Bermuda's Megan Hands and Natalie Gazzard endured another challenging outing on the sand as the Under-23 NORCECA Continental Beach Volleyball Tour continued in San Salvador.
The Bermudian pairing suffered back-to-back defeats on Saturday, falling short in a marathon three-set battle in their final pool match before bowing out in straight sets during the classification playoffs.
Hands and Gazzard opened their day in Group D with an agonising 2-1 defeat against St Kitts and Nevis duo Shaylee Pinney and Jontelle Hensley Philip in a bruising 49-minute encounter.
In an extraordinary, see-saw opening frame, the Bermudians pushed their Caribbean rivals to the limit before Pinney and Philip edged a gruelling deuce battle to take the first set 27-25.
Bermuda mounted an emphatic response in the second set, controlling the tempo and dominating around the net to pull away and level the contest with a commanding 21-14 victory.
However, the momentum swung decisively away from Hands and Gazzard in the deciding tiebreak. Capitalising on early unforced errors, Pinney and Philip quickly seized control of the sand to wrap up the match with a clinical 15-7 decider.
Dropping into the 9th-to-12th place playoff bracket, the Bermudian pair returned to the court to face Costa Rica’s Laura Molina and Ashly Chavarría.
Still feeling the effects of their physical morning contest, Hands and Gazzard struggled to find their rhythm against the sharp, disciplined Central American pair.
Molina and Chavarría dictated the baseline rallies and neutralised the Bermudian attack from the outset, wrapping up a comprehensive 2-0 victory in just 26 minutes to seal their progression in the classification rounds.
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