Debutantes Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss of the United States have reached the quarter-finals of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Mexico without losing a set ©Getty Images

Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss of the United States, making their debut in the 2023 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Beach Volleyball World Championships being held in Mexico, have reached the women's quarter-finals without losing a set.

They earned a 24-22, 21-14 victory over Brazilians Agatha Bednarczuk and Rebecca Cavalcanti in their round-of-16 match at Tlaxcala.

Bednarczuk is the second world champion to have been defeated by the US pairing following their earlier win against a Canadian team featuring Sarah Pavan.

The Americans, who practice below sea level in Louisiana, had to prepare to handle the altitude of about 2,200 metres in Tlaxcala.

"It was tough to prepare for the altitude because we were going to be playing in Paris the week before," Nuss told Volleyball World.

"But we train in very high temperatures, so that helped us adapt to it. We’re doing fine, but we can definitely feel the altitude a little bit."

The United States and Brazil will each have two teams in the women’s quarterfinals after the round-of-16 was completed across four Mexican cities.

Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Switzerland will also be represented in the third stage of the elimination rounds, which will have four matches taking place in Tlaxcala, Apizaco and Huamantla.

Kloth and Nuss will next meet European champions Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli of Switzerland, who overcame another American duo, Betsi Flint and Julia Scoles, 21-17, 27-25.

The second American team in the quarter[finals, Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes, beat Latvia’s Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova 19-21, 21-16, 15-11.

Their next opponents, Tainá Bigi and Victoria Lopes of Brazil, beat Germany’s 2022 bronze medallists Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann 21-19, 22-24, 15-13.

But Brazil’s defending champions Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa and Ana Patrícia Ramos advanced with a 25-23, 21-18 win over China’s Chen Xue and Xinyi Xia and will now play Dutch pairing Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon, who beat Americans Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft 21-18, 21-17.

Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson earned their fifth straight-set win - 21-14, 21-11 - against Esmée Böbner and Zoé Vergé-Dépré of Switzerland.

Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway have reached the quarter-finals as they defend their men's title at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Mexico ©Getty Images
Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway have reached the quarter-finals as they defend their men's title at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Mexico ©Getty Images

They will now face Tokyo Olympic silver medallists Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho of Australia, who needed the tie-breaker to earn a 21-18, 15-21, 15-11 win over Italians Marta Menegatti and Valentina Gottardi.

Defending men's champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway moved smoothly through to the quarter-finals.

They defeated Italians Paolo Nicolai and Samuele Cottafava 21-15, 21-17 to earn a meeting with Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner of the Czech Republic, who secured a 21-15, 21-17 win over another Italian pairing, Daniele Lupo and Enrico Rossi.

Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen, the Rio 2016 bronze medallists, were beaten 21-13, 21-11 in their round-of-16 match by Sweden's David Ahman and Jonatan Hellvig, who will now face another Dutch pairing in the form of Stefan Boermans and Yorick De Groot, who defeated compatriots Immers and Van de Velde 21-18, 16-21, 15-13.

United States pairings contest the other two quarter-finals, as Miles Partain and Andy Benesh take on Poland's Bartosz Losiak and Michal Bryl, while Taylor Crabb and Theo Brunner meet Brazil's Pedro Solberg and Guto.