Antalya, Turkey, May 17, 2014. Europe’s first three tickets to the beach volleyball tournament at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing have already been issued. Germany, Italy and France emerged victorious from the first set of decisive second round matches at the women’s 2014 CEV Youth Beach Volleyball Continental Cup Final in Antalya.
Germany’s Sarah Schneider / Leonie Welsch rallied to a straight-set win against Ukraine’s Dar'ya Udovenko / Alina Demidova. They needed 32 minutes to settle the dispute at 2:0 (21-12, 21-14).
“It is an amazing opportunity for us to compete at the Youth Olympic Games,” elated Sarah Schneider exclaimed. “It will be crazy. We can improve our game by learning from other countries outside of Europe, such as Brazil and China.”
“It will be a great experience to play in Youth Olympics,” Leonie Welsch agreed. “I have never played there. We will be very motivated. I am really looking forward to playing in China.”
Italy’s Irene Enzo / Michela Lantignotti, seeded at #18, upset the third-seeded Latvians Tina Graudina / Anastasija Kravcenoka in two well-contested sets by 2:0 (21-19, 22-20), shaped up after 40 minutes of play time.
“We are really happy to qualify for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games,” excited Irene Enzo said. “We did our best in this tournament. We will learn something new about our level against strong teams in China.”
“It was a really hard game,” commented Michela Lantignotti. “We spent all of our energy on the court. Going to China will be a great experience and we are very happy.”
Héléna Cazaute / Aline Chamereau from France also managed a straight-set victory. In 34 minutes they shut out Lithuania’s Simona Vaiciukynaite / Urte Andriukaityte by 2:0 (21-17, 21-18).
“It is really crazy to qualify for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games,” emotional Héléna Cazaute said. “The last game was very difficult as always. We started nervous, but point by point we gained our confidence back and played better.”
“It is a great opportunity for us to feel the spirit of the Olympics,” Aline Chamereau added. “We can improve our game by playing such an important tournament.”
Three more tickets to Nanjing will be issued by the second set of matches in the women’s second elimination round.
Click here for photos and more detailed information on the wommen’s 2014 CEV Youth Beach Volleyball Continental Cup Final.