Lessard and Martin Hit Stride in Norway
Canadians Marie-Andree Lessard and Annie Martin strung together two more wins yesterday to remain in medal contention in Kristiansand, Norway, the 13th stop on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour circuit.
Lessard and Martin defeated Mathilde Giordano and Eva Hamzaoui of France 19-21, 21-18, 15-13 then Cristine Santanna and Andrezza Martins das Chagas of Georgia 33-31, 21-16 squandering six set points before winning the first set.
“It was a real adventure,” said Martin about the first set against the Georgians. “We made some good defensive blocks and finally won the set. We had to be patient.”
The Canadians need to win three matches on Friday to advance to the semifinals.  They suffered their one loss on Wednesday and can’t afford a second in the double elimination tournament.
Heather Bansley and Liz Maloney of Toronto saw their tournament end as they lost to fourth seeds Vivian Cunha and Taiana Lima of Brazil 21-12, 23-21. Bansley and Maloney will place 17th overall, their best result this season on the circuit.
Jamie Broder of Victoria and Liz Cordonier of Vancouver, lost their two main draw matches and were eliminated.
In men’s qualifying all three Canadian entries did not make the cut. They were Martin Reader of Comox, B.C., and Chaim Schalk of Red Deer, Alta.; Ben Saxton of Calgary and Steve Marshall of Abbotsford and Josh Binstock and Matt Zbyszewski, both of Toronto.
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