Germany clinch semi-final berth at Sanya Open Tournament
The SWATCH FIVB Sanya Open Tournament is underway in China from 26-31 October, 2010. The 65 teams from 26 different nations hit the podium on the opening day of the tournament. The event was kicked off with the Country Quota playoffs and further covered the stages of Qualification Tournament, Money Round, Main Draw stage and Quarter-finals. Since the elimination bracket was on, only the better teams could survive up till the "final four" stage.
The second-seeded Germany’s Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig exhibited a wonderful performance in the quarter-final and reserved their berth in the semi-final contest. The quarter-finals were held on Friday, 29th October, 2010. The duo of Gollar and Ludwig came across two pairs from America and successfully beat them on the sand.
First Match
In the first match on Friday, Gollar/Ludwig outplayed seventh-seeded Angie Akers and Tyra Turner of USA with a score of 2-1 (21-18, 18-21, and 15-11).
The German stars kicked off the first game with strong hits. They formed a good combination and helped their score. On the other side of the net, the U.S. pair also worked out good serves and floaters. They attacked with power and added points in their score but American side lacked in defence. Mostly, they suffered damage on account of reception errors, while German pair remained consistent in hitting the ball at perfect lengths and grabbed first-set victory with a margin of three points.
The second set of the match was complete ball of fury. Both sides amazed the audience with a great show. The German pair used good tactics but Americans stood in front of them and denied their power. The score shifted up with a close gap of points. German sides availed a few good chances after the second technical timeout and earned better status. Angie/Turner won the second set and levelled the game at 1-1.
The match entered the crucial phase of 15-point golden set. The two sides played the third set under pressure as there was hardly any space for mistakes. However, Germans proved to be the better team and achieved match victory by winning the third decisive set.
Second Match
After enjoying the brilliant victory over Angie Akers/Tyra Turner, the German duo clashed with another team from USA, which comprised of third-seeded Nicole Branagh and Kerri Walsh. The German duo ousted their opponent by posting 2-1 (14-21, 21-14, and 15-7) victory. Kerri returned to international game after two years with a new partner. The great player had a series of achievements to her name. She was paired with Misty May-Treanor and together they won 78 consecutive matches on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour. It is the first time that Walsh has been defeated by the German pair of Gollar and Ludwig.
The first set of the match ended in support of U.S. Kerri Walsh and Nicole Branagh. Both partners complimented each other and pushed the competitor side behind. The powerful spikes and good defence enabled them to bag early victory at 21-14 over Germany.
Nonetheless, the German duo made a great come-back in the second set. They had grasped the game plan of American players and formulized the right strategy to put pressure on them. The U.S. pair lost energy and couldn’t put up with the heavy strike of Ludwig. Germany claimed second set by posting 21-14. Afterwards, Germans kept up the same act and paved their way to success in the following set. USA lost the final set of the game by receiving 7-15. Germans won the match and confirmed their participation in the semi-final match.
"It feels great," Goller said. "I know Kerri just came back and she's not where she wants to be. When you play against such a great team you just want to go for it. We knew we had to serve really tough to have a chance. They (the Americans) got on a roll in the first set and served well and sided out consistently. In the second set we served really well and sided out, and we kept it going in the third set."
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