Gstaad, Switzerland, July 10, 2009 - Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel of The Netherlands, Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca of Brazil, Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs of the United States and Talita Antunes and Maria Antonelli of Brazil entered the women's "final Four" of the 10th annual 1to1energy Grand Slam here Friday.

Keizer will play third-seeded Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca of Brazil in one opening match Saturday with fourth-seeded Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs of the United States challenging second-seeded Talita Antunes and Maria Antonelli of Brazil in another semi-final confrontation.

Seeded 13th in the 32-team Main Draw, Keizer and Van Iersel won a pair of elimination matches Friday over teams from Norway and Germany to become the first European women's team to earn a "final four".

After scoring 21-16, 21-23 and 15-13 win in 58 minutes over 14th-seeded Nila Ann Hakedal and Ingrid Torlen of Norway, Keizer and Van Iersel posted a 14-21, 21-19 and 15-13 victory in 55 minutes over eighth-seeded Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig of Germany to advance Sunday's semi-finals.

Juliana and Larissa avenged their gold medal setback to Jen Kessy and April Ross of the United States with a 19-21, 22-20 and 15-13 victory as both Brazilians fought off third-set injuries. The setback also snapped Kessy and Ross' string of six-straight appearances in SWATCH FIVB World Tour semi-final appearances s where the Americans had claimed three gold and three silver medals.

Talita and Antonelli reached their fifth-straight SWATCH FIVB World Tour "final four" this year by posting a 21-14 and 21-19 win in 40 minutes over fifth-seeded Brazilian rivals Shelda Bede and Ana Paula Connelly.

Branagh and Youngs reached their third SWATCH semi-final in three FIVB events this season by scoring a 21-16, 18-21 and 15-12 win in 53 minutes over 11th-seeded Katrin Holtwick and Ilka Semmler of Germany.