23/07/2017 21:38
From qualification to gold medal – Schillerwein and Tillmann triumph in Vilnius
2017 CEV Beach Volleyball Satellite - Vilnius
Vilnius, Lithuania, July 23, 2017. Six teams took to the centre court on Sunday to fight for the top honours from the CEV-EEVZA Satellite tournament held in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. Germany’s Katarina Schillerwein/Cinja Tillmann eventually stood on top of the podium, demonstrating their undisputable skills and sportsmanship going all the way from the qualification round to the gold medal.
With their victorious 2-0 (21-19, 24-22) start against Russia’s Alexandra Moiseeva/Ekaterina Syrtseva, whereby they avenged their loss from two weeks ago in Laholm (Sweden), Schillerwein and Tillmann progressed to the semis to play home favourites Ieva Dumbauskaite and Monika Povilaityte. In a dramatic half-an-hour match, the Germans put on a show, with Tillmann standing out with her defence skills as Schillerwein killed some impressive attacks through the Lithuanian block. Povilaityte/Dumbauskaite could not find any mean to fight back and as a result, the Lithuanian team suffered their first 0-2 (19-21, 17-21) loss since the start of their campaign on home sand.
The medal matches were not less thrilling and dramatic. Povilaityte and Dumbauskaite showed a completely different game in the bronze medal match – and this much to the delight of the Lithuanian crowd. In a 43-minute match against another German team, i.e. Sabrina Karnbaum and Natascha Niemczyk, Povilaityte and Dumbauskaite combined their respective skills to pull out a hard-fought 2-0 (25-23, 24-22) victory and finish the tournament in third place.
The gold medal match truly deserved this name. Latvia’s Tina Graudina/Anastasija Kravcenoka were to lock horns again with Schillerwein/Tillmann after they had done so in the third round of the Main Draw. After winning the first set 28-26, Schillerwein/Tillmann had probably set their sights on the title. However, Graudina/Kravcenoka came back strong to rally to a 21-18 win in the second set. The Latvians could not keep the same rhythm in the tiebreak and mistake after mistake they ended up losing it 7-15, with Schillerwein and Tillmann celebrating the second gold medal from a CEV Satellite in their careers – they had achieved a similar feat in 2015 in Timisoara, Romania and there they had started their campaign even from the Country Quota!
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