(Photo FIVB)
USA’s title defence received a significant boost after their two girls’ pairs qualified for the semifinals of the ongoing FIVB Beach Volleyball Under 18 World Championship in Doha, Qatar.
The USA pair of Jordyn Scribner-Ella Grimes stretched their unbeaten run to seven matches without losing a set from the qualification phase to the quarterfinals.
They defeated Puerto Rico’s Itzamar Arana Martinez-Anabella Isabelle Valentin Miranda 2-0 (21-13, 21-15) in the Round of 16 before sweeping aside Brazil’s Isabela Sallaberry Cavalcanti-Ana Beatriz Sanches Francelino 2-0 (21-19, 21-12) in the quarterfinals.
“Every game is important so we have to keep working, play hard and fight for every point. We are fired up and ready to bring it home,” said USA’s Ella Grimes.
Their compatriots, the Junk twin sisters, Avery and Addison, had to dig deep to reach the last four. After beating Hungary’s Emese Kiss-Bertók-Réka Pádár in straight sets (21-15, 21-15) in the Round of 16, the Junk sisters faced their first real test of the competition in the quarterfinals against Germany’s Anna-Chiara Reformat-Rika Dieckmann, rallying from a set down to edge them out by 2-1 (19-21, 24-22, 15-13).
In the other two quarterfinals, both Belgium and the Netherlands battled from a set down to advance to the semifinals. While Belgium’s Lente Thant-Simone Vervloet overcame Italy’s Sofia Bruzzone-Micol Lafuenti 2-1 (18-21, 21-19, 15-09), the Netherlands’ Esmee Radstake-Jara Both emerged 2-1 (20-22, 21-17, 15-10) winners over Canada to lose their first set of the competition.
“Italy were better than us in the first set but after losing, we turned the pressure on them in the second and third sets. We also changed our setting by sending the ball closer to the net which made it easier for us to score through attack,” said Belgium’s Simone Vervloet. “Our target was to reach the quarterfinals and now that we’ve surpassed that, we’ll just enjoy ourselves and see what comes out of it.”
In Saturday’s semifinals, the Junk sisters will take on Radstake & Both of the Netherlands while Belgium’s Thant-Vervloet will face off with USA’s Scribner-Grimes.
In the men’s competition, the tournament’s surprise package Barış Güldali-Polat Kemal Eser made history by becoming the first Turkish beach volleyball team, male or female, to reach the semifinal of any major senior or junior international competition.
Türkiye’s run has been nothing short of remarkable. They lost 2-0 to Norway in the qualification phase but were handed the lucky loser slot after Nigeria, who were in the main draw failed to show up.
Barış G-Polat Kemal Eser went ahead to win all their Main Draw matches to finish top of Pool H and earn a direct ticket to the Round of 16. They defeated The Gambia’s Bakary Ensa Kanyi-Abdallah Bah by 2-0 in the Round of 16 before registering a 2-0 (21-18, 21-19) win over Venezuela’s Gerardo Andres Bordones Hernandez-Sebastian Alfredo Pereira Blanco in the quarterfinals to qualify for the semifinals.
They will renew rivalry with Norway in Saturday’s semifinals after the pair of Ludvig Sødal Ringøen-Sebastian Lyngaas Kjemperud overcame Austria’s Martin Poinstingl & Paul Hohenauer in straight sets (21-19, 21-12) in the quarterfinals.
“We feel good to have made history especially after playing against top teams. I am happy with how far my players have come from qualification to semifinals. Norway are our training partners so we know each other so well. I just want my boys to enjoy themselves in that game tomorrow,” said Türkiye coach Bilal Tanriverdi.
Earlier, Italy and Germany had extended their unbeaten streak to five matches apiece following their quarterfinal wins. Germany’s Jonathan Bungert-Filo Wüst emerged 2-0 (21-13, 21-11) winners over Ukraine’s Yehor Skrypnychenko-Andrii Lunkan while Italy’s Riccardo Santomassimo-Marco Di Felice edged out Estonia’s Armin Kender-Patrik Parijõgiby by 2-1 (21-11, 23-25, 15-10) to proceed to the semifinals. The two teams will meet in the semifinals in what will be a repeat of this year’s European Championship semifinal.
“It was a difficult match and I’m so happy and proud of my teammate that we managed to win it. We lost to Germany in the semifinals of the European Championship but I am confident that we will win this time around,” said Italy’s Marco Di Felice.
FIVB Beach Volleyball U18 World Championship: Match Schedule and Results
