MESSINA – The second edition of Beach Volleyball in Piazza Duomo ends in Teutonic style. Germany wins three heavy medals, gold in both tournaments and silver in the women’s event. Completing the podiums were the Belgian men’s pair, silver, and bronze for two Italian pairs. The Azzurri were unlucky in the semi-finals played in the morning where they suffered three defeats in three matches. However, Orsi Toth and Bianchi won the final for third place against the Estonian pair, while the Italian derby for bronze went to the pair made up of Dal Corso and Viscovich.
“The final was beautiful but we were sad because our friend who we were playing against was injured and couldn’t give her best – they say Anna Lena Grüne and Chenoa Christ after the women’s victory – Messina is truly a beautiful city, we fell in love with the granita and brioche. (Christ) I like about Anna that in moments of difficulty she is always present and ready. (Grüne) As for Chenoa, I am happy with the energy he transmits on the pitch, encouraging the public. We hope to return to Messina next year.”
“We are happy with the victory, it is the second consecutive gold medal in international competitions – they declared after the victory Robin Sowa and Maximilian Just – The Dutch are strong, we knew it and we fought as a team, we deserved it. It’s the second time we’ve been back here and we like everything, we had a great time and the food is great, great pasta and great coffee which is very important to us, we would love to come back. (Just) I like Robin’s mentality, he is concrete and scores points, (Sowa) Maximilian has changed roles and recently switched to defending, he is more popular in this role and is improving more and more. See you next year? Of course (Of course)”.
The chronicles of the finals
Sengers/Boehlé (NED) vs Sowa/Just (GER) 18-21 21-18 8-15
Balanced final, ending in tiebreak, and of a high level to award the men’s gold. In the first set the two teams were evenly matched until the final stages, the German pair of Sowa/Just found the winning move at the end and took home the first set 21-18. In the second set the Dutch tried to react and ran away at 10-7 and maintained the advantage until the end of the set, returning the favor in the final score again 21-18, the last point scored by Sengers. Immediate break for the Germans who escape at 6-2, maximum advantage at 12-6 in the home stretch with the Dutch unable to oppose the excellent Teutonic organization. The match ends at 15-8 with Sowa’s winning block.
Grüne/Christ (GER) vs Kozuch/Schneider (GER) 21-13 21-13
Final without story conditioned by Schneider’s not excellent physical condition and very limited movement. The Grüne/Christ couple had an easy time both in the first set where they ran ahead and closed with a big lead of 21-13. Even in the second the resistance of the Kozuch/Schneider pair lasts little with their opponents who escape ahead 4-1 and then manage. They extend to 14-9 with the game in the safe for Grüne/Christ who close it at 21-13 with Christ’s block.
Benzi/Bonifazi (ITA) vs Dal Corso/Viscovich (ITA) 16-21 16-21
A remake of last year’s third place final even if it wasn’t played due to the withdrawal of the Benzi/Bonifazi duo. Excellent start for the Dal Corso/Viscovich pair who escape ahead 6-2 forcing their opponents to ask for a time out and then again trailing 10-11 at the technical time out. However, Benzi/Bonifazi once again pay for the acceleration of their rivals who reach the maximum advantage at 19-13 after a double block by Dal Corso and then close the first set easily at 21-16. In the second set the trend does not reverse with Dal Corso/Viscovich winning the set with the same score but without the set ever being in question. Having made the break in the initial points, they remain in the lead until Dal Corso’s final block which closes the match at 21-16.
R. Orsi Toth/Bianchi (ITA) vs Hollas/Remmelg (EST) 21-19 21-17
The Estonians started better and tried to extend their lead during the first exchanges. The Italians return to the tie and continue like this until Orsi Toth/Bianchi extends the lead to 17-14. The reaction of Hollas/Remmelg allows the connection and shortly after the overtaking at 18-19. Orsi Toth’s three consecutive points are needed to close the first set in favor of Italy. In the second partial balance for half the set, then the blue pair puts the arrow at 14-12 and extends to 19-16 shortly after. In the final, a good fought point closed by Orsi Toth after great defense by both teams brings the Italians to match point which Giada Bianchi immediately converts with an ace.
Present at the awards ceremony were the mayor of Messina Federico Basile, the councilor for Sport and Major Events Massimo Finocchiaro, the mayor’s sports expert Francesco Giorgio, Felice Iracà commander of the fire brigade, the colonel of the Aosta Mechanized Brigade Savino Dibenedetto, the the regional fire prevention inspector Riccardo Ranieri, the president of Fipav Sicily Antonio Locandro, the president of Fipav Messina Alessandro Zurro, Luigi Dell’Anna national manager of beach volleyball teams, Antonio Chimicata of the Italian Red Cross of Messina. The city of the Strait has become the center of Italian volleyball and not only receiving welcome visits on Saturday, as announced by the president of the territorial committee of Messina Zurro, the national president Fipav Manfredi and the executive vice president of the Cev Renato Arena .
