German Banck-Walkenhorst move to the Main Draw of Mazury Orlen – Volleyball News

The pairing of Banck-Walkenhorst kicked off the beach volleyball action in Stare Joblonki, Poland on Monday and clinched success in the Country Quota Playoffs. Following a stupendous success in the CQs, the Germans remained on the same winning route and finished the qualifying matches without any loss.

In the Qualification Tournament, Banck-Walkenhorst followed a great plan and launched authority over Spaniards and Finnish duos. They finished the Qualification Tournament of Mazury Orlen Grand Slam Women’s Beach Volleyball Tournament with 2-0 record and clawed their way to the next influential round, the Main Draw.

In the first qualifying match of the Mazury Orlen Grand Slam, Banck-Walkenhorst came into contest with Ribera-Antequera of Spain. The 15^th-seeded German pair displayed an incredible action on Polish sand and grabbed success in the match. They contested their skills with Spanish team for about 29 minutes and finally achieved 2-0 (21-11, 21-9) victory. The Spaniards failed to give any competition to the opposite side and ended with a devastating defeat.

The first set of the match was completely dominated by German pair. Powerful serves and solid cross court shots allowed German duo to keep the Spaniards behind the attack line. The Spanish pair closed the first set with only 11 points, while Germans touched the finish line. The second set unfolded the similar story. Germans remained one step ahead of their opponents and did not allow them to come out of the blues so easily. Spain’s Ribera-Antequera gave out a poor performance in the second set and dropped the decision with fair margin of points.

After beating the Spaniards, the German tandem took on 2^nd-seeded Nystrom Em.-Nystrom Er of Finland. The Finnish duo had the advantage of better ranking in the tournament, but Germans showed no sign of intimidation and played a normal game. Banck-Walkenhorst formed a good combination and managed to overcome the rival side in the opening frame of the match. They secured the set-1 with five-point lead at 21-16.

Second set of the match turned into a heated competition as raged-up Finnish duo was up for revenge. Germans resisted in full force and fought a great battle, but lost the frame with only a margin of two points (27-29).

In the decisive third set, Germans got their form back and regained better status. They grasped the game plan of opponents and came up with appropriate strategy. Third set ended with final score 15-11, while German duo marched away with victory. The second match lasted for 53 minutes.
Next up, the German pair is geared up to compete in the Main Draw slated for Wednesday.