Dutch take Gold at 2011 Morocco Open Beach Volleyball Tournament
The dynamic Dutch players, Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil, enjoyed the spotlight after winning the final showdown of the Morocco Open on Sunday, October 9 in Agadir, Morocco. They won against Germany’s Julius Brink and Jonas Reckermann, in order to
get hold of the title trophy. The final match spanned over three close sets, while Dutch team settled for a 2-1 (22-20, 16-21, 15-11) victory in the end. It was the first SWATCH FIVB World Tour win for any European team in Agadir.
The winning team also had another distinction as they became the second oldest team to capture a World Tour title, behind Mike Dodd and Mike Witmarsh of USA who won Fortaleza in 1996. Nummerdor is 35 years old, while Schuil touched 38
this year.
The match was opened with early points from the Germans as they served with great power and managed to land the ball in targeted areas. The Dutch pairing started out slow and trailed behind 1-5. Nevertheless, they gradually settled down in their positions
and paced things with counter attacks and better serves. They responded to their German counterparts with even action and tied the score at 15-15. Nummerdor and Schuil put up a great effort and eventually forced the opponent to give up at 22-20.
First set came handy for the Dutch tandem but they put up with the heavy strike of cross court shots by the Germans in the second set. Brink and Reckermann hit aggressively and tried to put pressure on the rival side. With better serves and tricky pokes
over the net, they managed to push the Dutch behind and picked up the lead. Meanwhile, Nummerdor and Schuil struggled to catch up with the German team but ended up with the loss of a second set at 16-21.
After winning the second set, Germans tried to carry the same momentum but the Dutch changed the tactics and claimed third set with a 4-point lead at 15-11.
Nummerdor expressed lots of emotions after securing the top position at the Morocco Open. He said: “This is a great end of our season with two finals in a row. Winning silver in The Hague last month and now gold here, is excellent.” Schuil had similar feelings
about victory. He talked about certain things in the match and stated: “They made a lot of mistakes serving in the beginning. In the second set, their serves really came tough and we were under a lot of pressure, making mistakes. Luckily we turned it around
in the tiebreak. Normally I have trouble blocking Brink, but this time I really got him.”
The Germans on the other hand, were quite disappointed after suffering the loss of the crucial final match. However, Reckermann was satisfied with their overall performance in the season. He seemed content with the seventh silver medal of their career.
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