2008 WUC Beach Volleyball: Competitions
July 5th, 2008
A Rainy Friday Afternoon
Friday afternoon there was one suspenseful game after the other because some teams were eliminated. Therefore everybody had to give it all in order to remain in the tournament. The Chinese Pan and Zhang had to experience Team USA’s (Budinger/Coe) fighting spirit. Not until the third set it became clear that the Chinese had to continue in the losers bracket. In the end the scores were 27:25; 19:21 and 17:15 for Team USA that qualified for the quarter finals. ‘It definitely is annoying but it happens’, comments Van Zwieten on the quarterfinals that will be carried out between the two US- teams Van Zwieten/Dykstra and Budinger/Coe. Van Zwieten and Dykstra were able to beat the German Team II (Dollinger/Lüdike) in three sets (21:18; 14:21; 15:12) on the centre court. Due to Sebastian’s strong serves the team was able to win the second set but eventually it was not enough for a victory. In the next game of the day Dollinger/Lüdike also played 3 sets against Spain’s Garcia and Marco-Arroyo and had to surrender (21:19; 18:21; 13:15). The boys from Kiel were eliminated and reached 9th place of the World University Championship.
Team Germany I provided for a little surprise. After they had won against the Chez Tichy/Weiss they played against the strong Chinese Pan/Zhang that had been beaten by Team USA the match before. Due to a series of 5 points in the second set Markus Böckermann and Tom Götz lead with 16:11 and won competently in two sets (21:19; 21:19). Next they will play against Team Spain I, Garcia/Marco Arroya.
As variable as the weather Team Germany performed (Flemig/Hüttermann). The two women were favourites of the World University Championship because they won the gold medal at the European University Championship in Valencia and successfully played on the Smart Beach Tour. However they had a really bad day. In the morning they lost against Brazilian Team II (Nascimento/Souza) in straight sets (20:22; 17:21). German Talents Coach Jörg Ahmann has an explanation. Ruth Flemig’s arm was injured when she started into the tournament. ‘Due to the rain the ball kept getting heavier. In the end she did not have enough energy and the pain became worse’, comments Jörg Ahmann on the elimination of his team. Due to the loss the team was eliminated from the WUBC 2008 and reached 13th place. The frustration could be seen in their faces while the Brazilian Team II was more than happy: ‘We are excited that we made it to the quarter finals of the World Championship’, stated Elen Souza with a big smile on her face. The German Team II, Fischer/Großner, also made it to the quarter finals since they were able to beat China II, Liu/Wang, with a excellent performance (17:21; 21:15; 15:12). Even though they lost the first set they kept improving. ‘We are very satisfied with our performance especially because the Chinese have been playing a great tournament’, analyses Julia Großner the results of the match. In the quarter finals they will play against the Chez Team I, Goliasova/Weissova. ‘It is going to be hard, but at the U23 EC on Cyprus we won against them scarcely’, says Frederike Fischer respectfully.
