09/08/2015 00:13
All-Swiss affair in women’s final at Biel/Bienne Masters
2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Biel/Bienne Masters
Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, August 8, 2015. The final act of the 2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Biel/Bienne Masters will be an all-Swiss affair contested by Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr and Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Vergé-Dépré after they triumphed in their respective quarter and semi-final clashes on what was an emotional Saturday for the host nation.
Click here for further info including detailed results, pictures and much more
The 2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship – Biel/Bienne Masters is being covered extensively also on Twitter and Facebook with the official hashtags being #EuroBeachVolley and #Beachmania
You can also follow the Live Ticker provided by the organisers which is available right here
On an exciting day of women’s action under the sun at Biel/Bienne, the players turned up the heat as the afternoon session began with the quarterfinals. The first of the Swiss to feature was the duo consisting of Isabelle Forrer/Anouk Vergé-Dépré, who went through before a bumper crowd in a close and exciting match with Germany’s Anni Schumacher/Sandra Seyfferth. They were forced to show grit and guile as they battled for every point, but eventually claimed both sets to win the game 2:0 (21-17, 27-25).
As the heroines walked off to a rapturous applause from the crowd, the decibels increased once more for the next Swiss pair Joana Heidrich/Nadine Zumkehr, who also took on German opposition in Teresa Mersmann/Isabel Schneider. In another thrilling match the Swiss made it through to the last four in two sets as well (21-18, 21-15).
With both local teams in the semis, Heidrich and Zumkehr were the first back on court for an evening showdown with another German team, Victoria Bieneck/Julia Grossner. Having reached the milestone of a semi-final and having gone one better than last year, they were to be tested to the limit after losing the first set 12-21. With a final place and a chance of gold at stake, the 0:1 deficit was a huge blow, but they dug deep, winning the key rallies to take the second set 21-13, ensuring the partisan crowd was in for a three-set classic. Determined not to let their title dream slip away, the Swiss blocked and spiked their way through the German resistance, clinching match point with Heidrich’s silky spike over the top of the net to win the third set 15-9, propelling them into Sunday’s final.
After the emotional rollercoaster of the first semi-final, the hosts got behind their women as Forrer/Vergé-Dépré arrived for their match against 2013 European champion Stefanie Schwaiger and teammate Barbara Hansel of Austria. In the final bout of the day, the teams served up another show of sporting magnificence, where the passion and desire of both sides was evident throughout. Desperate to go one better than in 2014, determination saw the Swiss soar over the penultimate hurdle within 35 minutes with a 2:0 victory (21-13, 21-15) to set-up an all-Swiss final on Sunday and for this team, another chance at vying for gold medal glory.
So as Sunday draws a close to the women’s competition, with the bronze medal match taking place at midday before the grand finale on centre court at 14:15, the home crowd will find themselves divided as they ponder over which team to pledge their support to in the final. What is for certain is that it will be a glorious afternoon for the hosts whatever the outcome, putting the gloss on a fantastic tournament for Switzerland. With these two teams having shown their true value and quality on court on Saturday, Sunday’s final is sure to be a tempestuous, action-packed battle and a worthy end to the carnival of Beach Volleyball on the shores of Lake Biel as one of the Swiss tandems will be crowned the 2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Biel/Bienne Masters gold medallists.
|