SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, May 30, 2026. – The pairs from Canada, Mexico, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic secured their spots in the semifinals of the Fifth Stop of the 2026 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour, held at the Flor Blanca Sports Complex in San Salvador.
The quarterfinal round delivered thrilling matches and confirmed the highly competitive level that has characterized this stage of the continental circuit.
Canada’s Rouzbeh Rahnavard and Robert Kemp were the first to book their ticket to the semifinals after a commanding victory over Guatemala’s Edgar Andrés Maldonado and José Miguel Izaguirre by scores of 21-10 and 21-14.
Meanwhile, Mexico’s Ines Vargas and Carlos Andrés Ayala once again showed why they lead the season rankings, defeating Nicaragua’s Ruben Mora and Dany López 21-13 and 21-14.
The fans of El Salvador celebrated the advance of the local duo, cousins Rafael and Gabriel Vargas, who starred in one of the hardest‑fought matches of the day. Rafa and Gabo overcame Costa Rica’s Yulius Brown and Sebastián Valenciano in three sets, 21-15, 13-21, and 15-9, to secure their place among the tournament’s top four teams.
In the last quarterfinal match, the Dominican duo Francisco De Jesús and Oscar José Martínez surprised USA’s Lev Priima and Diego Pérez, winning 21-18 and 21-15 to complete the semifinal lineup.
With these results, Canada, Mexico, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic remain in contention for the title of the fifth stop of the 2026 NORCECA Beach Tour, while fans await an intense semifinal round in the Salvadoran capital.
In classification matches for positions 9 through 12, De Jesús/Segura (DOM) defeated Hamilton/Sousa (BER) 2-0 (21-7, 21-14), while Mejía/Guardado Y. of El Salvador beat Merchant/Taylor of the U.S. Virgin Islands 2-0 (21-6, 21-9). On Sunday, the Dominican Republic will face El Salvador for 9th place, while Bermuda will play the Virgin Islands for 11th place.
POOL PLAY RESULTS DAY 2
POOL A: Lares/Carlos Andres MEX vs Merchant/Taylor ISV (21-7, 21-11)
POOL B: Rahnavard/Kemp CAN vs Brown/Valenciano CRC (21-16, 21-15)
POOL C: Zendai/Bristol SKN vs Mejia/Guardado Y. ESA (15-21, 14-21); Mora/López NCA vs De Jesús/Martínez DOM (14-21, 22-20, 15-12)
POOL D: Reyes/Rodríguez HON vs De Jesús/Segura DOM (HON fofeit injury); Rafa/Gabo ESA vs Maldonado/Izaguirre GUA (21-17, 21-13)
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