07/09/2015 16:39
Happy end for Lithuania’s women in Vilnius
2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Women
Vilnius, Lithuania, September 6, 2015. On the final day of action in Pool A of the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Round 4 in Vilnius, the national team of Lithuania was able to survive to a dramatic clash with Ukraine to settle for second place and secure their promotion to next year’s Finals. Belgium had already claimed first place in the pool after on Saturday they had edged both Ukraine and Lithuania by two wins to one.
Ukraine vs. Slovenia 2:0
These countries had lost their respective semis on Saturday – Ukraine was defeated 1:2 by Belgium, whilst Slovenia had suffered two consecutive setbacks in their matches with the home heroines of Lithuania. Being the top-ranked side entering the tournament, the Ukrainians really needed to storm back in their matchup with Slovenia in order to continue their campaign in the competition.
And so they did in just two matches – early in the morning Inna and Iryna Makhno beat Nina Kontrec and Spela Morgan 2-0 (21-15, 21-10), later on Valentyna Davidova and Elizaveta Sulima did the same in their matchup with Nina Lovsin and Sara Sakovic (21-17, 21-11), leaving Slovenia in fourth place.
Lithuania vs. Ukraine 2:1
The first match started with a strong performance of twins Inna and Iryna Makhno as they played Lithuania’s second pair Ieva Kazuraityte and Vilte Makauskaite. The home team fought till the very end, but the Ukrainians were just too strong and eventually pocketed a 2-0 win (22-20, 21-15).
The huge home crowd expected local heroines Ieva Dumbauskaite and Monika Povilaityte to restore the balance. Surprisingly the top Lithuanian duo was not able to find their game against the second team from Ukraine, Valentyna Davidova and Elizaveta Sulima. The home tandem lost the first set 15:21 and quickly trailed 1:4 in the second as well.
At this point it looked like Lithuania was close to bidding farewell to the Continental Cup and as a result the local fans were almost silenced. However, Ieva Dumbauskaite and Monika Povilaityte suddenly found back their strength and best game to finish the set on a high note (21-19) and after that they went on to win also the tie-break that followed (15-10).
Monika Povilaityte commented after this dramatic win: “We felt a lot of pressure to win this match, so too many thoughts went through my head and this way I could not remain focussed. However, during the time-out our coach told us some harsh words and I think that this helped.”
As they went for the decisive ‘golden match’, Ukraine decided to opt for a mixed pair including the likes of Inna Makhno and Valentyna Davidova, this way hoping for more success. However, Ieva Dumbauskaite and Monika Povilaityte were just too inspired after winning their previous match and fought bravely to claim one more victory (26-24, 21-16) for Lithuania and this way they also secured a spot in the Finals of the Continental Cup for their country.
Ukrainian sisters Inna and Iryna Makhno said: “We really enjoyed the tournament and it’s always nice to come to Vilnius as the local fans are very friendly and treat us well. During the ‘golden match’ with Lithuania we mixed the teams and most probably this was a mistake. We thought it would be a better strategy for us but unfortunately it didn’t really work as we hoped.”
Click here for further information on the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup
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