Saxton & Schalk win way into Rio bracket

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 11, 2016 - With Canadian having two women’s teams in the elimination rounds for the Beach Volleyball competition at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the North American country will be represented in the men’s bracket by Ben Saxton and Chaim Schalk after the pair won a “lucky loser” match late Thursday over Poland.

A third-place finisher in Pool D with a three-set victory over Evandro Goncalves and Pedro Salgado of Brazil , Saxton and Schalk scored a 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) win in 45 minutes over Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel of Poland.  The Canadians now lead the international series with the Poles 5-2.

With a berth in the 16-team elimination bracket, Saxton and Schalk will play their first match this weekend against Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen of The Netherlands, the 2015 FIVB world champions.