Antalya, Turkey, May 16, 2014. The four Turkish teams representing the host country at the 2014 CEV Youth Beach Volleyball Continental Cup Final could not win a single set in their eight matches in the pool stage of the competition, but in the first elimination game for them, Esra Betul Cetin / Selin Yurtsever not only won a set, but they won the match to cheer up the home fans on the stands.
In the first round of the women’s competition, Turkey’s first team came back from a set down against Poland’s Aleksandra Kwiatkowska / Agnieszka Adamek to emerge victorious with a final 2:1 (12-21, 21-19, 15-11) after 45 minutes of play.
“We analysed the mistakes from the first two matches, we watched videos and we came out on court very focused,” explains the fascinating turn of events Esra Betul Cetin. “We also felt the support from the stands, which helped us a lot. It feels great to finally put an end to this losing streak of the Turkish teams. We will prepare the same way for the important match tomorrow.”
In a decisive battle for Youth Olympic qualification, Turkey will play against second-seeded Switzerland at 12:00 local time on Saturday.
Italy’s Irene Enzo / Michela Lantignotti caused a major upset in the first elimination round by knocking out the top-seeded Austrian team. Italy needed 51 minutes to hammer out a 2:1 (21-14, 19-21, 15-12) victory over Mona Gesslbauer / Julia Radl and will face the third-seeded Latvian team in Round 2 tomorrow.
Lithuania’s Simona Vaiciukynaite / Urte Andriukaityte cruised to a 2:0 (21-11, 21-11) 28-minute victory over Israel’s Katrina Zilberman / Kristina Zilberman to face the team of France on Saturday. Germany’s Sarah Schneider / Leonie Welsch breezed through Norway’s Hannah Sofie Perrens / Sunniva Helland-Hansen with a 2:0 (21-9, 21-13) shaped up in 29 minutes. They will play against Ukraine in an attempt to secure their Olympic visas.
In the final two matches on Friday’s program in Antalya Viktoryia Shalayeuskaya / Viktoryia Siakretava of Belarus shut out Ioanna Parisaki / Dimitra Manavi of Greece by 2:0 (21-14, 21-13) in 31 minutes to look forward to a meeting with Russia on Saturday while the Dutch team Joy Stubbe / Julia Wouters beat Turkey’s second pair, Merve Nezir / Irmak Keskin, by 2:0 (21-13, 21-13) in 32 minutes to play the Czech Republic in the second round.
Click here for photos and more detailed information on the women’s 2014 CEV Youth Beach Volleyball Continental Cup Final.