Brazilian and Czech women win in Pool A – 2011 Moscow Grand Slam: Beach Volleyball
The Brazilian and Czech women’s beach volleyball teams have won their matches in Pool A of the 2011 SWATCH FIVB Moscow Grand Slam this week.
The double gender event is scheduled to complete its run from July 11 to 17. In the women’s section, a total of 56 tandems entered the competition. After successfully covering the early stages of the Country Quota Playoffs and Qualification Tournament, only
24 teams entered the Main-Draw stage. Teams have been divided into 6 pools, where each pool has accommodated four teams. Pool A is comprised of teams from Brazil, USA, the Netherlands and Czech Republic.
Juliana Felisberta Silva - Larissa Franca (Brazil) Kolocova - Slukova (Czech Republic) Angie Akers – Nicole Branagh (USA) Marloes Wesselink - Madelein Meppelink (Netherlands)
Top-seeded Brazilian pairing of Juliana and Larissa is one of the 11 undefeated teams in the tournament. The SWATCH World Champions opened the game in the Main-Draw and won easily. Likewise, the Czech duo of Kolocova and Slukova was equally proficient on
centre court. They are also another undefeated team in the competition so far. Both teams appeared in two fixtures apiece and clinched success. However, the Dutch and American teams in Pool ‘A’ couldn’t perform up to the mark and failed to score a victory.
Larissa/Juliana vs. Wesselink/Meppelink 2-1 (21-7, 19-21, 15-7)
World No. 1 Juliana/Larissa of Brazil were challenged by 32-seed Dutch team of Wesselink/Meppelink in the first match on Wednesday, July 13 as Poklonnaya Gora competition hall in Moscow hosted the thrilling action. The Brazilian duo was fresh off their win
of the title at the Gstaad Grand Slam in Norway last week. They enjoyed great form and ousted the Dutch team in three sets. The Brazilian side heavily influenced the rivals in the first set of the match and gave the Dutch a 14 point beating. Nonetheless, the
second set ended in the favour of Dutch players with a close margin. Juliana/Larissa finished off the third set in a great way and pulled off success. It took them 43 minutes to overcome Dutch side.
Kolocova/Slukova vs. Akers/Branagh 2-1 (21-15, 16-21, 15-13)
16th-seeded Kolocova/Slukova of Czech Republic clashed with 17th-seeded American tandem of Angie Akers and Nicole Branagh in the second match. The same Poklonnaya Gora competition hall provided the sand for the exciting match between
the two archrivals. Czech side made a good opening in the match and easily managed to outdo the U.S. team in the first set. The Americans hit back strongly in the second set and levelled the game. The 15-point golden set of the match was the real neck-to-neck
fight. Both teams played fast and jumped on every little opportunity to score points. Eventually the Czech duo hit the mark and won the third decisive set of the match.
Larissa/Juliana vs. Akers/Branagh 2-0 (21-17, 21-14)
In the afternoon, third match in Pool A featured teams from Brazil and America. Top-seeded Juliana/Larissa came across recently defeated Angie Akers and Nicole Branagh of the USA. The dynamic pair of Juliana/Larissa proved to be better and defeated Americans
in just 34 minutes. Akers and Branagh were defeated by the Czechs in their previous match and finished the day without any success. On the other hand, the Brazilian duo bagged a second consecutive victory and remained undefeated on the opening day of the Main-Draw.
Kolocova/Slukova vs. Wesselink/Meppelink 2-0 (21-17, 21-19)
Czech duo of Kolocoa/Slukova scored their second win of the day over Wesselink/Meppelin of Netherlands as the Czech side was generally performed better than the Dutch team. They had already clinched success in their previous match, while the Dutch team had
lost their opening match. Hence, the match between Czech and Dutch teams continued for 39 minutes, where the former emerged as victors.
Next up
There are just two matches left to be played in Pool A. Both matches are set to take place on Thursday, July 14. In the first match, Pool toppers Brazil and Czech Republic will be featured. This is an extremely important match as the winner will qualify
for the top-8 round. The second match will be played between America and Holland.
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