Alanya, Turkey,
June 24, 2012 – Norway booked their place in the men’s beach volleyball
tournament of the London 2012 Olympic Games by overpowering the
Netherlands 3-2 in the CEV Men's Beach Volleyball Continental Cup Finals
in Alanya, Turkey on Sunday.
The
Netherlands, Poland and Austria, the second, third and fourth ranked
countries in the eight-team event, will stay in competition for the last
two Olympic berths on offer at the FIVB World Cup Qualification
Tournament in Moscow, Russia from June 27 to July 1.
Tarjei
Skarlund, Martin Spinnangr, Iver Horrem as well as Geir Eithun
eventually proved too strong for the Dutch team of Daan Spijkers, Emiel
Boersma, Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen.
After
four hard-fought matches, the Dutch coaches sent in Emiel Boersma and
Daan Spijkers in for the Golden Set, while Norway continued with the
winners from match No. 4, Iver Horrem and Geir Eithun. Norway jumped out
for an early 5-2 lead. But the Netherlands regained control with four
consecutive points at 6-5. Supported by the noisy Dutch fans,
Boersma/Spijkers opened the gap even to two points at 9-7. The match was
then balanced on a knife edge with both teams showing spectacular
rallies and a riot of emotion. After five hard-fought final matches and
three tough competition days, Eithun blocked for a 15-14 Norwegian lead.
A Spijkers’ smash out of bounds ended the final duel in Norway’s favor
to bounce the Scandinavian delegation in heaven.
In
the first clash of the day, Iver Horrem and Geir Eithun edged Daan
Spijkers/Emiel Boersma in straight sets (23-21, 22-20) to give Norway a
1-0 lead. Spijkers/Boersma jumped out for an early lead in the first
set, but Horrem/Eithun fought back bravely to take the first set 23-21. A
16-13 Dutch lead in the second set was again not good enough as
Horrem/Eithum scored five points in a row to end the first duel in the
gold medal game in Norway’s favour.
A
spectacular Robert Meeuwsen block gave the Netherlands a 1-0 (25-23) set
lead in the second duel. Meeuwsen and Alexander Brouwer also kept the
upper hand in the second set, while Norway’s Tarjei Skarlund and Martin
Spinnangr couldn’t find a way to overcome the strong Dutch defence
system. After 47 minutes of play, the Netherlands closed it out 2-0
(25-23, 21-11) to level the final clash to 1-1 after the morning
session.
After
the midday break, both teams wanted to make amends for the loss in
their first game. Emiel Boersma and Daan Spijkers won the opening set of
match No. 3 convincingly (21-18). However, Tarjei Skarlund and Martin
Spinnangr struck back with Spinnangr blocking for a 21-19 set win. In
the deciding set, the Dutch kept things firmly in hand. Daan Spijkers
ended the match (15-11) with a cross court missile to offer the
Netherlands a hotly contested 2-1 match lead.
However,
Iver Horrem and Geir Eithun still had a chance to turn the tables for
Norway in the fourth match. Nevertheless, Alexander Brouwer made the
scoreboard moving for the Netherlands and his partner Robert Meeuwsen as
he smashed the Mikasa down the line to give the Dutch a 1-0 set lead.
Horrem/Eithun didn’t give up, coming back strongly in set two (21-19).
Horrem/Eithun kept cool in the third period by ending the set 15-13 and
the match 2-1 to move Norway to the deciding Golden Set.
As
Russia haven’t qualified directly to the FIVB Men’s World Cup Olympic
Qualification and in order to have a balanced roster (of six countries
per group), an additional spot has been granted to Europe. This extra
ticket is given to the fourth ranked country in the CEV Continental Cup
Final. Therefore the bronze medal match in Alanya has not been played.
Poland finishes third, Austria fourth (according to the CEV country
ranking).
Host
Russia (organizer), the Netherlands, Poland, Austria (CEV), Mexico and
Cuba (NORCECA), Angola and Nigeria (CAVB), Chile and Uruguay (CSV) as
well as China and Australia (AVC) will fight for the last two Olympic
berths on offer at the FIVB World Cup Olympic Qualification Tournament
in Moscow, Russia from June 27 to July 1.
With
the Olympic Games 2012 approaching very quickly, the CEV Beach
Volleyball Continental Cup Final was the last and deciding stage of the
competition with the best European teams stemming from the previous
rounds trying to fulfill their Olympic dream. Since Friday players from
eight countries were fighting for only one ticket for the London
Olympics.
Results
The Netherlands vs Norway 2-3
Boersma E.-Spijkers vs Horrem-Eithun 0-2 (21-23, 20-22)
Brouwer-Meeuwsen vs Skarlund-Spinnangr 2-0 (25-23, 21-11)
Boersma E.-Spijkers vs Skarlund-Spinnangr 2-1 (21-18, 19-21, 15-11)
Brouwer-Meeuwsen vs Horrem-Eithun 1-2 (21-18, 19-21, 13-15)
Boersma E.-Spijkers vs Horrem-Eithun 0-1 (14-16)
Ranking
1. Norway*
2. The Netherlands**
3. Poland**
4. Austria**
5. Spain
5. Russia
5. Sweden
5. Turkey
*qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games
**qualified for the FIVB Men’s World Cup Olympic Qualification
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