13/07/2013 20:00
Poland and Lithuania with comfortable wins on opening day in Pärnu
CEV Youth Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Zonal Phase
Pärnu, Estonia, July 13, 2013. The second out of eight tournaments scheduled for the Zonal Phase of the inaugural CEV Youth Beach Volleyball Continental Cup started on Saturday in Pärnu, Estonia, with Poland and Lithuania opening their campaign on a high note.
In the boys’ competition Poland’s Jakub Macura and Dominik Kmiecik edged in straight sets (21-10, 21-19) Krisztian Padar and Viktor Erik Ban of Hungary and in the next round are set to play Edvinas Vaskelis/Matas Navickas of Lithuania who cruised past local heroes Raul Kartsep and Karli Allik in straight sets too (21-7, 21-14).
In the girls’ division Poland’s Angelika Niewinska and Aleksandra Kwiatkowska easily disposed of Hungary’s Patricia Juraszik and Dora Adam (21-16, 21-16) while Simona Vaciukynaite and Urte Andriukaityte of Lithuania edged Estonia’s Heleene Hollas and Liisa Soomets 21-11, 21-16.
“The girls from Lithuania had already performed on the international stage before while Heleene and Liisa did not have that kind of experience yet” says the mentor of the local heroines, former international star Kristjan Kais. “We did not manage to stand their good serve and overall they did play very good. They definitely deserved to win today. Heleene and Liisa were a little nervous in the early phases of the game but in the end I am happy with the way they performed” he continues.
On Sunday Niewinska/Kwiatkowska will play Vaiciukynaite and Andriukaityte for a spot in the finals of the Continental Cup scheduled for May 2014. The loser of this game will play the winner of the fixture starring Estonia’s Hollas/Soomets and Hungary’s Juraszik/Adam. The runners-up of the Zonal Phase tournament will also advance to the final stage of the Continental Cup where tickets will be at stake to compete at the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China.
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