07/03/2021 19:00
Top seeds claim Austrian national titles to conclude Snow Volleyball party in Wagrain
News from the National Federations
Wagrain-Kleinarl, Austria, March 7, 2021. The teams Fink/Freiberger/Schörkhuber and Schnetzer/Seiser/Kindl emerged on Sunday as the eventual winners of the Austrian Snow Volleyball national championship contested this weekend in Wagrain-Kleinarl with the bonus of truly ideal weather conditions. With a blue sky and exciting matches, the organisers could not have asked for more – as well as the fans following the live streaming from afar.
The players once again showed off all their skills on the perfectly prepared Snow Volleyball courts at the ‘Flying Mozart’ Valley Station, with the pre-favourite teams living up to their status.
Fink/Freiberger/Schörkhuber reached the women’s final with a comprehensive 15-6, 15-10 victory in the semi-final with Preiml/Hollaus/Feichter. Their next opponents in the gold medal match were Guggi/Puskina/Karjalainen. After a very close match, Fink/Freiberger/Schörkhuber were the ones crowning a perfect weekend with another success, as they won with a double 15-12 score line. Preiml/Hollaus/Feichter completed the podium following a 15-11, 15-8 victory in the bronze medal game with Hintzsche/Werbik/Rödl.
Schnetzer/Seiser/Kindl literally stormed into the men’s final, as they conceded only 9 points to Sauer/Niederl/Sauer/Pfeifer, triumphing 2-0 (15-4, 15-5). The defending champions, i.e. the team Trummer/Friedl/Kopschar/Pascariuc showed no weakness either as they thumped their opponents Griesmayer/Putz/Hirsch/Lasczovits 15-6, 15-8 in the other semi-final. This meant that the top two seeds would contest the gold medal match.
The final fully lived up to everyone’s expectations, as the two teams played a truly close and exciting game. Schnetzer, Seiser and Kindl, who won silver at the first CEV European Tour stop two weeks ago, eventually claimed a 17-15, 15-10 victory. In the bronze medal game, the team of Sauer, Niederl, Sauer and Pfeifer prevailed against Griesmayer/Putz/Hirsch/Lasczovits 15-12, 10-15, 15-12.
Through the consistent implementation of a comprehensive prevention concept, the organisers Chaka2 were able to deliver as many as three Snow Volleyball events in Wagrain-Kleinarl, with the Austrian championship following the successful European Tour stops that coincided with the return of international Snow Volleyball competition for the very first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Photos courtesy of Chaka 2 / Conny Kurth
|