SALVADOR, BRAZIL - Led by top-seeded Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak, five teams from the Women's Professional Volleyball Association combined to win 10 matches here Thursday (October 30) to advance in FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship Tour event.

A pair of Manhattan Beach, Calif., residents, Arce and McPeak scored wins over teams from Switzerland and Australia to advance to a championship bracket quarter-final match against WPVA rivals Karrie Poppinga and Angela Rock.

Seeded ninth in the international event, Poppinga and Rock defeated teams from Italy and Denmark to advance to Friday's opening match. Poppinga and Rock dropped the title match to Liz Masakayan and Elaine Youngs in the 1997 WPVA finale at Lihue, Kaua'i, Hi., September 28.

Sixth-seeded Masakayan and Youngs, who won two WPVA titles in 1997, won matches over teams from Canada and Portugal to earn a quarter- final spot against third-seeded Sandra Pires and Jackie Silva, the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Game gold medalists.

Other quarter-final matches Friday have 12th-seeded Laura Bruschini and Anna Maria Solazzi of Italy challenging fourth-seeded Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar of Brazil, and second-seeded Monica Rodrigues and Adriana Samuel of Brazil playing seventh-seeded Maike Friedrichsen and Danja Musch of Germany.

Two other tandems from the WPVA are still in contention as both teams won two of three matches Thursday. Fifth-seeded Barbra Fontana and Nancy Reno play 13th-seeded Angela Clarke and Natalie Cook of Australia in an contender's bracket third-round match Friday while 23rd-seeded Desiree Leipham and Deb Richardson challenge 15th-seeded Danielle Gattelli and Lucilla Perrotta of Italy.

Fontana and Reno, who finished fourth in an international event at Marseille, France, in their first-ever pro event together, opened with a win over a team from Brazil before being upset by Bruschini and Solazzi. Fontana and Reno rebounded with a contender's bracket win over a team from Netherlands.

Leipham and Richardson, who are playing in their first-ever event together, opened Thursday with a 16-14 upset win over a team from Brazil before losing Friedrichsen and Musch 15-7. The Leipham and Richardson tandem advanced to Friday's play with a 15-13 win over a team from Italy. Here are the WPVA results (seed):

Championship bracket, first-round - Arce/McPeak (1) def. Chiaradia/Fontana, SUI, 15-1; Poppinga/Rock (9) def. Folco/Nascimento, ITA (24), 15-7; Fontana/Reno (5) def. Nessa/Risia, BRA, 15-13 (28); Masakayan/Youngs (6); def. Storch/Gougeon, CAN (27), 15-3; Leipham/Richardson (23) def. Adriana Bento/Ana Richa, BRA (10), 16-14. Championship bracket, first-round - Arce/McPeak def. Straton/Wilson, AUS (16), 15-6; Poppinga/Rock def. Jorgensen-Sommer, DEN (25), 15-11; Bruschini/Solazzi, ITA (12) def. Fontana/Reno, 15-4; Masakayan/Youngs def. Maria/Sarmento, POR (22), 15-5; Friedrichsen/Musch, GER (7) def. Leipham/Richardson, 15-7. Contender's bracket, second-round - Leipham/Richardson def. Folco/Nascimento, ITA (24), 15-13; Fontana/Reno def. Schoon Kadijk/R. Kadijk, NED (11), 15-10.