07/09/2017 21:00
Action heating up at #EuroBeachVolleyU20 on Vulcano
2017 CEV U20 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Vulcano, Italy, September 7, 2017. The rising stars of European Beach Volleyball do not disappoint the high expectations and are delighting the sports fans on Vulcano with Beach Volleyball at its finest. On Thursday, seven men’s and four women’s teams booked their tickets to the elimination stage of this year’s U20 European Championship.
The heat is literally on at the #EuroBeachVolleyU20. In the burning sun of Vulcano, the rising stars of European Beach Volleyball did not disappoint the high expectations of their fans on the opening day of the tournament.
Neither did the weather. The ‘Terra del Sole’, ‘The Land of the Sun’ as Sicily is known, lived up to its name on Thursday too. The air temperatures reached a maximum of over 35° C on the breath-taking Spiaggia Nera of Vulcano.
Nonetheless, the big heat did not stop Europe’s most promising Beach Volleyball prospects from putting on a big show on the black beach of the volcanic island.
There was already a lot to cheer about for Italian Beach Volleyball fans that flocked to Vulcano.
Italy’s big Beach Volleyball prospects Manuel Alfieri/Mauro Sacripanti and Jakob Windisch/Paolo Cappio booked two wins in their respective pool games and consequently already secured a spot in the men’s elimination stage. Both teams have now the opportunity to secure the top spots in their pools on Thursday afternoon: while Alfieri/Sacripanti will fight with Austria’s Moritz Fabian Kindl/Lauris Ochaya for the top spot in their pool, Windisch/Cappio will have to defend their pole position in Pool B versus Yusuf Ozdemir/Ali Cebeci of Turkey.
Dark horses Florian Breer and Yves Haussener from Switzerland, on the other hand, have lived up to the high expectations of Swiss Beach Volleyball fans too. Last year’s #EuroBeachVolleyU20 bronze and FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championship silver medallists dominated both of their two group stage games to book their ticket to the elimination phase as well.
The Swiss are to lock horns with David Pavlovsky/Daniel Sedlak from the Czech Republic for the top spot of Pool D on Thursday.
Furthermore, in Pool C, Vasilii Ivanov/Sergey Gorbenko from Russia will play Patrikas Stankevicius/Aurimas Mazuras of Lithuania in their last pool game. A crucial matchup as the winner of this clash gets a bye in the Round of 24 to save some energy for the elimination stage.
In the women’s competition, four teams have already booked their tickets to the elimination phase. Germany’s Julika Hoffmann/Sarah Schulz and Astrid Elisabeth Mellmølle/Clara Windeleff from Denmark are only one win away from topping their pool, while Mexime van Driel/Katja Stam of the Netherlands and Spela Morgan/Tajda Lovsin from Slovenia are going to battle out to determine who gets a bye in the Round of 24 in the #EuroBeachVolleyU20.
Therefore, Day 2 promises a lot of action and Beach Volleyball at its finest as it’s already do or die in the pool stage of the men’s and women’s competition: 16 teams will have to say goodbye to their dreams of gold in Vulcano.
Europe’s Beach Volleyball stars of tomorrow are back in action on Friday morning at 8:30.
All Centre Court games will be streamed live on Laola1.tv.
Click here for further information
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