10/05/2015 18:11
France’s teams end home tournament on high note, settle for second place
2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Men & Women
Montpellier, France, May 10, 2015. After yesterday’s setbacks in the ‘big finals’ with Italy, the home heroes and heroines of France provided their many fans in attendance at Parc de la Rauze with something to celebrate as they claimed their respective ties with Slovakia and Israel to settle for second place in Pool D of the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup. This way France got a better seeding for Round 4 which is set to follow later this summer and where they will continue to pursue their dream of competing at next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
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Women
France vs. Israel 2:0
Mélinda Adelin and Ophélie Lusson looked very determined to vie for a silver medal to cap the tournament held in their home town. To achieve this feat they had to edge past their Israeli opponents, Aliona Cherkez and Einav Muharer, and they did so in great fashion, winning the first set with ease (21-15). They struggled a little bit in the second but after a time-out they regrouped and got back control of the game at the end of a long and much contested rally. The hosts showed a very good performance especially in defence and this way they pocketed also the second set by 21-16, keeping alive France’s hopes to finish the tournament in second place. “We are very happy and now we can only wait for the result of the other match,” Ophélie Lusson commented.
And actually the second clash of this tie turned out to be an easy task for the home heroines as Laura Longuet and Alexandra Jupiter played Jennifer Guz and Yael Yellin. Even though their start was not that brilliant, the ‘Bleues’ eventually stamped a 21-10, 21-9 win as they controlled the match from start to end, steadily widening their lead both in the first and second sets. This way they secured France’s second point in the tie and the home side could celebrate their second place in the tournament.
Men
France vs. Slovakia 2:0
After yesterday’s major disappointment – they lost to Italy only at the golden match – the hosts were back in action and they were the clear-cut favourites of their clash with Slovakia. However, it wasn’t such an easy task even for the local stars Youssef Krou (pictured) and Edouard Rowlandson. They easily (21-14) claimed the first set of their match with Oliver Cizmazia/Michal Kollar but the second one had a lot more suspense. Finally, Youssef Krou scored a series of blocks and made some good passes as well to pave the way for the final 21-17. After the match, Youssef and Edouard looked tired and this shows that the weather has been very hot these days in Montpellier and the competition tough at the same time. “We really wanted to win in order to maximise our chances to make it to the Olympics in Rio next year,” Rowlandson said.
In the second match, home heroes Jean-Baptiste Daguerre and Yannick Salvetti played once again with the heart and the nerves of the audience. They lost the first set to Igor Horvath/Matej Hukel (15-21) and could come back strong only after a dramatic second one which ended at 26-24 for the French duo. After that, Daguerre and Salvetti kept calm and their experience proved to be instrumental to the final 15-9 in the tie-break which sealed France’s victory and second place in the tournament.
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