05/06/2016 18:24
Italian party in Biel / Bienne as Nicolai/Lupo seize second European title
2016 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Final
Biel / Bienne, Switzerland, June 5, 2016. Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo capped a fabulous week for Europe’s Beach Volleyball family by seizing the title of ‘Kings of the Beach’ for the second time in their career after they achieved this same feat two years ago on home sand in Cagliari. Nicolai/Lupo went through some ups and downs before they ultimately claimed the much anticipated gold medal match with Russia’s Konstantin Semenov and Viacheslav Krasilnikov (21-15, 13-21, 15-12). Poland’s Grzegorz Fijalek/Mariusz Prudel also equalled their best result on the most coveted European stage taking the bronze medal – as they had done also in 2013 – by winning the ‘small final’ with Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands (21-17, 21-19).
The 2016 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final is being extensively covered on the CEV website (click here) as well as on all CEV social media pages; a comprehensive live gallery of the competition is available here while additional information can be found on the organisers’ website www.beacheuro2016.ch.
Nicolai and Lupo claim world-class final with Russian sensation
Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo obviously enjoyed the support from a large share of the Swiss crowd in attendance on Sunday afternoon at the iconic venue set up right by the lakeside in Biel / Bienne. After a close start to the match, Nicolai and Lupo slowly but surely extended their lead eventually taking the opening set 21-15. The course of the match changed quite dramatically in the second frame where Semenov killed block after block and Krasilnikov displayed some fine actions as well. The Russians kind of determined the fate of the set already in its early stages (7-1) and even though Nicolai/Lupo stepped up their efforts as the set progressed, there was no way to prevent the Russian duo from cashing a landslide 21-13 set win.
Nicolai and Lupo regrouped in the tie-break where they claimed an early small edge and were able to hold on to this despite a positive run of three straight points by Semenov and Krasilnikov who closed in at 10-9 after trailing 8-5. After a time-out, Nicolai and Lupo resumed their triumphal march to crown their Swiss campaign with the second European title in their career.
“I would like to thank all those who are working for us, the members of our team and my partner,” Nicolai said. “Of course we are happy and proud of our second European title. I would also like to praise the work done by the organisers and especially the audience, since despite the weather they have stayed on through to the end of the tournament. I am sure that this can only happen here and you would not get to witness something like this anywhere else in the world,” the Italian blocker – who also received the smart award for the MVP of the championship – added.
Despite the defeat, Semenov and Krasilnikov looked satisfied with what they accomplished in Biel / Bienne – Russia’s best result since the Beach Volleyball European Championship was introduced in 1993, as they improved on the bronze medal won by Dmitry Barsouk and Igor Kolodinsky in 2008 at Hamburg, Germany.
Fijalek/Prudel happy with second European Championship bronze medal
Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel finished their campaign in Biel / Bienne on a high note by claiming the ‘small final’ with Alexander Brouwer/Robert Meeuwsen of the Netherlands (21-17, 21-19).
The start of the men’s bronze medal match was slightly delayed due to difficult weather conditions but the majority of the Swiss fans stayed on in order to witness the final stages of the Beach Volleyball party of the year. Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel of Poland looked extremely determined to bounce back from the setback they had suffered in the semi-final with Russia’s Semenov/Krasilnikov. As Mariusz Prudel said after the match, “the semi with the Russians was probably one of our worst matches this season, but we spoke openly about it also with our coaching staff and were able to re-focus for this match.”
Fijalek and Prudel claimed a close game as their opponents, Dutchmen Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen, seemed to feel a bit of fatigue from their semi-final match with Nicolai and Lupo. “We are very satisfied with the way this tournament went, even though we lost the semi so bad,” Fijalek said. “We dropped only one match this week but in the end we travel home with a medal. This is our second medal this year since we have one also from the FIVB World Tour. As you all know, this is an Olympic season, so the most important one in four years, and for us it is vital to perform well and show that we can compete with the best teams in the world on our way to the Rio Olympics,” he said.
This is the second European Championship bronze medal for Fijalek and Prudel – in 2013 they had settled for third place in Klagenfurt as well and all together these players account for the two only medals claimed by their home country since the premier continental competition was introduced back in 1993.
|