06/11/2016 20:28
Czech teams sweep gold medals at final event of 2016 Beach Volleyball season
2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Pelhřimov
Pelhřimov, Czech Republic, November 6, 2016. After a busy night which the organisers spent setting up a majestic centre court with tribunes and a perfect sound system, the CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite in Pelhřimov reached its climax on Sunday with two teams from the host country eventually seizing the gold medals – Marketa Slukova/Barbora Hermannova and compatriots Ondrej Perušič/David Schweiner in the women’s and men’s competition, respectively.
The last day of the tournament started with the men’s semis and everything seemed to go according to plan as no. 1 seeds Mathias Berntsen and Christian Sandlie Sørum claimed the first set of their semi-final match with Daniel Müllner and Florian Schnetzer of Austria (21-17). Their opponents, however, stepped up their efforts to take the second set; Berntsen made a few mistakes in the tie-break and this paved the way with gold for the Austrians who came out on top at 15-10.
The tribunes were pretty full for the next match where home stars Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner played Jan Pokeršnik/Nejc Zemljak of Slovenia. The Czechs lived up to the expectations of the home fans as they recorded a 21-19, 21-19 win to progress to the gold medal match. Jan Pokeršnik commented after this loss: “We had just four training sessions with my teammate before this tournament because of my finger injury. Next week I will join my indoor team and play in the highest division of the Slovenian national league. At least for the fans it is good that the Czech Republic will have a team in the final.”
The first women’s semi-final was an easy ride for the local stars Markéta Sluková and Barbora Hermannová. They did not leave any chance to their compatriots Martina Bonnerová and Šárka Nakládalová, winning in two straight sets (21-8, 21-16). Simon Nausch, the team’s coach and Markéta’s husband was pleased: “My team was having fun during the match and this positively influenced their performance.”
The second women’s semi-final resulted in a series of ups and downs for Kristýna Kolocová and Michala Kvapilová of the Czech Republic. Kolocová did not attack well during the first set and her team lost it 16-21 to Finland’s youngsters Niina Ahtiainen/Ida Sinisalo. However, since the start of the second set the course of the game changed completely with the Czechs cruising to compelling 21-10 and 15-10 wins to secure their progression to the ‘big final’.
Norway’s Christian Sandlie Sørum and Mathias Berntsen stormed back after losing in the semis to rout Pokeršnik /Zemljak 21-15, 21-11 to secure the bronze medal and with it also 112 FIVB ranking points and € 600 prize money.
After that, Šárka Nakládalová and Martina Bonnerová scored only 16 points in the opening set of their bronze medal match with Sinisalo/Ahtiainen. The second set was a much closer affair and the match was extended to a tie-break where Sinisalo was not that effective with her side-out. Nakládalová and Bonnerová emerged victorious in the end (16-21, 21-18, 15-9) to secure bronze after starting their campaign already in the qualification round on Friday.
Shortly before 3pm the Beachwell Arena was packed with fans waiting for the finals. The still unbeaten home stars Ondřej Perušič and David Schweiner, bronze medallists from this year’s Czech national championship, crowned their triumphal march with gold stamping a 21-16, 21-19 win in their matchup with Schnetzer/Müllner. Perušič was just outstanding in defence as this – combined with some mistakes made by Schnetzer – made the difference in the end. After providing friends and relatives with something to cheer about Perušič commented: “You always have to deliver a good performance and have some luck in order to achieve great results, and we had both in this tournament.”
Only a few minutes later the women’s final televised live on Czech TV got underway. Kristýna Kolocová/Michala Kvapilová came out with all guns blazing and as a result Hermannová and Sluková were forced to take a time-out by the score of 6-1. This time-out was a real boost for Barbora and Markéta. They levelled the score shortly afterwards and edged ahead. The remainder of the opening set was one-sided and the 2016 European silver medallists and Rio 2016 Olympians continued the same way in the second to seal a 21-15, 21-15 victory to celebrate gold in a venue which they have been using to prepare for a number of World Tour tournaments earlier this year.
The awarding ceremony rounded off the tournament with the top three teams receiving medals, trophies, checks and flowers. Tournament Director Vladimir Kozler presented the eventual winners with a set of luxury suitcases. As it started snowing outside during the women’s final, also the weather in Pelhřimov let the players understand that the 2016 European Beach Volleyball season has finally come to an end.
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