09/05/2015 20:46
Italy upset home teams again at Montpellier with golden-set win by reigning European champions Lupo and Nicolai
2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Men
Montpellier, France, May 9, 2015. Similarly to what happened earlier on Saturday afternoon in the women’s competition, Italy upset the home audience at Parc de la Rauze in Montpellier by claiming a golden match win over hosts France to move on straight to the final stage of the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup scheduled for next year. The ‘big final’ which extended the everlasting rivalry between France and Italy started with a sensation as home heroes Jean-Baptiste Daguerre and Yannick Salvetti beat reigning European champions Daniele Lupo/Paolo Nicolai at the tie-break. However, France’s hopes of home glory suffered a major blow as their best team, Youssef Krou and Edouard Rowlandson, lost in two sets to Ranghieri/Caminati before Nicolai/Lupo regrouped to claim the golden match and get their revenge over Daguerre/Salvetti. France will be playing on Sunday for second place in the pool, waiting for the winner of the tie starring Denmark and Slovakia.
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France vs. Denmark 2:0
The home campaign of the French teams started on Saturday with local stars Youssef Krou and Edouard Rowlandson delivering a real show to the delight of the fans who had filled up the stands set up at Parc de la Rauze in Montpellier. As their supporters waved flags and played drums after each point scored by their favourite players the bronze medallists from this year’s FIVB Fuzhou Open paid back with a 21-15, 21-17 victory over Danish brothers Sebastian and Oliver Venndt Kaszas. “We have to keep our motivation high and the good feelings from this match also for the final this afternoon,” Krou and Rowlandson commented.
Jean-Baptiste Daguerre and Yannick Salvetti had to work a little harder and after easily winning the first set (21-13) of their match with Kristoffer Abell and Peter Kildegaard, they had to stand the comeback of the Danes who stretched the match to a tie-break (17-21). The Frenchmen showed their determination and fighting spirit there coming back from 12:14 to eventually win the match at 16-14 after scoring four consecutive points. “It was our first match this season and I know we have to improve the level of our performance but I am happy that in the end we won this difficult game,” Daguerre commented.
Italy vs. Slovakia 2:0
2014 European champions Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo looked very confident in their debut this season as they easily edged past Slovakia’s Oliver Cizmazia/Michal Kollar (21-12, 21-10). Their countrymen Alex Ranghieri and Marco Caminati claimed the second point for their side as they also recorded an easy and speedy win in their match with Igor Horvath/Matej Hukel (21-15, 21-15).
Italy vs. France 2:1
The ‘big final’ of Pool D started with a sensation as home heroes Jean-Baptiste Daguerre and Yannick Salvetti played 2014 European champions Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo. The hosts caught a terrific start playing a superb opening set which they eventually won by 21-18. Though Daguerre was hit by a ball on his head, this did not have an impact on his determination and the local favourites played a series of great rallies combining power and precision in their game. On a block by Salvetti, the home duo got back some hopes to win also the second set but in the end Lupo and Nicolai had the upper hand at 21-17. The tie-break that followed was very close and really dramatic with the Italians receiving a red card for their protests against the referees’ decisions. As they were cheered on by a sell-out crowd, Salvetti and Daguerre did not lose composure and created the sensation by winning the tie-break at 15-12.
At this point, it looked like France was only one step away from winning the ‘big final’ with their top team Youssef Krou/Edouard Rowlandson playing Italy’s second pair, Alex Ranghieri and Marco Caminati. The first set was very close and went well in overtime with the Italians eventually edging past at 26-24. This setback probably had an impact on the performance of the home duo as Krou and Rowlandson were far away from playing their best and eventually lost the second set by 13-21 as Ranghieri and Caminati put on a show of strength with their powerful spikes.
So it was down to the golden match to determine the eventual winner of this tie. Once again, Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo played Daguerre/Salvetti. This time around, to the disappointment of the local crowd, Yannick and Jean-Baptiste could not repeat their sensation and after struggling for most of the match, they eventually lost to the reigning European champions by 16-21, 12-21. This way Italy could start their celebrations for the men joined the ladies who earlier in the afternoon had also qualified for the finals of the Continental Cup.
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