KAZAN – The last day of the European Universities Beach Volleyball Championship started with the Polish derby in the bronze medal match. Paulina Gajewska/Magdalena Saad (University of Finance and Management in Bialystok) encountered Marta Kedzia/Edita Weclawek (Czestochowa University of Technology). The first set ended with a 21-19 win of Gajewska/ Saad. Till the 12-12 score the set hung by a hair but the held-ball at the Czestochowa University serving changed the course of the set. The ball fell on the sand in such a way that it was hard to say whether it was the ball in or out of the play. The referee signaled a score for them. Marta Kedzia showed a good game in the defense and after a 21-14 score in favor of the Czestochowa pair it became clear that the teams were to play the third set. From the very set start the players of the University of Finance and Management in Bialystok took the lead, posted a 15-8 win with a 2-1 match score and placed third. Afterward they started to phone their relatives and friends to Poland to share their victory.
The spectators watched another bronze medal match between Tomasz Sinczak/Sebastian Lesiecki from the University of Lodz and Swiss Marco Foelmli/Florian Lier (University of Bern). The first set was intense: the Polish players led the set a long while but at the end failed to maintain the momentum. The Alpine team scored a 22-20 win. Elated with success the Swiss team was leading the game 5-1. The Polish players took a time out. After the first set the Polish tandem dropped the match 21-13. With a 2-0 score the Bern students gained bronze.
The final meet in the women’s events caused the spectators’ outburst of emotions. The Russian duo of Victoria Rastykus/Daria Yarzutkina (Moscow Institute of Business and Law) faced Friederike Malchow/Lisa Schroder (University of Potsdam). In the first set the Russian pair took a 19-12 lead and it seemed that they had victory in their pocket already. The German players rallied and recovered their losses 19-17. The Russian girls took a time out, calmed themselves and pulled the match off with a 21-18 win. The second set was tight as well but the Russian team stayed unbeaten 21-18. With a 2-0 score they placed first.
The final meet between Sebastian Sobczak/Piotr Janiak (University of Lodz) and Raffael Buhler/Andreas Catschegn (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) ended with the Polish victory. Thanks to their compatriots the Lodz students gained the stands support. The Swiss team had a very beautiful rally win at an 8-3 score but they couldn’t defeat the Polish players in the first set 21-14. The game changed radically in the second set. In a razor-close battle the players from Zurich showed a good performance and celebrated a win at a 10-8 score after a long rally. The Polish athletes took a time out, rallied and won the final 21-19. The final score is 2-0 and the tandem from Lodz placed on the Championship podium with a gold medal finish.
(Source: Media Department of Kazan 2013 Executive Board)
Women’s Podium
Men’s Podium