Heat is on in Pool B of 2011 Moscow Grand Slam – Main Draw, Women
Russian Capital Moscow is hosting an amazing Beach Volleyball Competition this week. The 2011 SWATCH FIVB Moscow Grand Slam started off on Monday, July 11 and it is scheduled to continue till Sunday, July 17.
Women Teams from every nook and cranny of the world have installed their bases Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow. The tournament is done with the early two rounds. Currently, the 24-team Main-Draw stage is underway and heat is totally ON for berths in the next round.
Teams were classified in 8 pools and only one team will advance to the next stage from each pool.
Beach Volleyball Tandems from Austria, United States, host Russia, and Germany have been placed in Pool B. Austrian side is represented by 15-seeded pair of Schwaiger-Schwaiger, while World No. 2 Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are playing under the flag
of USA. Furthermore, German Borger-Büthe and home duo of Ryabova-Ushkova are also on board to vie for top-position in the group.
The wonderful duo of 2nd-seeded May-Treanor and Walsh from USA is ruling Pool B. They appeared in two matches on the opening day of the Main-Draw (Wednesday, July 13) and launched their power. Pool B Matches were played at the Poklonnaya Gora, Moscow.
In the first match, May-Treanor/Walsh played an easy match with Russia’s Ryabova-Ushkova. The match lasted for two sets and scoreboard showed the final score of 2-0 (21-16, 21-12). American top beach volleyball players and Olympic Champions worked out great
progress against Russian rivals. They spiked the ball hard and showcased their extra-ordinary game skills. Russian team had the advantage of home support but it didn’t prove to be a competitive edge for them. The outsider team hit the mark and defeated locals
at their home soil.
After making a great start in the tournament, May-Treanor and Walsh put up against German team of Karla Borger and Britta Büthe. The second match was kind of different as the German competitors did put up some resistance. Anyhow, the final word was given
in the favour U.S. tandem as they posted 2-1 (20-22, 21-15, and 15-11) in 45 minutes.
Borger and Buthe started out well and hit some nice shots. They served with precision and avoided unforced mistakes. That’s how they saved many crucial points and managed to claim the opening set of the game with a margin of two points. Raged-up American
players hit back angrily in the following set and took the score by storm. They broke the rhythm of opponents and gained the control of operations. May-Treanor and Walsh hit the equalizer in second set and moved forward to win the final set. They remained
on the winning route and didn’t Germans to return in the game. U.S. tandem walked away with the tag of winners in the end.
May-Treanor and Walsh confirmed their ambition for better status at the 2011 Moscow Grand Slam and finished the day without any loss.
Earlier in the day, German duo of Borger/Buthe had pulled off success against 15th-seeded Austrian Schwaiger-Schwaiger. They claimed success by sending 2-1 (21-8, 19-21, and 15-13). Likewise, in the last match of Pool B on Wednesday, Russian Ryabova-Ushkova
dug up success. They also defeated Austrian Schwaiger-Schwaiger by polling 2-1 (21-17, 15-21, and 15-8).
Two more matches will be played on Thursday, July 14 but American duo is already tipped to make to the top in Pool B. Check back for latest happenings in the beach volleyball world.
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