18/12/2020 22:00
Home teams in fine form at MEVZA zonal event in Israel
News from the Zonal Associations
Ramat Gan, Israel, December 18, 2020. The MEVZA Beach Volleyball zonal tournament in Ramat Gan, Israel, started on Friday with a warm sun providing ideal conditions for the players competing at Ramat Gan National Park. Even though no spectators can attend the event in compliance with strict anti-coronavirus measures, the atmosphere at the venue was good – with the players showing the fun vibes and positive energy that everyone associates with the Beach Volleyball community.
The matches started early in the morning and continued all day long across as many as four courts – thus making people forget the many events cancelled during 2020 because of the global health crisis. Teams from Austria, Serbia, Slovenia and Israel remain in contention for the medals and will return to the court on Saturday. The home stars Sofia Starikov and Anita Dave of Israel will be playing Tajda Lovsin and Tjasa Kotnik of Slovenia in the women’s semis. Another Israeli team, Yael Lotan and Yahli Ashush, will be playing fourth-seeded Spela Morgan and Katarina Fabian of Slovenia in the other semi-final.
“We do appreciate the effort the organisers have made to stage this tournament, especially because all players are desperately willing to return to the competition routine,” Starikov said. “Our first opponents today played very well whilst we had to deal with more pressure and some hesitation. Fortunately, we were able to manage the excitement of returning to action and eventually won. As for the second match, we started without feeling any pressure or fear. We wanted to impose our own pace and we did so. Tomorrow, we play against a Slovenian team in the semis and we will give everything we have. I am sure it will be an interesting match.”
In the men’s quarterfinals, Austria’s top-seeded Florian Schnetzer and Thomas Kunert will play second-seeded Tadej Bozenk and Danijel Pokersnik of Slovenia. The top Israeli duo, Sean Faiga and Netanel Amiram Ohana, will be taking on their compatriots David Lanciano and Mai Goldstein. “We are happy to return to international competition after a few months without any tournaments,” Ohana said, “especially with Israel serving as host. We have shown a good performance today and it is important that we continue the same way.”
The women’s and men’s finals are due to take place on Saturday starting at 2 and 3 pm local time, with live streaming of the matches available on the official website of the Israel Volleyball Association.
Click here for further information.
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