Two in a row, hooray~! Today’s beach volleyball championship Sunday takes us to The Hague, in the Netherlands, for what’s officially known as the “Transavia Grand Slam” (apparently it’s an airline). They must pay a pretty penny, because no other corporate sponsor has put their name in the actual title of the event. They also placed fairly large logos on the men’s jerseys (not any room for large ones on the ladies’!).
All four matches had some interesting storylines to them today. The first, the women’s bronze final, wasn’t carried on the digital airwaves. That pitted Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova of the Czech Republic against Brazil’s Maria Antonelli and Juliana Felisberta Da Silva, a rematch from just last week (among other times). The Czechs won the two medal finals between these teams entering today’s action (a gold final and a bronze final), but this time around Maria and Juliana got it done, winning easily by (21-13, 21-14).
That made the women’s gold final our first match to watch.
Taiana Lima/Fernanda Alves (BRA) vs Katrin Holtwick/Ilka Semmler (GER)
How they got here: Lima/Fernanda took the long way around, as they started their week in Den Haag in the qualifier, defeating Finland’s Nystrom/Nystrom in three rather grueling sets. Once onto the main draw, they defeated Canada’s Broder/Valjas (rather resoundingly 🙁 ) and claimed an injury forfeit over Switzerland’s Forrer/Vergé-Dépré. A loss to countrywomen Maria and Juliana meant they were 2-1 in pool, and had to play the first round of the knockout stage. They drew Broder/Valjas again, and while the Canadians put more of a fight this time, Lima and Fernanda obviously still won, in three sets. They defeated the endlessly talented but surely somewhat rough and unpracticed tandem of Larissa/Talita, in the former’s first event back from a lengthy hiatus, in a three-setter in round 2 that featured a 21-19 third set. They easily defeated Switzerland’s Zumkehr/Heidrich in the quarterfinals and rather easily defeated Kolocova/Slukova in the semifinals.
If that sounds like a hefty week….it is. This is their ninth match in the event. Well, eighth really, since they got an injury forfeit. But eight is still a busy, busy week.
Holtwick and Semmler may have come to The Hague hoping to prove that last week was no fluke, but their best possibility would have been to prove it was no aberration. Because they again struggled in pool play this week, defeating Kazakhstan’s Mashkova/Tsimbalova but sustaining losses to Brzostek/Kolosinska of Poland and the Chinese tandem of Wang/Yue. So they too had to play in all rounds of the knockout phase, defeating last week’s finals opponents Borger/Büthe in round 1. In round 2 they faced the highly-touted Americans Walsh/Ross, but defeated them in a long three-setter, as they have come down to Earth a bit in recent weeks. Holtwick/Semmler got revenge against Wang/Yue in the quarterfinals before winning an hour-plus three-setter over Maria/Juliana in the semis.
So suffice it to say, both teams earned their places here. I was just a tiny bit late joining this match, as the Brazilian tandem held a 10-5 lead when the stream started up for me. Holtwick and Semmler managed to close the gap to 12-9 at the technical timeout.
Semmler then sided out after the timeout for 12-10, and then her southpaw partner added an ace for 12-11. A big block knotted the scores at 12. Semmler put up another nice block on the next rally, but it landed just out of bounds, giving Fernanda the kill. On the 13-all rally, the Germans wound up switching positions at one point, though neither in that pair is necessarily “the” blocker or “the” defender like you see in some teams. An unforced error off a tip shot gave them their first lead of the match.
Then the tide turned in a hurry. After the side change, Lima scored a beauty of a service ace to make it 15-14. An unforced error from Holtwick gave the Brazilians a two-point lead late on 16-14. The run extended to 17-14, and then another ace for Lima made it 18-14. Lima sacrificed her hat on the 18-14 rally, playing some amazing defence to track the ball down. She eventually finished the play off, giving her side a five-point edge. Germany finally sided out on 19-15, but the damage was done. The Brazilians sided out to victory at 21-16.
