Pavan and McBain break through and survive Espinho Challenge qualifier

In their first match, Crabb and Sander came out on top of a tough duel with Austrians Robin Seidl and Moritz Pristauz, which had two sets going to overtime, winning it 2-1 (39-37, 16-21, 19-17). In the decisive match, the Americans again needed the tie-breaker (18-21, 21-12, 15-9), this time to defeat French Olivier Barthelemy and Samuel Cattet.

“I thought we were playing well in the first set against the French, but we gave up a little bit of a run and they started playing really well,” Sander, a Rio 2016 volleyball Olympic medalist, remarked. “We were doing pretty well on our side out, so we just kept doing it and got some good blocks and digs in the back. Overall our serve was good and put a lot of pressure on them.”