Rhiannon Byers' Australian Women's Sevens team have secured a place in the finals following wins over Spain (31-5), Fiji (35-7) and a draw with Canada (26-26) at the HSBC USA Sevens on Sunday morning.
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The strong day one showing in Glendale, Colorado has seen the Australians top Pool C in the opening event of the 2019/20 HSBC Women's Sevens World Series.
Australia will now face Russia in the Cup quarter finals, kicking off at 3.33am AEDT on Monday morning.
Emma Tonegato kicked off her campaign with a hat-trick in the opening match against Spain, while Charlotte Caslick was able to match that feat with a treble of her own in a dominant win over Fiji in game two.
Australia's third and final match of the day took top billing for day one, as the Aussies traded tries with Canada until eventually the two sides shared the spoils after the Canadians scored to snatch a late draw in a pulsating contest.
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Tonegato, Caslick and Green were at their try-scoring best, while Sharni Williams led from the front and Aon University Sevens Series product, Maddy Ashby made her World Series debut coming off the bench during Australia's win over Spain.
"It was a great effort by the squad today to make the quarter-finals against strong opposition," Australian women's sevens head coach John Manenti said.
"Canada posed a real challenge for us in the final game with the draw. However, our two opening matches against Spain and Fiji meant we had already topped the pool."
"Emma, Charlotte, Cassie and Vani all had strong performances today, and it was great to see Maddy Ashby make her World Series debut against Spain."
