A frenetic day of activity at Horseshoe Bay saw competition in the World Under-19 Volleyball Championships whittled down to just a dozen teams with over 50 matches crammed into 11 hours of sun-baked play.

The women?s competition is now down to the semi-final stage while the men are at the quarter-finals after organisers condensed the competition considerably, squeezing what should have been two days play into one long session ahead of Tropical Storm Florence?s weekend arrival.

There is even some doubt about completing the final 12 matches today with tropical storm force winds expected to arrive tonight and play scheduled to finish around 4 p.m.

A JCB spent most of yesterday digging an enormous trench in front of the courts to protect them from potential flooding as a high tide combined with a full moon and the onrushing weather system posed a significant threat to the structures.

Organisers will be praying the weather holds off sufficiently to allow the completion of matches in time to take down the expensive and cumbersome equipment that has accompanied the tournament and turned Horseshoe into Volleyball Central.

And the players deserve their chance to be crowned world champions after battling through as many as four matches in a single day yesterday, including some wickedly long games in the baking sun.

The day began with the completion of the round robin stages, with the top two from each group as well as the four best third-placed teams advancing.

The women played two knockout rounds with German pair Svenja Engelhardt and Britta Buthe the first to claim a semi-final place, knocking out French pair Emma Larche and Camille Clavreul who had looked to be one of the tournament favourites.

The belligerent Germans, who performed their dig, set, spike routines with the same efficiency as their countrymen take penalties, came back from behind to beat the French girls 18-21, 21-18, 16-14 in an absorbing centre court battle that lasted just short of an hour.

Next through were Dutch pair Marleen Van Iersel and Danielle Remmers, who disposed of Karolina Michalkiewicz and Karolina Sowala of Poland 21-11, 21-17 while the incredibly passionate Aussies Alice Rohkamper and Becchara Palmer ? screaming and shouting with every point ? did it the hard way, beating their Czech opponents 21-19, 13-21, 15-13.

The final pair through to the semis were Swiss girls Tanja Goricanec and Taryn Sciarini who upset the large Italian contingent and knocked out Gilda Lombardo and Marta Menegatti in a 54-minute, three-set thriller.

Eight men?s pairs remain with qualifiers Francesco Giontella and Nicolai Paolo looking to be among the favourites.

The pair, who came through the group containing Bermudians Matthew Sinclair and Ian Bucci, showed their strength with a relatively straightforward victory over Dutch pair Pelle Klein and Alexander Brouwer to be the first men?s team to claim a quarter-final spot.

With the 6ft 4ins Paolo blocking at will at the net and Giontella diving all over the court like his hero Gianluigi Buffon, the Italians claimed their sixth victory in three days of competition in Bermuda in 40 minutes, a 21-17, 21-16 win.

?We are used to the heat now and the time difference,? said Giontella, whose English is as good as his digging.

?We have played lots of games now and we are feeling very good. I think, yes, we have a good chance of winning. It is a shame about the weather problems but we don?t mind playing these games one after each other and we hope to do well on the last day.?

The Italian national Under-19 champion, accompanied then by a different partner, will take on the last remaining Brazilians Icaro Gregorio do Nascimento and Watson Trovati Matos in today?s clash.

Other pairs through are from Germany, France, Poland while Andorran pair Xavier Folguera and Christian Salvador who came through a marathon against Spaniards Sergio del Pino Hernandez and Jesus Catizo Diaz 19-21, 26-24, 18-16 to book the final quarter-final spot.

In group play earlier in the day, the Bermudians were beaten 21-0, 21-4 by Matteo and Paolo Ingrosso of Italy.