Juliana Silva-Larissa Franca claim bronze-ware at the 2012 SWATCH FIVB Moscow Grand Slam
It was indeed not what the Brazilian duo had longed for but the pairing of Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca finished third at the 2012 Moscow Grand Slam.
In the women’s division, the influential final four matches took place on Monday. Brazilian tandem took on compatriots Talita and Antonelli in the bronze medal match, which spanned over three sets. Juliana-Larissa sent 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-8) on board to
clinch success in the match. The Victory Park in Russian Capital Moscow hosted the match and large number of fans showed up for the support of their favourite teams.
Earlier in the day, both Brazilian pairs suffered the setback in the semis. Larissa-Juliana went against American 6th-seeded pairing of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. The US pair started off well and grabbed success in the opening set (21-12).
In the following frame, Brazilians gave a really good competition to the rivals but still could not avoid the defeat. May-Treanor-Walsh used two-point advantage to win second set at 22-20 and won the match in straight sets. The Americans booked a slot in
the final showdown of the tournament, while Juliana-Larissa settled for the bronze-medal match.
On the other hand, third-seeded Brazilian duo of Talita and Antonelli received the same treatment by the Chinese team of Chen Xui and Zhang Xi in the second semi-final. The Chinese pair launched full authority on opponents and stamped 2-0 (21-18, 21-19)
victory in 41 minutes. The winner of second semi-final joined May-Treanor-Walsh in the final match whereas the losing side joined Juliana-Larissa in the bronze medal match.
In All Brazilian bronze-medal match, Talita-Antonelli showed ambition and claimed opening set with two-point lead (21-19). However, Juliana-Larissa responded in the following set. They showed no mercy and started the heavy strike of volleys. The opposite
duo could not penetrate the power of deadly aces and killing spikes. As a result, Juliana-Larissa captured second set (21-18), which tied the game score at 1-1.
In the decisive third set, Juliana-Larissa repeated the same brilliant act and dominated the compatriots. They finished the final set at 15-8 and got hold of the bronze.
Speaking about the match, Larissa said, “Of course I am disappointed with losing the semi-final. But I am happy we won the bronze match. I know we can do better and it is important we improve towards the Olympic Games.”
Likewise, her teammate Juliana shared her thoughts in the following manner, “I was sad because I played so bad this morning, so I was determined to get the bronze medal for my teammate.”
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