Four duos clinch qualifying berths at the 2012 Rome Grand Slam – Volleyball news
The 2012 SWATCH FIVB Rome Grand Slam women’s beach volleyball tournament took centre stage on Tuesday, June 12 in Italy.
According to the set formula of the competition, the tournament was opened with the Country Quota Playoffs. A total of eight duos from Brazil, USA, and Germany joined the CQs and four of them could advance to the next stage.
In the Brazilian CQs, pairing of Liliane Maestrini and Angela Vieira displayed a winning performance and held off compatriot duo of Maria Clara and Raquel for straight-set victory. Lili and Vieira had to work really hard to down the ambitious opponents.
Scoring was tight in the first set. The crowed saw an exchange of long rallies and the ball kept in the air for most of the time. Lili-Vieira earned two-point advantage to finish the opening set at 25-23. Raquel’s team struggled to cover the deficit it the
following set but faced utmost resistance from the opposite side. Lili and Vieira did not lose their grip on the ball and second set at 21-19. Therefore, the match ended in straight sets and victory enabled Lili-Vieira to book a qualifying slot.
Fendrick-Hanson and Akers-Hochevar of USA fought for a qualification berth in the American Country Quota Playoffs.
Akers and Hochevar had better attack and defence strategy, which allowed them to take up an early lead. They performed consistently and quickly stretched the gap of points. Meanwhile, Fendrick and Hanson came from different angles but the resilient rivals
dismissed most of their attacks on the net. Opening frame ended at 21-15 and Akers-Hochevar went on front with 1-0 record.
Fendrick-Hanson made a good comeback in the following set and broke the tempo of competitors. They captured the second set by sending 21-14 on board and created the tie of 1-1. The game entered 15-point golden set, which was the final test of skill for both
teams. The situation remained undecided up till the match points in third set but Akers-Hochevar finally managed to down the opponents with a two-point lead (15-13). It took them 46 minutes to dismantle the power of compatriot duo.
Four teams (two-player teams) participated in the German Country Quota Playoffs. First fixture brought Borger-Büthe and Bieneck-Großner on the centre court. The former duo posted 2-1 (21-17, 15-21, 15-9) win over Bieneck-Großner and advanced to the Qualification
Tournament of 2012 FIVB Rome Grand Slam.
Banck-Walkenhorst also joined the qualifying round after beating Gernert-Günther in the next match. They sent 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) on board to grab success.
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