01/08/2015 19:30
Ranghieri and Carambula silence huge Austrian crowd in Klagenfurt
2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Final
Klagenfurt, Austria, August 1, 2015. Austria’s party came to an end on Saturday late afternoon as home heroes Clemens Doppler and Alexander Horst lost in two sets (17-21, 20-22) in the quarterfinals of the 2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Final to Italy’s Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula. Though they were once more pushed by a sell-out crowd – including those enjoying the amazing view from the rooftop seats – Doppler/Horst did not deliver their best performance of the week and ended up missing out on a spot for the semis coming up on Sunday morning. Ranghieri/Carambula will be playing 2015 world silver medallists Reinder Nummerdor and Christiaan Varenhorst in the semis while 2013 world champions Brouwer and Meeuwsen will take on 2013 and 2014 European silver medallists Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins of Latvia.
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The most anticipated quarterfinal did not start exactly the way the organisers and the fans had wished as Ranghieri was absolutely outstanding at the net and turned into a real nightmare for Horst and Doppler. The Italians – bronze medallists from this year’s Major Series in Porec, Croatia – scored three in a row to move the score from 17:16 to 20:16 and it was Ranghieri – who else – to finish it off at 21-17. Clemens Doppler continued to perform well and his jump serve was the main weapon the Austrians could rely on as both teams sided out in a close second set. The hopes of the Austrian fans for a tie-break were backed up by a 3-0 run of their heroes who seemed to get the right edge at 18:15 before Ranghieri/Carambula responded with three unanswered points of their own to draw level at 18. Doppler/Horst were able to survive to as many as three match balls for their opponents but in the end had to surrender at 20-22.
There is no cherry on the cake for the organisers who on the twentieth anniversary of the tournament were hoping a men’s team from Austria would make it for the first time to the top four. Doppler/Horst, bronze medallists from last year’s European Championship in Cagliari, were of course disappointed with the outcome of the match. “I will come back again and again to Klagenfurt until I finally win a medal,” Doppler said as he addressed the audience thanking them for their terrific support.
The quarterfinals started with the first of two matches between teams from The Netherlands and Poland. 2015 world silver medallists Reinder Nummerdor and Christiaan Varenhorst played again, as they had done in all of their previous matches in Klagenfurt, three sets before edging past 2013 European bronze medal winners Grzegorz Fijalek and Mariusz Prudel. The ‘Oranjes’ caught a very good start taking the opening set but their opponents responded well in the second, looking determined to repeat the achievement from two years ago when they had made the podium at the previous European Championship held on the shores of the Wörthersee. Nummerdor and Varenhorst started the tie-break claiming an early lead (7:5) but Fijalek/Prudel stormed back with three unanswered points to turn the tide. However, after a time-out, Nummerdor and Varenhorst got back on track and a perfect mix of block, defence and attack paved their way towards the final 15-10. Nummerdor, a triple European champion with former partner Richard Schuil, has set his sight on the podium, an unprecedented feat on the European stage for his young partner Varenhorst. “We are of course very happy with reaching the semis and look forward to tomorrow,” he said. “I have to praise our rivals too because they played really well.”
2013 world champions Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen were not that successful two years ago as the European Championship was held in Klagenfurt for the first time but on Saturday they made amends for their disappointment and qualified for the semis after edging multiple age-group medallists Bartosz Losiak and Piotr Kantor of Poland (21-19, 24-22). The second set was a close affair and Losiak/Kantor seemed to stand a chance of stretching the match to the tie-break, but Brouwer/Meeuwsen showed glimpses of their class in the final stages coming back strong to secure a medal for The Netherlands at this championship since the ‘Oranjes’ have two tandems in the semis. “It was a very close match, the Polish guys played really well and in the end it was a lucky serve that helped us finish it off once and for all,” a visibly happy Meeuwsen said.
Though the Austrian fans were still upset by the defeat of their heroes, the last match on schedule for Saturday night was a much anticipated remake of the 2013 final but this time around – though they needed as many as four match balls before celebrating their triumph – Latvia’s Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins had the upper hand in their match with Spain’s Adrian Gavira and Pablo Herrera (21-18, 24-22). The ‘Lion King’ Samoilovs and 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Smedins will be vying on Sunday for their third consecutive European Championship medal.
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