Holtwick got the kill to get the ball rolling in set 2. The first point on serve also belonged to Holtwick, getting a lucky roll off the net for a service ace to make it 4-2. A setting miscue from Lima led to an easy block for Semmler making it 5-2 at the side change. A conventional service ace for Semmler made it 7-3. The 8-4 rally ended with a joust above the net between Semmler and Fernanda. The ball landed well wide afterward, with the point awarded to the Brazilians. Semmler thought the point should have been hers, and she briefly protested with the up referee (the call, of course, stood). Fernanda closed the gap to within two at 8-6 at the second side change, but Holtwick got the point right back on 10-6. It looked like Semmler would have a block on the 11-7 rally, but a fine bit of defence from Lima kept the ball up and afforded another shot for the sideout, which she cashed in. On 11-8, a terrific diving dig from Holtwick gave the Germans a sideout it looked like they wouldn’t get — bit of a replay — and the margin remained the same to the technical timeout at 12-9.
The Germans extended their lead to the biggest of the match after the technical timeout, going up 14-9. Another setting mistake from Lima led to a poor hit for Fernanda and an easy block for Semmler, making it 16-10 Germany. Holtwick missed her serve after the timeout, putting Lima back to serve at 16-11. That was one of the better rallies of the match, with great sprawling defence on both of sides of the net. Eventually Lima put the ball away to make it 16-12 at the side change. But there was to be no huge run on serve this time, as the Germans sided back out at 17-12. Fernanda got a really lucky service ace on 17-13; not only did it hit the top of the tape, but that actually changed the lateral trajectory of the ball as well as the vertical. It was easily wide before it hit the net, but after the deflection it just did hit the line. But no matter; Semmler’s block on 18-14 got the point right back, and Germany reached set point on 20-15. Another setting mistake from Lima almost gave set point away, but Fernanda managed to put the block up. An easy little bump-set-spike kill for Semmler made it another 21-16 final; only, with the other team on top.
The Brazilians scored the first service point in the decider, with Lima getting a nice block-0ut kill against Semmler to go up 3-2 at the first side change. The Germans played the 3-2 rally on the back foot the whole way, with Fernanda easily getting the point with the roll shot to go up by two. Holtwick and Semmler immediately called time there. The sideouts kept rolling till the second side change at 6-4.
Lima’s fine serving put the Germans under pressure (it’s the terror of knowing what this world is about….) on 6-4, leading to another back-foot rally on their part and an eventual kill for Fernanda to make it 7-4. The Germans scored their first service point on 7-5. Lima seemed convinced the ball was last off Semmler, visibly celebrating the play, but the point did not go her way. So it was her turn to have a chat with the up ref. The run for the Germans continued on the next rally, as they tied the score at 7-all. And it was all smiles for Holtwick and Semmler after the next rally put them up 8-7, prompting Brazil’s timeout.
Lima successfully sided out after the timeout to make it 8-all. Fernanda then deftly put the ball over on 2 on the next rally, after a nice dig from her partner, to put Brazil back on top. Another let-serve ace, this one for Fernanda, made it 10-8 Brazil. An absolutely world-class dig for Lima on the 10-8 rally led to another on-2 kill from Fernanda to make it 11-8. Holtwick finally got the Germans their sideout at 11-9. 12-10 was a fine rally, with digs on both sides. Lima had a shot to get the Brazilians the sideout, but her final shot went just long, making it 12-11. A bad set from Holtwick led to a hitting error from Semmler to make it 14-11 and match point Brazil. Semmler stave off the first match point, from reception, but Fernanda found the line on the next rally for a 15-12 final.
Lima and Fernanda were obviously over the moon to come away with the gold, but it actually seemed that it was Lima, who has five previous gold medals, who was even more excited than her partner. A near-total greenhorn to the international circuit despite already being 29, you have to wonder a little how long Fernanda will be at this level. Racking up the W’s will make it easy for the federation to keep sending her out there, but I didn’t see a team that looked unbeatable today. Lima was her usual brilliant self as a defender, but along with her struggles in setting Fernanda didn’t really strike me as a top-notch blocker. I’m not saying she was without value entirely, nor even that Lima carried the partnership, but I think it’s possible that Lima’s time might be better spent with someone else. Can’t imagine the fed will break this partnership up too soon, though, so we’ll see where they go from here.
Alison Cerutti/Bruno Oscar Schmidt (BRA) vs Emanuel Rego/Pedro Salgado (BRA)
How they got here: Alison and Bruno swept through pool play, obliterating Spijkers (great volleyball name)/Van Dorsten of the Netherlands, setting aside Kazakhstan’s Sidorenko/Dyachenko, and then claimed an injury forfeit over Poland’s Kadziola/Szalankiewicz. They were extended to three sets in their first knockout match by an unheralded Swiss pair, Chevallier/Strasser, before eventually prevailing. They defeated the Germans Erdmann/Matysik in the quarterfinals before falling to old rivals Dalhausser and Rosenthal in the semis in a 32-30 second set. Emanuel and Pedro went 2-1 in pool play, winning a long one over the Mexican team Ontiveros/Virgen, losing a long one to the Poles Losiak/Kantor, and winning a nondescript two-setter over the Dutch duo Stiekema/Varenhorst. They won the pool on tiebreakers, advancing right away to round 2 in the knockout stage. There, they defeated the USA’s Gibb/Patterson. In the quarterfinals, they won a three-setter over Samoilovs/Smedins from Latvia, and then they fell in the semis to Fijalek and Prudel of Poland.
Beyond the obvious storylines of how incredibly well these teams know each other, each man on the court having previously been in a partnership with someone across the net, I found it interesting to compare Fernanda to the Alison/Bruno team. She is actually taller than Bruno — 189cm to 185 — reinforcing him as one of the smallest men on the circuit, and perhaps the smallest. And she’s older than Alison. This was her sixth FIVB-level tournament of her career, and first gold final. It’s Alison’s 81st tourney, and 27th gold final, having won 14 of the previous 26. Puts things into some perspective. Is it just me, or doesn’t it feel kind of insane that Alison is still only 28? It feels like he’s been around forever.
Emanuel started the match on serve, and his erstwhile partner across the net got the scoring underway. A rare unforced error from Pedro put the team in yellow (that’d be Alison/Bruno) up by two at 3-1, and a kill for Bruno just inside the back line gave them the three-point edge. They led 5-2 at the side change. On 5-2, Alison and Emanuel went head-to-head at the net, with the much larger man coming up best for 6-2. Bruno slipped his shot on the next rally through Pedro’s two-handed attempt at an up, and Pedro/Emanuel called time down 7-2.
The hits kept coming for Alison and Bruno, playing a sterling point on 7-2 that ended with a kill for the big man to extend their lead. Emanuel finally stopped the bleeding by siding out on 8-3, but Pedro quickly gave the point back with the service error. Another block for Alison against Emanuel made it 10-3. It seems fair to say that Emanuel’s sideout game just isn’t what it once was, at least against elite competition. The team in yellow led by a solid 10-4 at the second side change. A really tight net touch call went against Pedro on 10-4, siding Alison/Bruno out. He protested briefly; Pedro’s got a reputation as something of a hothead, but replays showed this call was very, very, very tight indeed. It’s hard to say it mattered much, though, because Alison and Bruno — in particular the former with his smothering blocks — just kept dominating. Pedro peeled one back with a service ace on the last point before the technical, but Alison and Bruno still led by a touchdown, 14-7, at the technical.
A kill each for Alison and Bruno extended their lead to 9 shortly after the timeout, at 16-7. An unforced error from Pedro made it a 10-point margin. The team in green kept it sideout for sideout most of the rest of the way, but their compatriots easily reached set point at 20-11, and finished it off at 21-12.
Pedro/Emanuel took their first lead of the match to begin set 2, when four hits were called against their opponents. The teams continued to trade sideouts. The first service point came on 3-all, when Pedro’s bad set led to a hitting error from Emanuel. Emanuel got the sideout after the side change to keep the team in yellow from going up by 2. Then, again, the sideouts came one after another, until Pedro got his side’s first service point with a block that made it 7-6. Finally, Alison and Bruno took the first two-point lead of the set, going up 9-7 shortly after the second side change. Bruno gave the point back in a peculiar way — he was assessed a red card for delaying the game. After nearly every rally, he was taking the time to clean his sunglasses, and eventually the up referee had had enough. The card was an automatic point for Pedro/Emanuel. Bruno took the shades off for one rally, but then put them right back on. Pedro and Emanuel edged ahead 11-10 at the technical timeout.
Two quick ones for Pedro and Emanuel prompted Alison and Bruno to call their charged timeout. A slappy roll shot from Emanuel bounded off Bruno and out to make it 14-10. The run extended to 15-10 and then 16-10, off an unforced error from Bruno. A service error finally sided Alison/Bruno out, but they faced a rather substantial deficit at 16-11. They set to closing it; back-to-black blocks from the big man brought the score to 17-14, and Pedro/Emanuel called time.
Alison played a tricky shot on the 17-14 rally, a one-handed “punch” over the net that Pedro decided to let go only to see it land in. Emanuel got the sideout on 18-15, inching his side closer to set victory. Pedro and Emanuel played a terrific point on that next rally, with Emanuel scrambling way off the playing area to track down a wayward ball, and somehow managed to put up an easily hittable ball for his Pedro in so doing. Pedro rewarded his partner’s efforts with a nice kill and looked fired-up after the point. They reached set point at 20-16 and finished it on serve, with a cut shot hitting error from Bruno making for the 21-16.
The 1-0 rally in set 3 was one of the better ones in the match, with diving digs from both defenders. Emanuel ended up scoring the kill with a smash from his off (left) hand that hand sufficient heat behind it that Alison could only swat it down, rather than up. What you might call an ‘out-of-system’ rally ensued on 1-1, with Bruno winding up playing the net with Alison behind him. He came up big, getting the block for sideout against his much taller former partner across the way. The score was a virtual tie at the first side change, with Alison/Bruno ahead 3-2 but on serve.
The second set of five was just as even, with the scores level at 5 at the second side change. Pedro/Emanuel took the first two-point lead of the set at 7-5, with a terrific dig and hit from the living legend getting them there. Alison and Bruno called their timeout. The score came even again 8-all following a hitting error from Emanuel, but the team in green just as quickly got their true lead back again at 10-8. They kept siding out, holding leads of two at 11-9, 12-10, and 13-11, before scoring on serve to get to match point at 14-11. Alison and Bruno ran a very indoor-esque ‘slide play’ on that rally, and the ball landed wide, giving Pedro and Emanuel the win in a rather surprising comeback.
I have to say I really didn’t see that result coming after the beating they took in set 1. I don’t relish saying things like this about professional athletes, but it honestly looked like Pedro just couldn’t be bothered to completely “bring it” in set 1. He definitely had some more spitfire in sets 2 and 3, and that makes a difference.
(I also kind of want to know where he was for the post-match winner’s interview. The always super classy Emanuel was on hand, but I thought this interview was non-optional for both members.)
Grzegorz Fijalek/Mariusz Prudel (POL) vs Sean Rosenthal/Phil Dalhausser (USA)
How they got here: Both teams enter this match undefeated in The Hague, with Fijalek/Prudel claiming wins over Canada’s Hatch/Redmann, Italy’s Tomatis/Ranghieri, and USA’s Lucena/Doherty in pool play. They beat Sidorenko/Dyachenko to start off the knockout phase, then Lucena/Doherty again in the quarterfinals, and Pedro/Emanuel in the semis. For the top-seeded Americans, they knocked off Nummerdor/Van de Velde of the Netherlands and Canada’s Schalk/Saxton in pool play, also claiming an injury forfeit over Germany’s Walkenhorst/Windscheif. They’ve been tested a bit in knockout play, needing three sets to beat both Ontiveros/Virgen and the Spaniards Herrera/Gavira, prior to the aforementioned 32-30 second set with Alison/Bruno.
This match represented a major opportunity for the Polish pair, as their nation had never previously won an FIVB gold medal. Winning gold is old hat for Rosenthal and especially Dalhausser, who entered with 9 and 28 career gold medals respectively (they have 5 together).
The Americans quickly claimed the first service point of the match, with Dalhausser putting the block up against Fijalek to make it 2-1. More sideouts followed, and the score was 4-3 at the first side change. The sideouts came one after another. On 6-5, Fijalek got the kill to level the score again, and in so doing smashed the ball off Dalhausser’s face. The Thin Beast may have had to sacrifice a pair of shades on that one, as the sunglasses and the cap both got knocked off one the play. Frankly, he was probably a little lucky not to be bleeding after that shot.
The margin stayed the same through to 9-8, where Dalhausser scored the kill that at last put the Americans up by two. Fijalek peeled one back with a lucky serve, an ace off the top of the tape to make it 10-all, and then Prudel put the block up to give Poland the lead at the technical timeout. On 11-all, Dalhausser finally got his serve working for really the first time in the match, getting the ace to put the Americans back up a point. At 13-all, Fijalek got another lucky roll off the net, scoring an ace to put the Poles back ahead. He very nearly got yet another on his next serve. Rosenthal managed to keep this one up, but the Americans really weren’t able to run much of anything offensively, and Prudel found the sand on his return shot. A service reception error by Dalhausser — just a flat shank — made it 17-14 Poland, the ace going to Prudel this time. The man with the ponytail came up with the block on the next rally to make it 18-14. Dalhausser put the block up against Prudel to make it back to within 18-16.
The next rally was amazing, as Fijalek just managed to get Rosenthal’s falcon-like serve up, and Prudel barely managed to get a set up — having to slide under the net (which is legal as long as you don’t disrupt the opponents) to do so. Fijalek’s hit was right on the money, and the Poles claimed a point that I don’t think too many other teams would have. They reached set point on 20-17, and claimed it on reception at 21-18.
The Americans went up 2 in the early going of set 2, claiming the lead at 3-1. The lead extended to 5-2 on either a kill for Dalhausser or a net touch from Prudel — take your pick, both valid. A big block from Dalhausser made it 6-2, and Poland called time. Poland were lucky to sideout on 7-4, as Dalhausser had a free shot for the kill on serve, but he missed it wide. The margin stayed there at the second side change, coming at 9-5 with Dalhausser on serve. A good roll shot from Dalhausser, coming off his block touch, extended the lead to 11-6. A service ace for the big man made it 13-7, and it was 13-8 as the teams headed to their benches for the technical timeout.
The teams played sideout volleyball most of the rest of the way, until a hitting error from Fijalek put the Americans up by seven at 18-11. They reached set point at 20-13, and Dalhausser sealed the deal immediately with a nice cross-court kill — after again taking one off the coconut.
The 2-all rally early in set 3 was amazing, with terrific defence all around. It ended on a dud, as Rosenthal missed his roll shot wide to give the Poles the lead at the first side change. The Americans played the 3-2 rally on their heels, and couldn’t stop Prudel from finding the sand at the end to establish the two-point lead. The margin remained 2 points at the second side change, 6-4. On that rally, Prudel protested that Dalhausser had the last touch on a joust that went long, but replays showed that it was a good no-call. A nice dig from Fijalek on the 7-5 rally led to a kill and a 3-point advantage. Rosenthal nicely took one back on the 8-6 rally, ending up flat on his back after swinging with all his might to get past Prudel on the other side. Fijalek got the point back at 10-7, powering through the big American’s block.
A brilliant service ace from Fijalek made it 12-8. Dalhausser and Rosenthal stayed determined, and won a long couple of rallies to close to within 12-10. A setting miscue from Prudel left Fijalek to hit too close to the net, and Dalhausser made him pay, closing the gap to just a single point. Prudel managed to sideout at 13-11, preserving ‘sideout to victory’ as a path for the team from Poland. Fijalek’s cross-court winner made it 14-12 and match point for the Poles. Rosenthal saved the first, and the Americans called timeout ahead of the second match point.
It was a storybook ending for Prudel and Fijalek, as Prudel found the sand for the sideout and the history-making gold medal.
Final results
Women’s bronze final — Maria/Juliana (BRA) d. Kolocova/Slukova (CZE) (21-14, 21-13)
Women’s gold final — Lima/Fernanda (BRA) d. Holtwick/Semmler (GER) (21-16, 16-21, 15-12)
That’s a bit more like it from the Brazilians, no? They vault from sixth up to third in the medal standings with this showing
Men’s bronze final — Pedro/Emanuel (BRA) d. Alison/Bruno (BRA) (12-21, 21-16, 15-11)
Men’s gold final — Fijalek/Prudel (POL) d. Rosenthal/Dalhausser (USA) (21-18, 13-21, 15-13)
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