NICOLAIDIS AND CARRACHER SECURE ROUND OF 32 BERTH ON NIGHT 3 OF THE 2025 FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS  

Crowds at the 2025 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships were treated to a world class showcase of beach volleyball action and entertainment, as Paris Olympians Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher claiming the win against French team Bassereau/Aye, C. (21-19, 24-22). 

Fans at The Drive were on the edge of their seats from start to finish, with Carracher and Nicolaidis putting on an epic show of skill and flair on the sand.

After a disappointing loss on Saturday night, Carracher and Nicolaidis bounced back to book their spot in the Round of 32.

“It was pretty exciting, we were down and out in that first set and to somehow bring it back and make some pretty big sideouts at the end of the set, you just never know which way those games around going to go,” Carracher said.

“We say this is both the awful and the really fun part about beach volleyball, is that any game can go either way, and last night it didn’t go our way and tonight we hung in there long enough to get across the line.

“For us it’s a fun one, we love to celebrate the big plays…so to have the crowd involved from the start, and to make a couple play to get them going and to also get us going, that always helps, and hopefully we can keep it going like that through the back end of this tournament.”

Momentum was swinging in the favour of the Aussies, something they’ll be hoping to keep up in the Round of 32 which gets underway on Tuesday/Wednesday.

“We had a plan coming into it and then once you get in the big moments it’s kind of scrappy and anything goes, so Izac was doing a great job up there at the net and I think that was the deciding factor in tonights game,” Nicolaidis said. 

“We could definitely hear them [the French supporters], and I think that it’s a challenge for the Aussies that are coming for the rest of the week, to drown out the French supporters,” he said.

The win secures Nicolaidis/Carracher a second place finish in their pool, the duo earning a rest day tomorrow, with the Round of 32 draw to be determined following the final pool play tomorrow (Monday) night. 

Earlier in the day, Aussie wildcards Kayla Mears and Tara Phillips upset their Polish opposition to move through to the Lucky Losers round, to be played on Tuesday. While young guns Stefie Fejes and Jasmine Fleming also recorded a win to earn their spot in the Lucky Losers round.

The final day of pool play will take place across The Drive and Pinky Flat/Tarntanya Wama tomorrow, with the last positions in the Round of 32 and Lucky Losers up for grabs:

• 12:00pm ACDT – Potts/Pearse (AUS) v Penninga/Immers (NED)
• 6:00pm ACDT – Hood/Merritt (AUS) v Bello/Bello (ENG)
• 8:00pm ACDT – Alchin/Johnson (AUS) – Paniagua/Payano (DOM)
• 10:00pm ACDT – Ryan/Schubert (AUS) – Mol/Mol (NOR)

Every Australian match will be broadcast live and free on SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand, with tickets and hospitality available via Ticketek.