30/08/2015 21:41
U21 world champions Bryl/Kujawiak reign supreme at #EuroBeachVolleyU22
2015 CEV U22 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Macedo de Cavaleiros, Portugal, August 30, 2015. Portugal’s Beach Volleyball fans got to enjoy a real show on the final day of the 2015 CEV U22 Beach Volleyball European Championship at Praia de Albufeira where Europe’s rising stars of the sport delivered a great show as they battled it out for the medals. The reigning U21 world champions Michal Bryl and Kacper Kujawiak of Poland topped the standing in the end with France’s Romain Di Giantommaso/Maxime Thiercy and Russia’s Igor Velichko/Maxim Sivolap completing the podium. Ondrej Perusic and Tomas Vana of the Czech Republic delivered a valiant effort but had to be content with fourth place.
Semi-finals
France’s Romain Di Giantommaso and Maxime Thiercy, bronze medallists at last year’s U21 World Championship, delivered a terrific performance to stamp an easy 21-8, 21-17 win in their semi-final with Perusic/Vana. The strong attacks and terrific blocks killed by Thiercy were well complemented by the defence actions of Di Giantommaso for a perfect, winning mix.
The second semi-final was more competitive with Poland’s Bryl/Kujawiak, who in the quarterfinals had edged reigning U20 European champions Niklas Rudolf/Clemens Wickler of Germany, scoring a 21-17, 21-19 victory over Russia’s Velichko/Sivolap who on Saturday had caused a sensation by eliminating 2014 U22 European champions Christian Sandlie Sørum/Runar Torsvik Sannarnes of Norway. Bryl and Kujawiak lived up to their status of pre-favourites but the Russian guys fought well throughout the whole match and their solid performance was acknowledged by Bryl and Kujawiak who congratulated their opponents once the game came to a close.
Bronze goes to Russia
Even though they got nervous towards the end of the first set in the ‘small final’ and they seemed to have to pay a high price for this, Russia’s Velichko/Sivolap regrouped and marched confidently towards the bronze medal. They claimed an early lead in the opening set but could not capitalise on it and eventually took the first stanza only by 26-24. They controlled the second one from start to end and after a service error by their Czech opponents Igor Velichko sealed the final 21-14.
“After the setback of losing Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Artem Yarzutkin in the tournament, this bronze medal is really great as we’re the second Russian team in this competition,” said Maxim Sivolap, who went on to add: “We started well in the first set but we got a little bit nervous and the Czech Republic came closer in the score. However, we managed to finish that one off and in the second set everything went just easy for us.”
Polish guys reign supreme
Though Di Giantommaso/Thiercy were off to the better start in the final act of the tournament, the Polish guys did not seem too bothered and they stormed back to level the score at 16 all. Bryl and Kujawiak moved to the front with a service ace and Di Giantommaso/Thiercy seemed to have suffered a big blow as they could only score one more point before their opponents cashed the opening set by 21-17. The Frenchmen attempted to break away also in the early stages of the second set (5:2) but Bryl/Kujawiak responded with four points in a row to flip the charts around. Bryl continued his personal show at the net – he recorded three blocks in a row – and Kacper Kujawiak sealed the final 21-12.
“In the first set we had to work hard, it was very tough, we lost a few points but we managed to bring it home in the end. The second set was more under our control but in a final you can never lose focus,” Michal and Kacper said. What about their future? “We have started playing in senior CEV tournaments and have performed at some stops of the World Tour, and next year we want to take the big step and make it to the real international elite of this sport.”
“We just lost so we cannot be that happy,” said Romain Di Giantommaso. “We were leading but then they fought back really hard. We faced a very good team which has already performed in other tournaments where the level is extremely high, so I think it’s normal that we lost, but I believe that with the right amount of work we will close the gap to superior teams like the Polish one and next time we will be able to win.” “Of course we’re happy with the silver medal but we would be even more satisfied if we had won gold,” concluded partner Maxime Thiercy.
You can follow the competition also on social media with the official hashtag #EuroBeachVolleyU22
Click here for more info including entry lists, results, pictures and much more
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