08/07/2016 23:33
Austrian twins steal the show on next-to-last day of Timisoara Satellite
2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Timisoara
Timisoara, Romania, July 8, 2016. The 2016 edition of the CEV Satellite in Timisoara continued on Friday with matches of the Main Draw that shaped up the semi-finals to be contested on Saturday. These will be followed by the medal matches to crown the eventual winners of the tournament that will follow in the footsteps of Germany’s Cinja Tillmann and Katarina Schillerwein who stood on top of the podium last year.
Serbia’s Milena Matic/Marija Milosevic opened the programme and after a close match they were able to record a 2-1 (21-15, 18-21, 15-8) victory over Austria’s Katharina Almer and Cornelia Rimser. “Up to now we have had only three-set matches. As far as this match is concerned, I think that our defence made the difference, but in some moments we also had better attacks,” Milena Matic explained. Her partner Marija Milosevic added: “The level of the competition here in Timisoara is really high. This is not our first tournament this summer and I am confident that we will keep on playing together for the remainder of the season.”
Matic and Milosevic were not able to make it to the semis as they were stopped by Russia’s top-seeded Olga Motrich and Yulia Abalakina. After beating Sweden’s Camilla Nilsson and Tadva Yoken earlier in the day (21-17, 21-18), Motrich and Abalakina claimed also a close matchup with Matic/Milosevic 2-1 (14-21, 21-15, 15-6). Though Matic and Milosevic ended up losing and have to be content with seventh place in the tournament, they fought for every ball through to the end of the match.
Next up for Motrich and Abalakina were Austria’s twin sisters Nadine and Teresa Strauss. The four players delivered a sensational game, probably the best of the third competition day in Timisoara. The Strauss sisters played a perfect match where everything worked just fine and their chemistry was just evident to all in attendance – the Austrians eventually cruised to a 21-15, 23-21 victory over the top-seeded Russians at the end of a match that was truly enjoyed by 500 fans in attendance.
“I really like the Austrian team, these girls played a really good match and they deserve my respect and consideration,” said a local fan. “I will come back tomorrow and cheer for them, no matter what the result will be in the end. I wish them the best of luck for their career in Beach Volleyball and in life as well, and I hope they remain modest and humble, because this is what has struck me the most of these two girls,” he continued.
On Saturday Nadine and Teresa Strauss will play Latvia’s Tina Graudina/Anastasija Kravcenoka in the semis with Germany’s Kim Behrens/Nadja Glenzke also vying for a spot in the gold medal match when taking on Poland’s Dorota Strag and Jagoda Gruszczynska, the 2014 U22 European champions.
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