Time to hand out some hardware. The FIVB’s “Windy City” stop rolled to a close today, starting first with the lone match of the day featuring a Dutch team. It had the largest and, by far, most boisterous crowd of the day.
Holtwick/Semmler vs. Van der Vlist/Wesselink
The commentator noted that despite winning the coin toss, Holtwick and Semmler elected to serve first rather than receive first. I thought this seemed a curious choice, not that it was too likely to matter in the end. Katrin Holtwick proved me decidedly wrong by serving into the wind and nonetheless notching an ace. Ilka Semmler added a couple of victorious rallies on her serve in advance of the side change at 4-3 in favour of the Germans. You had to figure they came into this match favoured, being multiple former FIVB medallists, as opposed to the Dutch who were playing for a medal for the first time in their careers (individually or as a team).
On 4-3, the Germans scored a kill that was a little bit contentious. Wesselink gave it the old fist-bump as the ball fell in. Then as the point went the other way, both of them walked over to the line and lifted it with their feet. Not pleased with the call, to say the least. That flipped a switch, as Holtwick and Semmler ran out to 7-3 at the Dutch team’s timeout. The run extended to 9-3 before Van der Vlist finally found the sand to get the sideout. At 10-4, after the side change, another swing from Van der Vlist landed in almost exactly the same place the protested German kill from a few points earlier did. The flagger proved himself consistent — he called that shot in, too. The Germans extended to 13-6 on an over-dig that flew long, but Wesselink mistakenly tried to play it, and grazed it with her fingers. They made it an 8-point set behind some fine blocking by Semmler, ending with a kill for her as well. The technical timeout came at 14-7.
Fashion alert (which I do believe have been few and far between this tourney) — the Germans wore short-sleeved Under Armour and long tights and long bottoms, while the Dutch players wore their regular bikinis. One team used to the breezy days in den Haag, the other not. The bundled-up Germans pressed their advantage in the second section of the first set and reached set point at 20-10, converting for a 21-12 final.
The Dutch gals held a tenuous lead very early on in set 2, and expended their timeout upon losing it at 5-4. They trailed 8-6 at the second side change, but the Germans weren’t executing quite as well in the second set as they were in the first. The rally ending 9-8 was easily the best of the match, as both Dutch players had to hit the sand — twice — to keep a ball alive, and still Van der Vlist got the kill. That got the crowd back into it a little, but Semmler’s block on 10-8 following the German sideout quieted them again. The Dutch team had a chance to get back within a point at the midway timeout, digging a smash shot from Holtwick, but Van der Vlist’s set for a would-be return by Wesselink was much too close to the net, and Semmler easily came up with another block.
The rally ending 14-10 was another good one, this one going the way of the Germans. Both sides showed blocking strength, but in the end the Dutch girls were left just a little off-balance, as the ball fell in. The rally ending 15-11 ended with a joust. The ball landed out on the Germans’ side (meaning it would be their point if the ball were ruled off the Dutch, which is what happened), but it looked like it hit the antenna first, as it kind of rolled on top of the net before falling. Tough point to call, but no one really seemed to mind how it ruled. Just like in the first set, the Germans pulled away toward the end, and attained Hague bronze with an unforced error by Jantine Van der Vlist to make it a 21-14 final.
Fijalek/Prudel vs. Huber/Seidl
This was already the second bronze final of the season for the erstwhile Huber and Seidl, after their stunning run to Fuzhou bronze as the #32 seeds to open the year. Enough performances like this, and they won’t have to sweat the qualifiers much longer. Their opponents, the Poles, have to their credit two FIVB silvers and two bronzes, including one bronze last season.
Some early strong play from Seidl at the net, scoring blocks and effective soft-blocks alike, led to the Austrians attaining the early lead. On the rally ending 3-2, as he and Prudel both landed after their leap, he came down with his right foot on Prudel’s left. Both of them kinda winced for a moment, but they shared a quick handshake and play continued. The next serve by the Poles flew long, but only after Huber pulled a downright Matrix move to get out of the way. Hope that sand is a soft landing! Seidl was assessed a yellow-card a little later on what seemed like a quick trigger by the up referee, as he jaw-jacked a little over a non-call of Fijalek touching the net (which replays showed would have been a proper call). But I guess there’s something to be said for laying down the law. A block for Seidl broke a string of sideouts to make it 10-7 in the Austrians’ favour. Just that quickly, though, Prudel showed some impressive extension to get a couple of blocks on his side’s serve to claw it back to 10-all. Then the Austrians curiously called time, just one ahead of the technical.
