12/07/2015 22:17
Holler and Schröder add another chapter to Germany’s success story in Vaduz
2015 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Vaduz
Vaduz, Liechtenstein, July 12, 2015. After Teresa Mersmann/Isabel Schneider had topped the charts of the women’s tournament on Saturday, Germany got something more to celebrate also on Sunday as the 2015 edition of the Vaduz Satellite came to an end with Tim Holler and Jonas Schröder triumphing in the capital of the alpine Principality. The gods showed real mercy for the organisers of the tournament as the weather conditions were just superb from the start through to the end of the event.
The women’s final match starring Mersmann/Schneider and Latvia’s Inese Jursone/Tina Graudina had turned into the remake of a match played in Round 3 of the Main Draw. The same happened also in the men’s competition where Holler/Schröder got to play once again Italy’s Marco Caminati and Enrico Rossi, also for a remake of their match from Round 3. Similarly to what had happened on Saturday night with the final act of the women’s competition, 1,000 fans were in attendance also on Sunday late afternoon, thereby bringing the total for the tournament beyond the 10,000 mark.
Thrilling and close semi-finals set the tone for final day
After the last matches for the losers’ bracket were played on Sunday morning, the semis provided a good appetiser for what was going to follow later in the afternoon. Germany’s Tim Holler and Jonas Schröder had the upper hand in a close matchup with the reigning U23 world champions Maciej Kosiak and Maciej Rudol of Poland (22-20, 18-21, 15-13). The match was a real thriller and an entertaining one for the audience with the Germans eventually cruising past thanks to their solid block and defence system. Jonas Schröder saved some incredible balls whilst Tim Holler showed his terrific skills at blocking.
Italy’s Marco Caminati and Enrico Rossi also had to fight hard to edge past Belgium’s Dries Koekelkoren and Tom Van Walle. They eventually succeeded in doing so at the end of a very close match (16-21, 24-22, 15-8) where the Italians had a clear advantage only in the third set.
Bronze goes to U23 world champions after close fight
Only a very few balls made the difference in determining the outcome of the bronze medal match. Kosiak and Rudol had problems in reception and this negatively impacted on the quality of their offensive play. Koekelkoren and Van Walle claimed the first set by 23-21 but Kosiak and Rudol were able to fight their way back winning set 2 and 3 (21-19, 15-13) to eventually settle for the bronze medal. “We are really happy with this third place. We had to fight through the losers’ bracket and had to play a lot more matches as a result,” Maciej Rudol said. “Maybe we won because we are a little more experienced but it was a very, very close match.”
Germans secure first international crown
The course of the ‘grand finale’ was similar. Only a few points decided the final result with Holler/Schröder edging Caminati/Rossi by 21-16, 19-21, 15-13. The Italians served very often on Holler but he responded by scoring with some nice lobs. Holler agreed that luck was also a factor as the outcome of the match was decided by a very few balls. “We knew that this match wouldn’t have been as easy as the one we had played in Round 3,” he acknowledged. “We are very happy with winning this tournament. Jonas has been abroad for about half a year, so our chemistry is coming back step by step and we keep on improving with each game we play.” Holler and Schröder improved on the silver medal they had won last year at another CEV Satellite event held in Stuttgart.
Italy’s Caminati and Rossi said: “We are happy that we performed much better than we had done in Round 3 but disappointed that we lost in the end. Only a few points at this level can determine if you win or lose in the end.”
Mr Philippe Schürmann, President of the local Organising Committee, sounded very happy about the outcome of the tournament: “We chose this spring, despite the death of my brother and former chairman of the tournament, Patrick that we would continue. Thanks to our partners Accurata and Erlebe Vaduz it was possible to organise once more this tournament. However, the same gratitude goes out also to all other partners and to our 150 volunteers. The tournament has given us – as it did also in the past – a lot of joy. We have been rewarded with two great finals and we were very lucky also with the weather.”
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