06/09/2015 21:05
Switzerland deny Ukraine a spot in men’s Continental Cup Finals
2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Men
Thessaloniki, Greece, September 6, 2015. On Sunday afternoon Switzerland’s men claimed second place, this way edging Ukraine out of the final stage, thanks to a hard-fought victory in the clash which concluded the actions of Pool C in Round 4 of the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.
The Swiss side prevailed with 2-1 wins after a tough battle and qualified to next June’s finals, along with hosts Greece, who had secured first place in Pool C already on Saturday.
Philip Gabathuler/Mirco Gerson beat Oleksii Denin/Denys Denysenko in straight sets (21-17, 21-11), but the Ukrainian side responded in the same way in the next game, which saw Iaroslav Gordieiev/Vladyslav Iemelianchyk edge Jonas Kissling/Alexei Strasser (21-19, 21-16).
And then it was time for the ‘golden match’, where Gerson/Strasser teamed up and got the better of Denin/Gordieiev in three sets (19-21, 21-14, 15-11), with a lot of suspense included. The Swiss mixed duo lost set 1, came back in style in set 2 and stroke in the right moment of the tie-break. After an 11:11 provisional tie, they got away with a 4-0 rally, which was enough to secure them the victory (15-11).
Switzerland had also beaten Ukraine over three matches (2-1 wins) a day before, during Saturday’s semi-finals.
Switzerland’s Mirco Gerson said: “Ukraine was a complicated rival for us, but we managed to win once more and we have achieved our goal. After the second set we controlled the game better. We had to play the best we could in order to beat them. The most important thing is that we have qualified to the final round.”
Ukraine’s Oleksii Denin commented: “We are not satisfied with the result. We didn’t perform the best we can and this leaves us with mixed feelings. We could have won if we had been more focussed at some points of the golden match.”
Click here for further information on the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup
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