The surely well-rested teams, having enjoyed two timeouts on either side of one rally, came back on the court with the Austrians up a point. They made it back to a 2-point lead with Huber coming up with a dig and a perfect roll-shot for a kill to the unguarded right-back portion of the Poles’ court. Prudel’s block a little later made it even once more at 14-all on the fourth side change. He showed some terrific body control in reaching as high as he did without netting (which he didn’t this time). Fijalek came up with an excellent serve on 16-15 to lead to an overpass for Prudel to gobble up, giving the Poles the 2-point lead. The next rally was long, with the ball crossing the net a few times. It ended with some very smart defence by Fijalek, to be in just the right place at the right time (you don’t even have to make eye-popping plays when you play smart) and giving his partner a solid set for the kill. Seidl attempted a cut shot on the next rally, but it failed to clear the net. A service error gave the Austrians their sideout, but the damage was done, and the Poles claimed set 1 21-18.
Set 2 started off with a few entertaining rallies. The very first involved Seidl trying to play what you might call a roll-hook shot. He didn’t quite put enough oomph on it, as it failed to clear the net. A little later, the last four points prior to the side change were all won without rally. It went service error-service error-ace-service error, the run favouring the Poles. Their lead extended to 3 at 7-4, but they kinda gave one back in a silly way. Facing serve on 7-5, Fijalek made the pass, rather than Prudel. Prudel tends to be the offensive player on the team and Fijalek the defender, inasmuch as you can have a clean separation between the two roles in beach volleyball. Prudel’s set for Fijalek’s attack was fine, but Seidl was easily the better of him on the block. Then on the next rally, Prudel passed to afford himself the hit opportunity — and he had no trouble at all getting through Seidl. It’s pretty clear what the best course of action for each side was.
The Poles led only 11-10 on serve at the halfway point, but they asserted themselves between side changes 3 and 4. The Austrians expended their timeout at 16-12, on the fourth change. Prudel was proving just a little too much for Seidl (who is only 23) to handle at the net. The run extended to 18-12 before the Austrians sided out, all but putting the bronze medals around the Poles’ necks. The Austrians got as close again as 18-15, but the elastic snapped there, and the second set final was 21-16.
Maria Clara/Carolina vs. Talita/Taiana
And now we get ready for a heavy dose of Team Brazil. This all-Brazil gold final was obviously a big triumph for that nation, and with Maria Clara and Carolina’s brother Pedro playing with Bruno in the men’s final to follow, it was all set to be a remarkable for Brazil and their fans. However many or few of them there may have been in The Hague.
Despite these feeds being the massively-easier-to-follow kind with multiple cameras and, as mentioned, a commentator, the onscreen scoreboard for it is kind of ridiculous. It just gives the nation, nothing more. Whiiiiich is sorta useless for a match between two teams from the nation. It does also show uniform colours, but that’s several steps to have to take to get information that could be and should be (and usually is) much more accessible
After an even exchange to start off with, the Salgado sisters began to edge ahead at about the second side change thanks to some sterling defence by Carolina. They continued to sideout effectively, and unforced errors from Taiana kept their side from making any progress. It was a 3-point set at the technical timeout following one of those errors. Coming in, Talita and Taiana probably would have had to be considered the favourites — they’ve got gold in their pockets from this season, and Talita individually is by far the most decorated of the four players individually. But in one of those classic ‘game of inches’ matches, it didn’t play out that way so much.
An unforced error by Maria Clara this time brought Talita and Taiana back to within a point at 14-13, and they attained the equaliser a point later as the Salgados were pretty well out of system on both offence and defence. Another cringe-inducing attack error from the Salgado sisters made it 15-14, and they called timeout there. On the next rally, the Salgados got away with another kind of ugly play, as Maria Clara’s set was too close to the net, but Carolina was able to block Talita’s attempt at the net, which found the sand on the other side. Talita’s kill on the next rally, rather remarkably her first of the match, gave them a 2-point lead. She followed that up with a service ace to make it 18-15. Taiana came up with an ace on the first serve after the fifth side change, and Talita sealed it 21-16 with a block at the net.
Taiana really came out on fire in set 2, playing some absolutely brilliant defence on a few of the first rallies. The Dutch fans, who pretty much sat on their hands during the men’s bronze final, gave her a boisterous round of applause after the rally ending 4-2 when she seemed to come out of nowhere at least twice for sprawling digs. She of course finished the point off herself as well. Talita honestly did little to pull her own weight, but she did come up with a nice block when Carolina set her sister too close to the net on the rally ending 7-4. The 8-5 rally was a very long one, probably close to a minute in length. Both sides looked exhausted as the rally finally ended, with a kill for Taiana off the block and out. On the next rally, she made her first attacking error since early in set 1, missing a pretty wide open court on a right-side angle shot. Talita’s block on the next rally made it 11-6, and the rout was on.
