12/09/2015 20:52
Day of golden matches and Israeli dramas as CEV Continental Cup Round 4 comes to an end in Ashdod
2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup - Men & Women
Ashdod, Israel, September 12, 2015. The second and final day of competition in Ashdod did not deliver the results that the Israeli fans were hoping for as the home heroes and heroines eventually settled for third place thereby missing out on a spot in the final stage of the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup. Belgium and Estonia topped the charts of the men’s competition while Slovakia was anchored by their stars Natalia Dubovcova and Dominika Nestarcova on the way to second place behind Pool winners Poland to secure the remaining ticket to the Finals coming up next year.
Double Israeli drama in men’s competition
Saturday’s programme started with the much anticipated ‘golden match’ opposing home heroes Sean Faiga and Ariel Hilman to Belgium’s top team Dries Koekelkoren and Tom van Walle. The visitors from Belgium were off to a very solid start and claimed a 15-9 lead in the first set. Though the Israelis came back strong to narrow their deficit down to three points at 19-16, still Koekelkoren and van Walle quite comfortably edged past in the final rush (21-17). After a close start (7-6), the Belgians broke away to 12:9 at the technical time-out of the second set. This break somehow paved the way for their success, and with their 21-13 set win Koekelkoren and van Walle secured Belgium’s qualification to the Finals and can still live their dream of competing at next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Estonia easily edged Portugal by two wins to none in the contest that followed and this way got the right to challenge Israel for second place in the pool as well as for the remaining ticket to the Finals. Sean Faiga and Ariel Hilman claimed a narrow lead and were able to hold on to it to win the first set (21-19) of their match with Karl Jaani and Rain Raud. However, the second stanza followed a different pattern with the score levelled at 13 all and after that Jaani/Raud scored two in a row to claim a mini-break that paved the way to the final 21-18 Estonia’s way. The third set was a close battle right from the start and the teams sided out up to 13 all. With the help of the local crowd Faiga and Hilman scored two in a row and won the set 15-13 and the match by 2-1.
Netanel Amiram Ohana and Alon Sanderovich played Estonia’s top team Kristo Kollo and Rivo Vesik knowing that a victory would have secured Israel’s qualification to the Finals. However, Kollo and Vesik showed glimpses of their class and capitalised on their international experience to win the first set by 21-16 after leading from start to end and they did the same also in the second (21-17) to send this clash to a ‘golden match’.
This was the real climax of the day and Faiga/Hilman were understandably chosen to play Kollo/Vesik. The home heroes won the first set by 21-19 but Kollo/Vesik came back to claim a dramatic second stanza which finished in overtime (22-20). After that Faiga and Hilman seemed to have run out of fuel both mentally and physically and lost the tie-break 6-15, and as a result Estonia secured their promotion to next year’s Continental Cup Finals.
Another unlucky ‘golden match’ for Israel, Slovakia’s women secure second place and ticket to the Finals
Israel caused quite a sensation on Saturday morning when their women beat the much more experienced and decorated teams from Norway to remain in contention for a spot in the Continental Cup Finals. Aliona Cherkez and Einav Muharer surprisingly upset Norway’s top team Janne Kongshavn/Victoria Faye Kjølberg (21-19, 21-18) whilst Yael Yellin/Jennifer Guz needed three sets to edge past Cindy Treland and Janne Pedersen (21-15, 12-21, 15-12). This way Israel got the right to challenge Slovakia for second place in the pool.
Yael Yellin and Jennifer Guz opened the programme with a hard-fought win over Lubica Siposova and Lucia Behunova. The hosts seized the opening set 21-15 before their rivals stroke back in the second (21-19). With the support provided by the home crowd, the young Israelis finished it off at 15-13 in their favour.
Aliona Cherkez and Einav Muharer lost the first set of their matchup with Slovakia’s stars Dubovcova and Nestarcova (17-21) but came back strong to take the second by 21-15. However, Dubovcova and Nestarcova showed their superior class in the deciding tie-break (15-8) thereby sending this clash to another ‘golden match’.
Israel’s Guz and Yellin caught a promising start of their match with Dubovcova and Nestarcova; the first set was a very close affair but the Slovaks in the end prevailed 24-22. Once again relying on their experience, Dubovcova and Nestarcova set the pace right from the go of the second set (8:6) and stretched their lead up to four points (11:7) before crushing Israel’s dreams of glory with their 21-16 set win. This way they also secured Slovakia’s qualification to the Continental Cup Finals as they finished as runners-up in Pool D behind Poland.
“It was very difficult for us to play so many matches over two days and one after the other,” Dominika Nestarcova said. “However, we improved from game to game and we have achieved our goal, which was to move on to the next stage and we are very excited for having made the Finals of the Continental Cup. This is indeed a big thing for us and for our country.”
Yael Yellin and Jennifer Guz could not hide their disappointment but they were nevertheless quite satisfied with their performance on home turf: “We did everything we could and we played a couple of teams which are among the top 20 of the world ranking. We showed good resistance as well as our skills in all matches, so we will continue to work hard in order to get better.”
Click here for further information on the 2014-2016 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup
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