03/04/2016 21:42
Doranth/Hauser win at Kronplatz again, Michal Matyja crowned ‘King of the Snow’
2016 CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour
Kronplatz / Plan de Corones, Italy, April 3, 2016. Germany’s Benedikt Doranth/Maximilian Hauser lived up to their top seeding and emerged victorious from the third and final stop of the 2016 CEV Snow Volleyball European Tour. They are already somewhat of a Tour veteran team, having played on the snow for several years now and winning the overall ranking in 2015, but this time it was Poland’s Michal Matyja who was crowned the ‘King of the Snow’ for the season, despite finishing “only” fourth at Kronplatz / Plan de Corones.
On Sunday morning, Doranth/Hauser won all their pool matches in straight sets to top the standings and qualify for the semi-finals. They met the toughest resistance from the other eventual finalists - Austrian-and-German pair Florian Schnetzer/Florian Schweikart, who did not surrender before 17-15 in the second set. The Florians finished second in the pool and also qualified for the semis.
In the other pool, second-seeded Michal Matyja/Robert Kufa from Poland and the Czech Republic, respectively, mastered three victories and were joined in the semi-finals by the tournament’s sensation – Alessandro Carucci/Angelo Mantegazza. The Italian wild cards gave a lot of hard time to Doranth/Hauser and let them into the final only after losing 16-18 in the second set of their semi-final. In the other semi-final Schnetzer/Schweikart shut out Matyja/Kufa to set up a re-match with the Germans in the battle for gold.
Schnetzer, who had won the previous stop at home in Wagrain-Kleinarl, and his German teammate were on a roll in the first set of the final and won it by 11-9. The Florians had their chances to finish the game off in straight sets, but did not take advantage of their opportunities at the end of the second set and lost it dramatically by 14-16. Doranth/Hauser completed the turn-around in the third set, when they managed to claim an 11-9 win and triumphed with the crown in front of the full stands at centre court.
“It is awesome!” exclaimed Benedikt Doranth after the victory. “And when the weather is fine like today, it is even more beautiful! It is a beautiful stop here at Kronplatz. In the last four years we won three times at this venue, so we love Kronplatz and we will be back again next year!”
Carucci/Mantegazza made sure one of the men’s medals would stay in Italy. In an exciting third place match, they claimed the bronze with a 2-1 (5-11, 12-10, 11-9) upset of Matyja/Kufa to finish off their phenomenal performance at Kronplatz on a high note.
Having won gold at the first stop in the Czech Republic, silver at the second stop in Austria, and settled for fourth place at the last stop in Italy, Poland’s Michal Matyja topped the final ranking of the Tour and deservedly lifted the deer-antler-shaped trophy.
For further information visit also the official website www.snowvolleyball.com and the Instagram account @snowvolleyball
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