borger and Britta Buthe of Germany faced Italian 13th seeds Marta Menegatti and Viktoria Orsi Toth.

The German duo edged a tight opening set, before dominating the second set for a 23-21, 21-12 victory.

Canadians Heather Bansley and Sarah Pavan also progressed to the semi-final stage of the tournament, despite having suffered losses at the pool stage.

They fended off the daunting challenge of Brazilian pair Fernanda Alves and Josemari Alves, winning 21-15, 20-22, 15-12.

Another German pair, Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst, were also triumphant in their quarter-final.

Looking to extend a FIVB winning streak of 18 matches, Ludwig and Walkenhorst made a blistering start and took the opening set 21-10.

The second was far closer, but Swiss opponents Tanja Huberli and Nina Betschart were unable to force a decider as they were beaten 21-10, 21-19.

The action continues on Saturday (2nd July).