Barbora Hermannova and Marie-Sara Stochlova, a pair on the list of teams benefitting from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support, were among the medallists at last week’s Edmonton Challenge on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour.
Under the guidance of their Argentinean coach Sebastian Menegozzo, who has been with the duo since March, through Volleyball Empowerment support totalling CHF 144,000, the Czechs successfully made it through the qualifier rounds in Canada to push forward all the way to the bronze medal, their first Beach Pro Tour podium finish this season.
Seeded 11th in the qualification bracket, 32-year-old two-time Olympian Hermannova and 24-year-old Stochlova persevered through two tie-breakers to advance to the Edmonton main draw. They started with a 2-1 (31-29, 10-21, 15-8) win over Japan’s Akiko Hasegawa and Yurika Sakaguchi and followed up with a 2-1 (21-17, 27-29, 15-11) victory over Switzerland’s Menia Bentele and Anna Lutz.
Taking the 19th seed in the 24-team main draw, Hermannova and Stochlova took off in Pool F with another three-set success, 2-1 (25-23, 16-21, 15-9) over former world champion Sarah Pavan and her new partner Molly McBain of Canada, but then lost to silver-medallists-to-be Marta Menegatti and Valentina Gottardi by 2-0 (23-21, 21-16) in the pool final.
In the eighthfinals, the Czechs produced a 2-0 (21-19, 21-15) win over Spain’s Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno, and in the quarterfinals, they edged the stellar German combination of former world and Olympic champion Laura Ludwig and former indoor star Louisa Lippmann after a 2-1 (24-26, 21-15, 15-10) comeback. After losing to champions-to-be Barbara Seixas and Carol Solberg of Brazil by 2-0 (21-18, 21-15) in the semifinals, Hermannova and Stochlova bounced back to snatch the bronze with a 2-1 (17-21, 26-24, 15-13) victory over Switzerland’s Esmee Bobner and Zoe Verge-Depre.
“I was really tired in the bronze medal match, but our coach kept telling us to play as if we were playing for the Olympics and that every point mattered, and it worked,” Hermannova commented. “We played some really difficult matches in the qualifiers and could have even left the tournament in the first round, so to have the bronze medals now, it’s amazing. Marie-Sara also twisted her ankle in our second match and she pushed through it, which makes me even prouder of what we did.”
It was the third Beach Pro Tour podium for Hermannova and Stochlova. Last year they took a Dubai Challenge gold and an Agadir Challenge silver.
Hermannova and Stochlova celebrate on the Edmonton podium
In the women’s final in Edmonton, Carol and Barbara mastered a convincing straight-set 2-0 (21-14, 21-16) victory over Menegatti and Gottardi to collect their fourth gold (second consecutive after winning the Espinho Challenge a week earlier) and eighth overall medal on the Beach Pro Tour. For the Italian runners-up, it was the fifth Beach Pro Tour podium.
Portugal’s Joao Pedrosa and Hugo Campos were the surprise winners in the men’s tournament. Starting from the qualifiers, they made it all the way to the top, losing only one of the nine matches played in Canada, to claim their first-ever major international gold. Previously at the world level, they had three silvers and a bronze, all from 1-star or Futures events. To reach the Edmonton final, the Portuguese delivered a 2-1 (18-21, 21-17, 15-11) upset of top-seeded Brazilians Pedro Solberg and Gustavo Carvalhaes (Guto). Pedrosa and Campos then mastered a 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) sweep of the gold medal match against Norway’s Mathias Berntsen and Hendrik Mol, who made it to their third Beach Pro Tour podium.
The men’s bronze went to Paolo Nicolai and Samuele Cottafava of Italy. After losing to the Norwegians in the semis, they managed a 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) win over Pedro Solberg and Guto in the third-place match to collect their fifth Beach Pro Tour medal and first of the season.
The Edmonton Challenge men’s podium
A total of 93 teams representing 29 different countries from four of the five continental confederations took part in the Edmonton Challenge.
Source : fivb.com
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