On the second last day of the beach volleyball competition at the 2017 Pacific Mini Games in Port Vila, the strength of the top women’s teams shone through
In the first match, New Caledonia was challenged by Wallis and Futuna but took the three set tussle with a clear 15-7 final score.
The ever-popular Vanuatu pairing of Linline Matauatu and Loti Joe came onto the sand next and dominated the Solomon Islands in two straight sets.
Matauatu struggled with her serving in the second set but their tactics were strong in play and helped them to a convincing win.
Despite rain causing the neighbouring tennis competition to be briefly suspended, beach volleyball stopped for nothing short of lightning and the women persisted in the wet conditions.
The third match began with uncertainty as Kiribati was nowhere to be seen at the scheduled start time.
Fortunately, officials showed some patience and when the pair appeared on court the game began.
With both teams so far without a win it was hard to know which way the contest would go.
Guam started strongly but Kiribati fought back in the second set and so the game went to a third, where Guam stepped up their performance and took an easy win in the end, 15-5.
Photo source Oceania Volleyball/ Facebook