22/09/2017 23:28
Romanian champions Matei/Vaida record back-to-back wins at CEV Satellite on home sand
2017 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Satu Mare
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Satu Mare, Romania, September 22, 2017. The second day of action at the CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite Satu Mare coincided with the first appearance of the top favourites in the competition, starting with Germany’s first-seeds Karla Borger/Margareta Kozuch, who needed only 30 minutes to take a 2-0 (21-12, 21-15) victory from their matchup with Hungary’s Eniko Lakatos and Eszter Lutter.
After qualifying three teams for the Main Draw, France continued their excellent run at the tournament with Alexandra Jupiter/Ophélie Lusson managing to produce a surprise at the start of the day by winning against Nicole Eiholzer/Laura Caluori of Switzerland 2-1 (15-21, 21-19, 15-9).
“It was a very difficult match because we had a very good opponent, but we played very well, especially in the second and third sets where we managed to reduce the number of mistakes and played an aggressive game, which made the difference in the end,” Lusson said. Her colleague, Alexandra Jupiter, said, “We started quite hesitant, but eventually we managed to improve our game and were effective in blocking and defence too. We hope to continue the same way and to reach at least the quarterfinals.”
It is worth noticing the presence in the tribunes of many kids, several classes of pupils coming together with their teachers to enjoy the performance offered by the players and to encourage the home team from Romania.
In fact, this was the most anticipated moment of the day, the debut of the host team, the reigning national Beach Volleyball champions. In front of the home crowd, Adriana-Maria Matei and Beata Vaida beat Karolina Rehackova/Marie-Sara Stochlova of the Czech Republic 23-21, 22-20. At the end of the game, Adriana Matei was quite pleased with the performance. “We felt the pressure and quite emotional because after the Balkan Championship from last weekend in Albania, we returned to Satu Mare to play in front of our supporters.” “It's hard to play in your city, everything has to be perfect, from the organisation of the event, to the way you present yourself to the fans,” her partner Beata Vaida added. “We did not set any specific goal, but we want to put on a show and deliver a performance that will bring joy to our supporters.”
The game of the Romanian team visibly improved in the second round when they easily edged fifth-seeded Katarzyna Kociolek/Kinga Kolosinska of Poland 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) and the spectators offered them a standing ovation at the end of the game.
Friday’s programme ended with another surprise, since second-seeded Valentyna Davidova/Ievgeniia Shchypkova of Ukraine lost to their compatriots Inna and Iryna Makhno 1-2 (19-21, 21-18, 9-15).
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