10/08/2014 00:41
Swiss heroines Forrer and Vergé-Dépré chase home gold
2014 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship – Biel/Bienne Masters
Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, August 9, 2014. Switzerland’s home heroines Isabelle Forrer and Anouk Vergé-Dépré and Germany’s Julia Sude/Chantal Laboureur made it to the final of the Biel/Bienne Masters – fourth stop of this year’s CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship – after claiming their respective semi-finals on Saturday night there on the shores of Lake Biel. This way they also secured a spot for their respective countries in the line-up of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships coming up next year in the Netherlands.
All or nothing; this was the motto in the women’s competition on Saturday. In the elimination phase, 12 teams fought bravely in order to make the final stages of the tournament with the bronze and gold medal matches rounding out on Sunday a few days of classy actions.
However, the Swiss supporters had to stand a series of ups and downs by their home heroines: Biel/Bienne Masters ambassador Nadine Zumkehr and her partner Joana Heidrich were eliminated already in the first round of the knock-out phase, as did also 2014 European silver medallists Tanja Goricanec and Tanja Hüberli. As a result, Isabelle Forrer and Anouk Vergé-Dépré had to carry on their shoulders Switzerland’s hopes to win a medal at this year’s Biel/Bienne Masters.
Before they returned to the court for their semi-final, the spectators could enjoy another incredible game. Laboureur/Sude and Slovakia’s Natalia Dubovcova/Dominika Nestarcova delighted the crowd on the stands of the Beachmania stadium set up right on the shores of Lake Biel. Long rallies, big saves and strong attacks; this first semi-final game had a little bit of everything an epic game needs. The spectators even started a standing ovation for the players when the match went to the tie-break after a breath-taking 28-26 second set. The suspense became unbearable, but in the very end, the Germans won the set 15-13 and claimed the first ticket to the “big final”.
In the second semi, Isabelle Forrer and Anouk Vergé-Dépré (pictured) wanted to secure at least one medal for Switzerland. However, Poland’s Monika Brzostek and Kinga Kolosinska were not going to surrender that easily. The spectators on the stands cheered for their Swiss players without any break and watched the game full of excitement. The two teams gave their very best and the outcome of this match was determined in a tie-break too. The big party on the stands started when Anouk Vergé-Dépré’s block landed on the Polish side of the court to seal their final 2:1 victory (20-22, 21-17, 15-4).
Anouk Vergé-Dépré remained speechless after her big point in the tie-break and just stuttered: “It’s amazing. We wanted to give back something as our fans have supported us the whole time. Now, we want to go for gold.”
Now it’s time for the medal games. The bronze medal match starts at 1 pm and the “big final” will then follow at 3.30 pm. All matches will be streamed live and for free at LAOLA1.tv
Click here for more information or visit the official website www.beachmania.ch
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