Latvia beat Russia in Beach Volleyball Open Cup 2010 final
The 2010 Russian Open Beach Volleyball Cup went on for three days in the beautiful city of Anapa, Russia last week. The tournament featured both-gender competitions and involved sixteen teams. Russian Volleyball Federation and Eastern European Zonal Association
(EEVZA) joined hands to organise this event which completed its run from 10-12 September 2010. The 16 participating teams were divided into four groups and each group comprised of four couples.
In the men’s section, Latvian and Russian pairs paved their way into the final match. Russia played with Yaroslav Koshkaryov and Konstantin Birlov, while Latvian pair included Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Martins Plavins. Russia had the competitive edge of
home-crowd and court. The fans captured every inch of arena to witness their team performing in the final match of the Open Cup 2010.
Russia’s duo clashed with Rivo Vesik and Carl Janni of Estonia in the semi-final match in order to qualify for the final shoot. They outplayed the Estonian team in straight sets and confirmed their participation in the final of the Russian Open Cup 2010.
Yaroslav and Konstantin posted 21-17 and 21-19 to claim victory over Estonia. On the other hand, Plavins and Samoilovs of Latvia outshined in their group and joined the Russian counterparts. They captured the slot in the final showdown by defeating Andrey
Belov and Ruslan Dayanov from St. Petersburgh.
The big day came and the finalists descended the court in Anapa. The two teams staged a great performance and entertained the fans with a thrilling game. They received huge applause from the spectators for their digging and diving on the sand. In the end,
the Latvian pair achieved a landmark victory and secured the title trophy.
First Set
The Latvian pair incorporated excellent jump-serves and sparkled in the first set by scoring early points. They successfully opened the first set and aimed to keep up the same momentum. The game gradually picked up pace and challengers Russia reacted aggressively.
Russians returned the ball to the Latvian half and pushed them behind the attack line. The opponents constantly kept their arms up in air to block the Russian spikes. The points shifted with a close gap. Plavins and Samoilovs changed the strategy and countered
the Russian strike. They produced good line shots which helped their score to rise. This was how Latvia built the lead and Russia slightly moved in the blue region. The first set finished when Yaroslav hit an ace which crossed the end-line. Latvia pulled off
a first-set victory at 21-19.
Second Set
The Russian pair was quite upset by the defeat in the first set. They opened the second set with forceful serves. The revved up Russian duo produced destructive shots and hammered the opposite side. Plavins/Samoilovs were shocked by the hard-hitting from
Russian players. Russians played the second set with a completely different style and dominated the Latvian pair. They were ahead in the points’ race and extended their lead by hitting more aces. The fans finally got a chance to make noise and screamed encouraging
slogans for their team. Russia took revenge in the second set by dismissing Latvia with a score of 21-12.
Third Set
The match came to a dead-lock situation in the third set as both teams had won one set each and the scoreboard stood at 1-1. The third set started and the Russian missiles didn’t stop, they continued with the same energy. Russia had a good start in the set
but Plavins/Samoilovs killed their tempo by reversing and blocking their spikes in the latter half. The game took a different turn and favoured the visiting pair. Latvian players exhibited an outstanding game and wrecked the Russian defence line. They kept
moving like a bullet and achieved victory over Russia.
Latvian Plavins and Samoilovs clinched the gold-ware by demonstrating a better game.
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