Sponcil and Claes, ranked number two in the world, had won both their matches prior to today's action, but lost to Pavan and Humana-Paredes 13-21, 21-14, 11-15 and Brazil's Ágatha Bednarczuk and Eduarda Santos Lisboa 23-21, 16-21, 13-15.

They finished third in Pool B, with the Brazilians in second and Pavan and Humana-Paredes winning all four of their pool-stage matches.

"We are super happy right now, especially after the way that first set went," said Humana-Paredes. 

"It took us a little bit to get into the match, so it’s a huge relief and we are really happy to have come back playing a lot stronger in that game and to come up on top of our pool. 

"Our pool is so hard! 

"All the pools here are so hard! 

"I think we are getting into a groove. 

"We are playing some good volleyball. 

"So I’m excited about what’s to come."

The US' pair will now face another American duo in the quarter-finals, after Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions April Ross and Alix Klineman finished second in Pool A.

Russian pair Nadezda Makroguzova and Svetlana Kholomina, who became the first team to secure qualification into the knockout stages yesterday, defeated Switzerland's Nina Betschart and Tanja Hüberli 21-17, 27-25 to top the group with four wins from four and join Pavan and Humana-Paredes in the semi-finals.

The other quarter-final sees Bednarczuk and Santos Lisboa face Germany's Karla Borger and Julia Sude, who beat Italy’s Marta Menegatti and Valentina Gottardi 21-18, 21-14 to finish third in Pool A.

In the men's competition, the Czech Republic's Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner secured their place in the men's semi-finals with a 21-16, 21-19 win over Italy's Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo to top Pool A.

The Czech pair won all four pool-stage matches, dropping just one set across their four games. 

Nicolai and Lupo, however, did qualify for the quarter-finals thanks to Dutch pair Christiaan Varenhorst and Steven van de Velde's 21-16, 21-14 victory over Latvia's Mārtiņš Pļaviņš and Edgars Točs.

In Pool B, Norway's Olympic Champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum squeezed past Bahrain Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan in a crucial final contest of the pool stages.

Mol and Sørum topped the group with the enthralling 21-17, 17-21, 16-14 victory, securing their place in the semi-finals alongside Perušič and Schweiner, with Younousse and Tijan having to settle for third in the group after an earlier defeat to The Netherlands' Robert Meeuwsen and Alexander Brouwer, who ended the pool stages in second.

The Qatari pair will play the other Dutch duo in the quarter-finals - Varenhorst and van de Velde - while Meeuwsen and Bouwer will face Nicolai and Lupo.

The quarter-finals and semi-finals are due to be played tomorrow, with the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals wrapping up on Sunday.