The margin was 13-8 at the technical timeout, and give the Salgados credit, they played their hearts out, but they just couldn’t measure up with Talita and Taiana. I don’t think anyone in the world would have. They started to look a little like deer caught in the headlights in the points that followed the halfway point, with a couple of kills and a couple of aces for Taiana making it a 9-point match at 17-8. Talita and Taiana reached match point at 20-12. Taiana served, and missed the storybook ending of sealing it with an ace. She very nearly got a storybook ending anyway with some more absolutely sterling defence, but the Salgados did get one sideout. No matter — Talita’s kill on the next rally ended it 21-13.
The champions gave a brief interview after their win. Talita doesn’t speak great English and it would seem that Taiana doesn’t speak it at all (she didn’t say anything). She said she wants the team to do even better in the future than this week. Seriously, chica? Not a lot of room for improvement. But I guess it’s motivation.
Smedins/Samoilovs vs. Pedro/Bruno
And now the Latvians had the chance to match Talita and Taina as two-time gold medallists on the season. For their part, it was the third straight tourney where Pedro and Bruno played for a medal, coming runners-up in Shanghai and fourth in Corrientes.
But Smedins and Samoilovs were a little out of system to begin the match. Their lack of execution coupled with some immense blocks and block touches by Pedro (and a HULK SMASH from Bruno) led to the Brazilians going up four at 8-4. Samoilovs got a couple back before the side change, showing some versatility with a nice smash of his own to make it 8-5 and then a display of hang time and touch to redirect Bruno’s roll shot and make it 8-6. Bruno’s unforced error, wide, made it 8-7 on the first rally after the change, and the Brazilians called time there. Despite a nice run, Smedins and Samoilovs were still bickering at each other a little as they hit their bench area.
The Brazilians came out well after the timeout, going on a run to go back up by three at the technical thanks in large measure, again, to Pedro’s blocking. They had a shot to make it five on the 12-8 rally, but Bruno’s last return curiously didn’t come close to clearing the net. Didn’t look like all that hard of an opportunity, and Pedro definitely looked displeased as the teams headed to their benches again. The Latvians then ran it back even at 14-all, lastly behind a couple of bad points on the Brazilian side. On the 14-12 rally, Bruno’s set to Pedro was way too wide, giving him only one shot he could play. That made Smedins’ block pretty easy pickings.
Then on 14-13 came a contentious point. It looked like Pedro had gotten the kill, but he was instead whistled for a net fault. He was not happy about it, and loudly protested. The up referee calmly explained the rule, that both he and the down ref had seen Pedro come into contact with both the net and the opponent, which apparently was what caused the fault (he said it’s a new rule….certainly I’ve never heard anything like that before). He then calmly but firmly instructed Pedro to return to play, which he did. No need for a yellow card.
The Brazilians quickly put it behind them, taking two to go up 16-14 and prompt the Latvians’ timeout. Then on 18-16 came another contentious point, again going against Pedro. And he again protested. This time he did get yellow-carded, but this time though it looked like he may have had a point, as the Latvians seemed to touch the net first. Smedins in fact kept a hold of the net for a good 6 or 7 seconds after the rally ended. Antennae were flying, it was kind of a weird visual. But play did resume. The two sides traded sideouts to Brazil’s set point at 20-18. Latvia got the sideout, but Smedins served Pedro on Brazil’s reception set point, and the big man got the job done to give the set to Brazil 21-19.
Early in set 2, there was a contentious call that went against the Latvians, showing the officials to be nothing if not impartial. Samoilovs wanted a touch called on a long hit, and he was not obliged. From the 4-3 relative stalemate at side change number one, the Brazilians took four straight in advance of the Latvians’ timeout. They got just about every kind of point other than service ace — a block, an unforced error, a big kill by Pedro. The Latvians started their comeback from down 9-4, getting the sideout at the second side change and then a couple of errors by Bruno — one blocked and one simply missed. On his third try in as many rallies, he got his team their sideout. At that point, the Latvians again started to look pretty out of system, with Bruno coming up with two big spikes and Bruno just obliterating Samoilovs at the net. It was 13-8 at the technical.
At the bench area, you could pretty well sense the iciness in the air between the two Latvians. Cameras did show that they had some fans — or at least some people in the stands who had bought or brought a Latvian flag — but over the rest of the match, they didn’t come much close than they were at the technical. The Brazilians were just better in every facet, Pedro’s big blocking, Bruno’s terrific nonscoring defence, serving, hitting, all of it. Even when Samoilovs did occasionally break through the block, he was nowhere near as demonstrative as he sometimes is. Pedro finished off the match on his own serve with a block at the net, on 21-12, and he roared in triumph.
The men’s champs also gave a short interview after the match. Pedro spoke a little better English than Talita, and he gave your basic thanks everybody/the fans are awesome spiel. He also noted that it’s the first win of Bruno’s career and the first for Pedro since 2008, with several gold finals since. Just like Taiana earlier, Bruno didn’t speak, so I wonder if he speaks any English at all.
Heck of a tournament, and certainly an entertaining final. And now we do it all again in Rome.
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