Stavanger, Norway, June 28, 2009 - Competition in six of the 12 women's pools at the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships presented by ConocoPhillips was held here Sunday with three groups having sole leaders while the other three pools have two tandems tied atop the standings.

With three days of pool play left in the US$1-million event on the dockside courts at Vaagen Harbour, the 12 women’s pools will determine the 32-team single-elimination bracket where competition begins Thursday. Nine of Sunday's 12 winning pairs have now clinched spots in the second phase of the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships.

Sole pool leaders are sixth-seeded Angie Akers/Tyra Turner (Pool F) of the United States, 14th-seeded Marleen Van Iersel/Sanne Keizer (Pool K) of the Netherlands and 16th-seeded Stephanie Pohl/Okka Rau (Pool I) of Germany as each team has posted 2-0 records in their groups to have a match win advantage over the next two tandems in their pools.

Xi Zhang, a bronze medal winner for China at the Beijing 2008 Olympics Games, and her 16-year old partner Ying Huang challenge 10th-seeded Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig of Germany for the Pool J leadership. The 10th-seeded Chinese defeated a Finnish team Sunday while Goller and Ludwig posted a three-set victory over a Mexican tandem.

Top-seeded Jen Kessy and April Ross of the United States and 24th-seeded Inese Jursone and Inguna Minusa of Latvia share the Pool A lead and will play Tuesday for either the first or second seed in the elimination rounds as each team posted wins Sunday over pairs from the United States and Norway, respectively. Kessy and Ross hold a 3-0 edge over Jursone and Minusa in international meetings with two victories in Stavanger.

Fifth-seeded Shelda Bede and Ana Paula Connelly of Brazil will be playing Vassiliki Arvaniti and Maria Tsiartsiani of Greece for the Pool E leadership in the first meeting between the two teams.

The women's medal matches will be July 4 followed by the men's podium placement matches July 5. The 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Championships features 48 men's and 48 women's Beach Volleyball teams from 32 countries.