21/08/2014 20:30
Favorites showcase their abilities in the opening day in Kristiansand
2014 CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Kristiansand, Norway, August 21, 2014. The first day of competition in the 2014 CEV Under 18 Beach Volleyball European Championship set the tone of the outstanding show that the upcoming stars of the sport are featuring over the sand of Kristiansand. The round of Pool play started on Thursday, with the favorites presenting their candidacies to reach the final stages of competition.
The opening day of the tournament was the moment elected by some of the prospective candidates to give a step forward and surprise rivals with powerful performances, demonstrating spectacular displays of efficiency and outstanding Beach Volleyball actions. In the boy’s tournament, this was the case of France’s Marc Darrieux and Timothée Platre. The Bronze medalists in 2014 FIVB Under 17 World Championship made an astonishing entrance in competition as they beat Sweden’s Link/Nielsen 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) and Norway’s Sæther/Hansen (2-0, 21-9, 21-14) to lead Pool D. Latvia’s Pavels Jemeljanovs and Karlis Kliemans confirmed its fifth position in 2014 FIVB Under 19 World Championship with a convincing victory against Bulgaria’s Stoyanov/Botev 2-0 (21-14, 21-14), while the powerful German squad formed by Julius Thole and Sven Winter also showed determination to shine in Kristiansand with two convincing triumphs against Poland’s Lewicki/Lenc 2-0 (21-11, 21-18) and Israel’s Cohen/Yarmar 2-0 (21-7, 21-7).
The disputed performances dominated most of the pools in boy’s competition, as the participants proceed to the second day of action, when the teams advancing to first round will be decided.
In girl’s tournament, German team formed by Leonie Klinke and Lena Ottens and Czechs Marie-Sara Stochlova and Tereza Kotlasova suffered to beat Austria’s Maros/Meindl and Cernavska-Racina from Latvia, respectively, as their matches had to be solved in disputed tie-breaks, stating the predominant equality that was the constant throughout the day in the clashes. Another of the teams tagged to be favorites, composed by fourth qualified in 2013 CEV Under 18 European Championship Joy Stubbe and Britt den Haan from The Netherlands, overcame the strong opposition by Slovenians Polona/Spela 2-0 (24-22, 25-23) to state their aim to dominate pool H.
The day was also filled with upsets for the young participants in girl's competition, since some of the duos intending to reach the following round suffered defeats in their debuts. Greeks Maria Klepkou and Paraskevi Kourtidou, fifth qualified in 2014 FIVB Under 17 World Championship lost both matches, against Italians Traballi/Maestroni 2-0 (21-13, 21-10) and Russians Novikova/Mastikova 2-0 (21-6, 21-9), while Duygu Nur Dogan and Pelin Ilgin from Turkey, who reached fourth position in the same World Championship celebrated in Mexico were defeated by Israel’s Zilberman KA./Zilberman KR. 2-0 (21-13, 21-14) and German team Koloseus/Seeber 2-0 (21-15, 21-18). The teams Traballi/Maestroni (ITA), Siakretava/Shalayeuskaya (BLR) and Stepien-Pietroczuk (POL) were, on the other hand, some of the duos that debuted with an impact in Kristiansand.
Local teams struggling to reach knockout round
Norwegian teams captured the attention of local fans in the starting matches of the day, as the six duos representing the organizing country debuted in competition and tried to use the home ground factor to reach second round. In the boy's tournament, Nordic team Aleksander Sandlie Sørum and Martin Kløvfjell Olimstad produced an effective performance in the two matches of the day, after beating Austria’s Klaffinger/Stosch 2-0 (21-12, 21-14) and Greece’s Chatzinikolaou/Christoforakis 2-0 (21-9, 21-7) to take the lead of Pool A, thus guaranteeing their presence in the knockout round. “We are very satisfied. Throughout the day our game has only gotten better and better and the last match was all perfect”, commented Alexander Sandlie Sørum, while his teammate added: “The day has been absolutely terrific. It's a wonderful audience. We played exceptional, and the resistance from our rivals has actually been easier than expected”, said Martin Kløvfjell Olimstad.
Meanwhile, Oscar Saether and Markus Hansen learned the hard way the difficulty of the tournament, as the local squad lost its two matches, against Austria’s Ochaya/Kindl 2-0 (21-16, 21-10) and France’s Darrieux/Platre 2-0 (21-9, 21-14). The losing path was also taken by locals Jonas Hjelle van Weert and Ivar Loland Råheim, since they debuted with a defeat against England’s Poole/Jones 0-2 (19-21, 19-21).
In the girl's competition, Norway’s Hannah Sofie Perrens and Sunniva Helland-Hansen presented a spectacular start of the competition, after signing two triumphs against Portugal’s Coelho/Vasques 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) and Bulgarian’s Kyoseva/Petrova 2-0 (21-14, 21-8), therefore confirming their qualification to the following round. “We are very happy with this good start to the championship. It's great to get started playing at our best level. I am incredibly excited for tomorrow, and I really want to win our pool. That is our main goal for now”, stated Sunniva Helland-Hansen. Hannah Sofie Perrens, on the other hand, focused on the success it represents for the duo to confirm their chances with this effective debut. “We had no expectations and have only thought about ourselves and our game. In addition, it is extra fun to play at home when almost everyone watching is cheering for us”, commented the young Norwegian.
The same victorious path was followed by locals Vilde Sorbo and Helene Solgaard Thelle who debuted with a hard-fought victory over Ukraine’s Selina/Petrenko in a sensational clash 1-2 (22-20, 14-21, 13-15). On the other hand, Nordic team formed by Kirstine Larsdatter Garder and Live Johanne Lunde Fossdal was able to recover after a defeat against Germany’s Koloseus/Seeber 2-0 (21-15, 21-18) to beat Israel’s Zilberman KA./Zilberman KR 0-2 (9-21, 20-22) so to maintain their hopes to be in the second part of the tournament.
The competition will resume on Friday with the second day of Pool play, as the participant teams in idyllic city of Kristiansand will try to make their way to the knockout phase.
Click here for more info including detailed results, photo gallery and a match programme
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