Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 6, 2016 - Adrian Carambula and Alex Ranghieri of Italy used runs of five and six points in each set here Saturday to post a win over Austrians Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst in the opening Beach Volleyball match at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the 12,000-seat “Coliseu on Copacabana”.
During their 2-0 (21-14, 21-13) Pool A win in 41 minutes over Doppler and Horst, the Italians broke open both sets with their scoring runs. Trailing 2-1 in the first set, Carambula and Ranghieri scored five-straight points to take a 6-2 lead with the Austrians never getting closer than three points in the set. Ranghieri had four blocks in the set, including one at 3-2 to give the Italians the lead for good.
With the second set tied at 5-5, Carambula and Ranghieri gained some breathing room at 8-6 and started their six-point run to take the score from 8-7 to 15-7. Doppler and Horst, who are playing in their second-straight Olympic Games together, never found their rhythm in either set.
As promised, Carambula started the match with a “sky ball” on the first serve of the match, but it failed to go over the net.
The two teams return to action Monday with Doppler and Horst playing top-seeded Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt of Brazil in the afternoon session while Carambula and Ranghieri meet Josh Binstock and Sam Schachter of Canada in the evening.
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