American duo Sean Rosenthal and Trevor Crabb took a step towards booking a place in the main draw ©FIVB

American duo Sean Rosenthal and Trevor Crabb took a step towards booking a place in the main draw at the International Volleyball Federation Beach World Tour event in The Hague as they earned victory in the first qualification round today.

Rosenthal, a 10-time gold medallist on the World Tour, and Crabb fought back from a set down to beat South Africa’s Grant Goldschmidt and Leo Williams at the SportsCampus Zuiderpark Indoor Arena.

The American pair made a sluggish start but recovered to clinch a 12-21, 21-13, 15-9 victory on the opening day of the event in the Dutch city.

The win saw them progress to the second qualification round, where they will face Russia's Vasilii Ivanov and Ilya Leshukov.

"It is our first win of the year so we were a little sloppy," Rosenthal said. 

"They came out and were serving well and we were shanking balls everywhere. 

Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner of the Czech Republic were among the other winners today ©FIVB
Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner of the Czech Republic were among the other winners today ©FIVB

"But we came back and a win is a win.

"We passed the ball better [after the first set]. 

"We were shanking balls all over the place and that is how we were knocked out of this tournament last year. 

"We were struggling with the pass and it is a lot different for us indoor. 

"The ball moves differently and we just had to stay with it and work through it." 

Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner of the Czech Republic were among the other winners today as they swept aside the Ukraine's Iaroslav Gordieiev and Evgen Zhuravel 21-14, 21-7.

They will go up against Austria’s Thomas Kunert and Philipp Waller, who overcame Kusti Nõlvak and Mart Tiisaar of Estonia 21-19, 21-13, in the second qualification round tomorrow.