Mazury Orlen Grand Slam kicks off with Country Quota Playoffs – Volleyball News

The cracking action of 2012 FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour resumed on Monday, August 13 after a two week break for the London 2012 Olympic Games in London, Great Britain.
The double gender competition of Mazury Orlen Grand Slam took centre stage in Stare Jablonki, Poland. The women’s edition of the Mazury Orlen started off with the Country Quota Playoffs, which featured following four duos from Germany:

Bieneck-Großner
Mersmann-Tillmann
Banck-Walkenhorst
Laboureur-Hüttermann

In the first CQ fixture of the Mazury Orlen Grand Slam, the pairing of Bieneck and Großner contested the skills with fellow German duo of Mersmann and Tillmann. The match spanned over two sets and covered its length in 38 minutes. Former team displayed better action on the sand and bagged success.

Bieneck and Großner complimented each other in the first frame and did not allow the opponents to come up. They received a lot of resistance from the opposite side, but managed to secure the opening set of the match with narrow gap of two points at 21-19.

The second set of the match progressed in the similar fashion. Scoring remained tight, while both teams struggled to earn points. Bieneck/ Großner had the competitive advantage of winning the first set, which helped them put some pressure on the rival side. On the other hand, Mersmann-Tillmann struggled to save the match points. However, Bieneck/ Großner continued with success and closed second set with identical score of 21-19.

Bieneck/ Großner finished the match in straight sets and successfully advanced to the next stage of the tournament.

In the second match of the day, Banck/Walkenhorst did the same treatment of compatriots Laboureur/ Hüttermann. They posted 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) win over the opponents. It took them almost 39 minutes to dismantle the power of Laboureur and Hüttermann.
In the first set of the match, Banck/Walkenhorst faced a bit of difficulty but dominated the scene in the following set. They won the match and clawed their way to the qualifying stage of the tournament.

In the next run, the 2012 SWATCH FIVB World Tour Calendar is supposed to feature two more events for women. Finnish city Aland will set up for the field of play for Paf Open from August 28 through September 2, while Bang Saen Open tournament in Thailand from October 23-28 will put an end to 2012 edition of SWATCH FIVB World Tour.
Check back for more news and updates.

 

Walsh maintains supremacy on the net with a new partner – Volleyball News

American superstar beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh, who recently secured third consecutive Olympic gold medal alongside her teammate Misty May-Treanor, is now in action at the Mazury Orlen Grand Slam in Stare Jablonki, Poland.
Her former teammate May-Treanor opted for retirement after the 2012 London Olympic Games, while Walsh teamed-up with Nicole Branagh. Walsh already had the experience of playing alongside Branagh only a couple of years ago. They competed as a team at the 2008 Dubai Open women’s beach volleyball tournament and also participated in the 2010 Phuket Open, which took place in Thailand.
The duo opened the ongoing Mazury Orlen Grand Slam in the Main Draw and played two matches on Wednesday, August 15. Nothing less was expected from Walsh/Branagh as they enjoyed a great rhythm and tone.

12^th-seeded Branagh-Walsh came into contest with compatriot pairing of Lauren Fendrick-Brooke Hanson in the opening match. The affair lasted for 35 minutes and ended with following result: 2-0 (21-14, 21-19).

Walsh and Branagh proved to be better in every aspect of the game and launched power on the rival side. They captured the first frame of the match with fair margin of seven points and went on front (1-0). Fendrick/ Hanson tried to cover the deficit in the second set, but faced utmost resistance from the opposite side. Walsh and Branagh showed remarkable consistency and claimed second set with two points, which gave them winning status in the match.

Winning duo of Walsh and Branagh returned to action in the second match against Austria's Barbara Hansel and Magdalena Jirak. The Austrian pair caught a good start in the match and staged a neck-to-neck fight with competitors. They secured opening frame at 21-19, but could not carry the same momentum in the following sets. Walsh-Branagh dominated the second set and successfully created the tie of game score by sending 21-12 on board. Third set also came successful for USA at 15-8 and the team settled for 2-1 victory.

“I love my job and I love winning. Even at the Olympics I was already thinking about coming here. It is my job and I want to win, I’m here to win,” said Walsh after the match.
In the meanwhile, Branagh stated: “It is always an honour to play with Kerri. I think when we play together we play well and we have had some success. It is fun to play with her, I’m happy to be part of the team and I’m looking forward to a great tournament.”

 

Cicolari-Menegatti of Italy advance to the Round 2 of Main Draw – Volleyball News

Second-seeded Italian female tandem of Cicolari and Menegatti did not catch a good start in the Mazury Orlen Grand Slam, but managed to qualify for the next round with 3-1 record.
Cicolari-Menegatti played their first match of the tournament against German Banck-Walkenhorst, who proved to be better and marched away with 2-0 (26-24, 21-17) victory. The Italian pair fought a great battle with Germans on the centre court, but still could not avoid defeat in the opening affair. The loss of first match put a big question mark on the performance of Cicolari-Menegatti in the coming matches. However, the duo showed remarkable improvement and shook off the bad impression with back-to-back victories afterwards.

The second fixture of the day brought Mouha-Gielen from Belgium in competition with Cicolari-Menegatti. The match spanned over two sets and completed its run in just 37 minutes. Italian pair started off well and secured the first frame with three points. Second set of the match unfolded the similar story. The Italians used the competitive edge and remained ahead of their counterparts. Set-2 also ended in Italy’s favour and Cicolari-Menegatti emerged successful with 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) victory.

Both the matches were played on Wednesday, August 15. At the end of the day, Italian side had a mixed result of 1-1.

In the next crucial match on Thursday, Italian ladies crossed their ways with Tsiartsiani-Arvaniti of Germany. The 15^th-seeded German pair showed good fighting spirit and scored well in the opening frame. Scoring remained tight in the first half of the set. However, the Italians paced things with heavy strike of volleys in the latter half. Cicolari-Menegatti concluded first set with final score 21-18 and took 1-0 lead in the match.

German pair played under pressure in the second set and became irresistible. The Italians took full advantage of the nervousness of opponents and cruised past to 2-0 victory. The final sets scores were 21-18 and 21-14.

Success in third match allowed the Italian duo to keep its hopes alive to play in the Round 2 of Main Draw. The team was required to claim one more victory, in order to advance to the next round. Austria Bawden-Hinchley collided with Cicolari-Menegatti in the decisive fourth match on Thursday. Italian duo did an impressive job and finished both sets with identical score of 21-14. Match ended in Italy’s favour and Cicolari-Menegatti successfully booked a spot in Round 2 of the Mazury Orlen Grand Slam.

In the next run, Italian team will be challenged by 8^th-seeded Kuhn-Zumkehr from Switzerland on Friday. Cicolari-Menegatti have high hopes to claw their way to the final four of the tournament.