Home duo clinch success in opening matches at Olympic test event – Beach Volleyball News
The Olympic test event labelled as 2011 Visa FIVB Beach Volleyball Tournament has started.
The Horse Guard Parade in London City welcomed 24 teams, which opened the tournament in the classification of six pools. The home pairing of Shauna Mullin and Zara Dempsey played under the tag of Pool A. They are accompanied by three other teams from Australia,
Puerto Rico, and China. British team went straight into action in the opening day fixture and defeated Aussie duo of Clancy and Hynes. On the second day of 2011 Visa FIVB tournament, they clashed with Santiago and Acevedo of Australia. Success once again graced
Brits and they added second win to their tally.
First match
Mullin/ Dempsey played their first match on Tuesday, August 9 and saw off Australian Clency/ Hynes in two straight sets. They registered a score of 2-0 (21-10, 21-13) and announced match victory. British duo had spent enough time practising on the same courts
and they were also equipped with a all tips and tricks of the game.
Mullin, an expert hitter, threw the serves at varied lengths and created real trouble for opponents. Likewise, Dempsey offered solid blocking to the attacks from other side. Both teammates perfectly complimented each other and easily built a lead in first
set. Aussie pair was down with all sorts of errors. They created an opportunity for Brits to score points via bad ball handling. The ball slipped through their hands many a time and raised British score. Clancy and Hynes could only score 10 points in opening
set, while home duo touched the finish line.
Second set also came successful for Mullin/ Dempsey. They brought more ferocity in attack during the second set and totally dominated the scene. Australian team was also warmed up by then and managed to steal some points from Brits. The improvement in their
performance could be gauged through their score in second set. They collected 13 points but meanwhile Mullin/Dempsey achieved the set points. Australian team remained unsuccessful on the first day of the tournament.
Second match
Success in the first match of the tournament enabled home team to use the same potential against resilient rivals from Puerto Rico on next day. 13th-seeded Santiago and Acevedo of Puerto Rico took their positions on the other side of the net. Team Britannia
posted 2-1 (17-21, 24-22, and 16-14) win over Puerto Rican duo.
Puerto Ricans had a different style of play than the previous team, which Mullin/Dempsey defeated on the first day. The opponents showed their attacking power in the first set and scored good points. Santiago was quite quick on the net. She put a lot of
energy and hit the ball at great speed. Home duo tried to find a way to break opponents’ tone but couldn’t succeed, at least in the first set. First set slipped from the hands of local tandem.
However, Mullin and Dempsey kicked things off in the following set. They realigned their positions and improved on attack and defence. Puerto Ricans tried to remain on the same course but Brits denied their efforts. Local team covered the deficit of previous
set by winning the second set. Mullin/Dempsey had grasped the game plan by then. They continued with strong hits and solid blocks in the third set and pulled off success. That was how, the pairing of Mullin and Dempsey clinched success on the opening day of
the tournament.
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