23/06/2016 11:24
Italian rookies take plenty of positives from Continental Cup experience
2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Final
Stavanger, Norway, June 23, 2016. They say you never know where life is going to take you. This statement applies very well to what happened to Italy’s Giulia Saguatti who travelled to Stavanger to contest the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup Final after spending only a few days – three – with partner Monica Lestini. Saguatti stepped in for Agata Zuccarelli, who suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament some ten days ago, and what is really mind-boggling is that the 24-year-old Italian never played an international competition before travelling to Norway’s Beach Volleyball capital.
Click here for a schedule of the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup Final
Click here for a live and comprehensive gallery of the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup
On Wednesday morning Saguatti and Lestini did really well in what was their official debut but ended up losing in three sets to 2014 U22 European champions Jagoda Gruszczynska and Dorota Strag of Poland. On Thursday they did not capitalise on a set ball in the opening set of their matchup with the much more experienced Dutchwomen Sophie van Gestel and Jantine van der Vlist before losing 23-21, 21-17 in the first clash between Italian and Dutch teams on schedule for the women’s quarter-finals.
“We are a little bit disappointed, of course, because it was a close match and we missed out on some opportunities,” Saguatti said. “They have a wealth of experience and have been playing at this level for many years, so they exactly know how to play and where to place their spike or block when it really matters, which means towards the end of the set,” she added.
Saguatti only played one international competition last year in Italy, a zonal event held in Senigallia. “However, the level was miles away from what I got to see here,” she said. “That tournament is not something you can compare with playing here in Stavanger against some very well-established teams such as the Dutch girls.”
Saguatti will be playing in Italy’s second division later this fall after she helped her Volleyball team move up to the next level of her home country’s national league. “However, I do like Beach Volleyball very much and have been playing the game for three years now. I know the coaching staff of the Italian national team since we have met a number of times at domestic events, and when I was asked if I was ready to come and play here, I did not hesitate for a minute. Though I am probably not in my best shape, I decided I would anyway come and test my skills, also in order to see where I stand and you can only figure it out by measuring yourself up with some of the best ones,” she said.
Her partner Monica Lestini represented Italy also at last year’s U22 European Championship and at the 2014 U21 World Championship as well, but she is also spending her first full season on the international tour. “You always have ups and downs, especially when things do not work the way you have hoped for. We made it to the Main Draw in Turkey but with Agata [Zuccarelli] failed to reach the same feat at the FIVB tournaments in Brazil, so sometimes your motivation goes down. However, I have to admit that those who say that playing Beach Volleyball is like a drug are right: you simply can’t give up and anytime you resume playing, you want to do it again and again,” she admitted.
The CEV Continental Cup is one-of-a-kind event and not only because it is an Olympic qualifying tournament: “Since I was little child and started doing sport, I always dreamed of wearing the shirt of the Italian national team, be it in Volleyball or any other sport. Some days ago when the coaching staff asked me if I wanted to come and represent Italy here in Stavanger, this was definitely a further boost of motivation. I was about to fulfil a lifelong dream and feel very proud of representing Italy and playing for my home country here. This means a lot to me,” Saguatti said. “On top of this, the format of the Continental Cup has an impact also on the way you support each other within the team, because the results of one pair count for the other as well. We discussed this last night and we all agreed that this is a very good feeling, something truly unique.”
Though they do not know yet if their partnership is going to continue, Lestini and Saguatti take lots of positives from their experience in Stavanger: “We have played close matches with teams that have a lot more experience and even though we missed out on our chances and we know there is a lot we have to work on, we nevertheless have realised that we can play at this level and personally I very much hope this was only the first opportunity I got to perform on such stage as the amazing one the organisers have set up here in Stavanger,” Saguatti concluded.
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