13/06/2016 02:31
Ukrainian team edges Lithuanian sensation in Vilnius Satellite gold medal match
2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Vilnius
Vilnius, Lithuania, June 12, 2016. On Sunday Ukraine’s Valentyna Davidova and Ievgeniia Shchypkova added yet another triumph to their resume – and they did so only seven days after topping the final standing of the EEVZA Moscow Masters by claiming the gold medal at the CEV Satellite in Vilnius where teams from Lithuania and Spain settled for the silver and bronze, respectively.
The final day of competition at Credit24 Arena started with a real sensation in a derby starring two teams from the host country. Lithuania’s ‘Queens of the Beach’, Monika Povilaityte and Ieva Dumbauskaite, suffered a surprising loss at the hands of their younger and far less experienced countrywomen Urte Andriukaityte and Irina Zobnina in a match where a spot in the semis was at stake. Zobnina showed some amazing actions in defence as she and partner Andriukaityte cruised to a sensational 23-21, 15-21, 15-13 victory in the Lithuanian derby with Povilaityte and Dumbauskaite.
They continued their spectacular run on home sand later in the day by pulling out a 22-20, 22-20 victory in their semi-final with the top-seeded team of the tournament, Norway’s Janne Kongshavn and Vilde Solvoll.
The gold medallists from the EEVZA Moscow Masters, Valentyna Davidova and Ievgeniia Shchypkova fought their way back through the losers’ bracket and secured their spot in the semis by beating Germany’s Lisa Arnholdt and Anni Schumacher 21-12, 22-20.
The Ukrainians added another chapter to their success story in the semi with Spain’s Ester Ribera Boter/Amaranta Fernandez Navarro which they won 23-21, 21-13 to secure a spot in the ‘grand finale’ of the tournament.
Ribera/Fernandez regrouped after this loss and claimed a dramatic ‘small final’ with Kongshavn/Solvoll 21-18, 16-21, 16-14 to travel home with the bronze medals around their neck. “We are a little disappointed because of our loss in the semis as we wanted to go for gold but we managed to improve for the bronze medal match and are happy with the result,” the Spaniards said.
It was then time for the final showdown in Vilnius. Davidova and Shchypkova played a perfect opening set which they comfortably won 21-15. However, Andriukaityte and Zobnina came back strong and looked very motivated not to make things easy for their opponents, eventually taking the second set 21-14. They stretched momentum to the early stages of the tie-break where they claimed a 4-1 lead before the Ukrainians came back strong and a block by Ievgeniia Shchypkova finished it all off 18-16 to prevent the home team from causing yet another sensation.
“We are so excited and happy with this victory,” said a thrilled Valentyna Davidova. “To play this final without knowing much about our opponents was a hard nut to crack. The girls from Lithuania delivered an amazing performance and we did not expect such tough match, although we knew that it was not going to be an easy ride for us.”
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