Dalhausser and Rogers upset; Branagh and Youngs victorious

Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers' bid for a beach volleyball medal didn't end Saturday, but the top American duo has a lot of work to do to reach the medal round following a 21-19, 21-18 loss to Latvia's Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs in the first preliminary match in Pool B.

Dalhausser and Rogers, the tournament's No. 2 seed, will have to defeat teams from Argentina and Switzerland to automatically qualify for the 16-team single elimination playoffs. Another loss could jeopardize their chances to move on.

Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs, the No. 5 seed in the women's draw, were pushed by the Netherlands' Rebekka Kadijk and Merel Mooren before prevailing 21-19, 27-25 in a Pool E contest. Branagh and Youngs have upcoming matches against Cuba and Germany before the single-elimination playoffs begin.