Montpellier, France, June 21, 2014.  Angela Lobato Herrero / Paula Soria Gutierrez emerged victorious on the final competition day of the 2014 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite Montpellier, beautifully decorated with five-set battles in all four matches that distributed the medals.

Spain’s Lobato / Soria were the first team to qualify for the final after defeating the top-seeded Jana Koehler / Anni Schumacher, previously unbeaten in the competition.  The semifinal duel was very tight and was concluded during after five sets at 3:2 (15-17, 16-14, 15-8, 6-15, 7-5).

"We are very happy to be there, the tournament is very well organized and the venue is beautiful," said Paula Soria after the semifinal victory.  "Concerning the competition, the second semifinal will be very tight and we do not really know our future opponents for the final!"

And she was completely right.  Indeed, the young Russians Anna Gorbunova / Ksenia Dabizha overcame Germany’s Jenny Heinemann / Anika Krebs.  After playing for more than one hour, the Russian's won by 3:2 (18-16, 10-15, 15-11, 13-15, 7-3).

Before the final match, the Russian duo seemed to be the favorite to win.  Gorbunova / Dabizha had already defeated the Spaniards on the previous day in straight sets and having played one game fewer, they were expected to be somewhat more rested.  But during the final, Lobato / Soria took their revenge with a beautiful victory against the previously unbeaten Russians.  With a final score of 3:2 (15-11, 12-15, 10-15, 16-14, 7-4), Angela Lobato Herrero / Paula Soria Gutierrez won the gold medal of the 2014 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite Montpellier after passing through the losers’ bracket.

In an all-German bronze medal match, Koehler / Schumacher repeated their third-round victory over Heunemann / Krebs from yesterday, only this time in a full-length match by 3:2 (16-18, 16-14, 11-15, 15-13, 7-5).

"We loved playing here, it is really a friendly tournament and we are impressed by the number of people working at this event!  We are happy to be third.  We were the #1 seed, but beach volleyball is so competitive now," said the German bronze medalists after the game.

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