The SWATCH FIVB World Tour resumes at Sanya, China
The SWATCH FIVB World Tour started again after an 8-week break on Tuesday, 26th October, 2010. The wonderful beach volleyball action resumed with the Sanya Open Tournament in China. It is the 17th women’s FIVB Beach Volleyball campaign
which has invited the 65 teams from 26 different countries. The hosts China will be playing with two pairs, while 6 pairs from Brazil will grace the podium. USA has the same amount of players (6 pairs); whereas the Netherlands and Switzerland will be playing
with one pair each. The award money of US$190,000 for Sanya Open Tournament is the major attraction for aspiring players of beach volleyball in this tournament.
The tournament was kicked off with three country quota playoffs on the first day, which promoted the teams in the qualification tournament. Afterward the tournament is scheduled to enter the ‘Main Draw’ stage and tournament will move to the “final four’
matches on October 31st, 2010. It is the third straight season that Chinese resort city of Sanya has become the centre of beach volleyball action. This is the second last tour on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Calendar. The 2010 season will be closed
with the Phuket Open Tournament, which is scheduled to run in Thailand, next week.
Fendrick/Hanson vs. Hunkus/Heather 2-0 (21-18, 21-18)
In the first Country Quota playoff on Tuesday, American teams contested their abilities against each other. One side of the court was captured by Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Hanson, while Tealle Hunkus and Heather Lowe took their positions on the other side.
The opening match was full of excitement as the fans got another chance to watch some extreme action of international players after eight weeks. The match began in the mid afternoon and players had to cope with the hot and humid conditions at the Chinese resort.
The match continued for 38 minutes and finally the pair of Fendrick/Hanson raised their heads as the winners by posting victory in two straight sets.
First Set
Fendrick was the fire-starter in first set of the game. She threw the ball by taking long run and produced a strong serve. The opposite side received the ball with great power and re-bounded it. The strike started when Hanson hit the ball to score to the
first point of the game. They started out well and continued with success. Likewise, the pair of Hunkus/Heather formed good chemistry and defended their position. They tackled the heavy spikes with firm hands but somehow, couldn’t stop Fendrick/Hanson from
adding more points. Gradually the Hunkus/Heather side fell down and failed to save the first set. Fendrick/Hanson won the first set by posting 21-18.
Second Set
The second set of the game also came successful for Fendrick/Hanson. The competitor side tried to make a come-back but they faced great resistance from the charged up compatriots on the other side of the net. Hunkus/Heather lost the second set by receiving
the same score of 21-18, while Fendrick/Hanson claimed the first country quota match with the help of 2-0.
Player comments
Lauren Fendrick disclosed her thoughts after the match, "The country quota matches are really tough, it's just a different kind of pressure. We did a good job respecting our opponents. We haven't played either one as a team, so we knew their tendencies as
individuals but nothing about them as a team. We just tried to focus on our side of the net. In the heat you want to get out and experience game-like conditions to see what it's like, so I think this will help us going into the qualifier."
The victory in the first CQ match is a stepping stone for the victorious. Fendrick and Hanson were attached to different partner but they recently teamed-up. As partners, they captured 13th spot in the Norway in August. The duo is determined the
live the partnership and get full advantage of their combined effort.
Tags: