Larnaca, Cyprus, August 5, 2017. It was an excellent day on and off the courts for Russia on Saturday, second day of the 2017 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite event in Larnaca.  The Russian tourists, having enjoyed their bath and sunbathing in the scorching heat in Larnaca, then cheered with their usual enthusiasm their two teams comprising of Yulia Abalakina/Ksenia Dabizha and Olga Motrich/Svetlana Kholomina into winning both their matches and achieving qualification into the third round.

Abalakina and Dabizha having passed their morning test against the in-form Dutch pair of Annemieke Driessen/Ilke Meertens with flying colours, had in theory an easier encounter in the afternoon with the Finnish team of Ida Sinisalo and Niina Ahtiainen.  “We made it look easy in the end.  We are not used to playing in such a strong wind and humidity, so we had to remain focused throughout the match. Having won, we are looking forward to tomorrow’s games with great anticipation. We will try as usual to give our best and why not go all the way,” said Abalakina.

In a very close match decided in three sets, the Finnish team of Erika Nyström and Anniina Parkkinen had the last laugh against the Germans Sandra Ittlinger and Lisa Arnholdt. Nyström, who is married to a Cypriot Volleyball player and her partner had the support of the local fans for obvious reasons.  All the money and the honey was in the third set, which ended in dramatic style with lost match points for both teams and the adrenalin on ‘the high’.  Experience proved the key point in the end, something Erika Nyström admitted afterwards. “They are younger than us and it proved costly for them in those points where ‘the iron was burning’.  We are still carrying Finland’s flag high in the sky, despite our other team’s loss.  Let’s have a good night’s sleep and see how things move on tomorrow.”

To be optimistic is good for psychological reasons, but to be over-confident can sometimes be harmful in sport. This happened to the Ukrainian twins, Inna and Iryna Makhno, who suffered defeat in three sets at the hands of their Romanian opponents Adriana-Maria Matei and Beata Vaida, in the shock result of the event so far.

Click here for further information about the Satellite

Youth Continental Cup

The opening matches of the CEV 2017-18 Youth Continental Cup - Qualification Round in both genders, proved to be an equally good spectacle as the Satellite event, despite the inexperience of the players taking part.

Norway lead the 5-team Pool F in the Men’s competition with 5 points, with England, led by the Bello twins Javier and Joaquin, and Germany sharing second place with 4 points, but having played a game less than Norway.  Cyprus, who suffered defeat at the hands of Norway in their first match, had the misfortune of losing Sotiris Sapanis before their second match against Germany through injury. Things went from bad to worse for the home team.  Having heard the doctor’s diagnosis, and in order to protect the player from further injuries, the Cyprus head-coach Vangelis Koutouleas decided to withdraw the unlucky player from the remaining matches.  As a result, Cyprus’ chances for success in the Continental Cup now rely heavily on their women’s team, as they cannot replace Sapanis with another player.

However it was not all doom and gloom for Cyprus today, as in the final match to be played before dark, Evita Leonidou and Valeria Siakidou recorded the home team’s first win in all of the matches played so far in the three competitions.  The Cypriot girls beat Hannah Paisley and Emma Waldie from Scotland in two straight sets (21-15, 21-9).  Norway and Germany share top spot in Pool A having won both of their matches, with England and Cyprus in third and fourth place respectively with 3 points.  Scotland are at bottom of Pool A with two defeats in as many games.