Pan-American Masters Games volleyball hits the beach (photos)

CLEVELAND, Ohio — It was a beautiful breezy summer day at the beach on Lake Erie for some volleyball and that’s exactly what took place as part of the Pan-American Masters Games on Thursday morning.

Dozens of men’s and women’s teams gathered at the Wendy Park volleyball courts on Whiskey Island to hit the sand, as the Age Group Bracket Play beach volleyball kicked off.

Fans could be heard cheering in a handful of languages, including Spanish, Portuguese and English. Quarterfinals, semifinals and finals matches are scheduled throughout the day on the eight silky sand courts.

The first winners of the day were the Men’s 55+ team AABB-BH Brasil, made up of Marco Galante and Sergio Azevedo who defeated another Brazilian team, CAAN Sports Team Master Brasil, 2 games to 1 in the early final.

The tournament will wrap up Thursday with the final matches starting at 2 p.m. Teams qualified for Thursday’s games with a pool play qualifier on Wednesday. Results can be found by clicking here, and they will be updated throughout the day.

The Pan-American Masters Games continue through Saturday, with the closing ceremony on Sunday morning at Mall C in downtown Cleveland from 8-11:30 a.m. The games feature nearly 30 different sporting events around the Northeast Ohio area.

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