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**truebluefan** · 07-04-2008, 03:10 PM

Marseille, France

**truebluefan** · 07-23-2008, 12:15 PM

In the final SWATCH FIVB World Tour qualifying event for the Olympics in Beijing, eight teams emerged from the women's US$350,000 World Series13 qualifier tournament, and six of them required a tie-breaking third set. Held on the Esplanade St Jean in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, France, the event saw seven of the top eight seeds advance, the most since the Grand Slam in Klagenfurt last year.

In the matches to earn a main draw berth that went the full three sets, four of the six were won by teams in come-from-behind fashion. Teams from Norway, the Philippines, Spain, and Switzerland all secured a spot in Wednesday's competition despite losing the first set of their match today.

The one team to pull off an upset to get into Wednesday's money rounds was the Switzerland tandem seeded 11th, Muriel Graessli and Nadine Zumkehr, who knocked off sixth-seeded Maria Bratkova and Evgenia Ukolova of Russia, 18-21, 21-13, 15-13. The win was the second of the day for the Swiss team, as they also eliminated 22nd-seeded Shannen Bagge and Hayley Griffiths of New Zealand 21-8 and 21-13. The Swiss are playing together for only the second tournament, as in June's Paris Grand Slam qualifier, they were eliminated by compatriots Simon Kuhn and Lea Schwer in three sets.

"It was tough to lose the first set after we were up 15-13," Zumkehr said. "We had a good start to the second set and got in our rhythm. We could really push after that, but the third set can always go either way. During the timeouts we just thought that we needed to relax. We're really happy to be moving on."

Top-seeded Heidi Ilustre and Diane Pascua of the Philippines qualified for the fifth time this season, and it required winning just one match to do so. However, the duo had to overcome a first-set loss, 21-13, to a pair of teenagers from The Netherlands, Danielle Remmers and Sophie van Gestel in order to advance. The number one team in the 25-team qualifier moved in to Wednesday's main draw with a 13-21, 21-18, 15-12 victory.

"They are a young team but they are good. It was hot out there, and very different conditions from the day before," Ilustre said, referring to the constant wind that was blowing on Monday. "After Russia (two weeks ago) we hadn't touched a ball. It's been a long road trip for us, three months since we've been home, and knowing that we couldn't make Beijing we just wanted to have fun in Marseille. We were feeling some muscles that we haven't used in a couple weeks but by the second set they all woke up."

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**truebluefan** · 07-23-2008, 12:16 PM

Upsets were plentiful in the opening day of the women's US$350,000 World Series13 main draw in Marseille, France. After two rounds of play in the winner’s bracket, just four of the top eight seeded teams emerged unbeaten, although the others still remain in contention for the medal rounds, which will be held on Saturday. Two of the teams inflicting damage on the top seeds had come from Tuesday's qualifying tournament.

Switzerland's duo of Muriel Gressli and Nadine Zumkehr, just 21 and 23 years old respectively, found Marseille to be preferable to Paris. In last month's Grand Slam event in Paris, the duo lost their first match as a tandem, but in Marseille so far they have an undefeated match mark. On Tuesday they defeated two teams to advance from the qualifier, then followed that up with two upset victories in Wednesday's play. First they handed second-seeded Maria Antonelli and Vanilda Leao of Brazil a rare loss, as the Brazilians have finished fifth in two of the last four Grand Slam events. Following that they defeated 18th-seeded Daniela Gattelli and Lucilla Perrotta of Italy, 14-21, 21-17, 15-13. Each of the last three wins by the Swiss have been three-set matches in which they lost the first set.

Ester Alcon and Olga Matveeva from Spain were another team which had to play in the qualifier event just to get into the main draw, then followed that up with a pair of upset wins. In the morning action they won a long battle with the 11th-seeded team from Georgia, 21-18, 22-24, 15-11 before sending the sixth-seeded Cuban team of Dalixia Fernandez and Tamara Larrea to the contender's bracket with a 21-18, 25-23 victory.

The pair of wins ensures that both Spanish players have tied or surpassed their career bests in a SWATCH FIVB World Tour event. Matveeva, who is originally from St. Petersburg, Russia but currently resides in Madrid, will face off against 14th-seeded Alexandra Shiryaeva and Natalya Uryadova of Russia in their first match Thursday.

The Russian duo had earlier notched an upset win over a German team fighting to maintain their current position for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Seeded third, Stephanie Pohl and Okka Rau of Germany are in a close battle with fellow countrywomen Reike Brink-Abeler and Hella Jurich, but lost to Shiryaeva and Uryadova 23-21, 21-16.

Deborah Giaoui and Eva Hamzaoui of France, seeded ninth, defeated eighth-seeded Milagros Crespo and Imara Esteves Ribalta of Cuba 21-18, 25-23. That loss meant that four of the top eight seeds fail to advance to third round of the winner's bracket, including two teams from Cuba.

Top-seeded Brazilian sisters Carolina and Maria Clara Salgado swept both of their opponents in the opening rounds of the World Series13, as they strive to become the third different Brazilian women’s team to stand atop the podium in Marseille in the last three years. In the 10-year history of the women's events in Marseille, Brazil has claimed five gold medals while the United States has also won five. This year there are no American teams competing in Marseille.

The World Series13, the ninth of 16 double-gender events on the 2008 SWATCH FIVB World Tour, features the women's medal matches on Saturday, with the men's competition concluding on Sunday. The winning teams in each gender will share the $28,000 first-place prizes.

**truebluefan** · 07-23-2008, 12:18 PM

For over a year and a half, teams have been accumulating points towards qualification for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This week, at the World Series13 in Marseille, France, marks the final deadline for that process and as expected, some matches have had critical importance in determining the Beijing participants.

Japan's Chiaki Kusuhara and Mika Teru Saiki were involved in an intense battle for an Olympic spot. Coming into the tournament, the duo, who have separately played in 2004 and 2000 Olympics respectively, were barely holding on the final berth available. However, during the tournament they were surpassed by a team from Georgia, and were on the outside looking in. As the sun was setting on the Esplanade St Jean in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, France, so, it appeared, were the Japanese chances of playing in another Olympics.

In a contender's match with 12th-seeded Bibiana Candelas and Mayra Garcia of Mexico, the Japan duo found themselves one set from elimination. They fought back and won the second set, forcing a deciding third set, which had all the excitement one would expect from a match of that magnitude. After nine ties and three lead changes, the Japanese emerged victoriously behind the strength of Teru Saiki's backcourt defense and a late ace. Following a 15-21, 21-10, 15-12 victory, the Japan tandem appears headed to Beijing.

"We felt very pressured and we made many service errors early," an emotional Teru Saiki said afterwards. "The Mexican team is very good; they have a tall blocker and a good defender. After the first set we knew we had to concentrate on our serves and we were getting better and better as the match went on."

The Mexican duo had already helped to secure an Olympic berth for themselves by getting to that point, and could have played the role of spoilers, which is what Teru Saiki was in 2000. That year she dictated which American team competed in Sydney, as her match win in the Grand Slam Chicago against Liz Masakayan and Elaine Youngs prevented that duo from going, with the berth instead going to Holly McPeak and Misty May. Teru Saiki finished fourth in the Sydney Games.

Four women's teams enter Friday with an unblemished record, including two tandems from Germany. Reike Brink-Abeler and Hella Jurich are one of two teams that have yet to drop a set in this event, as they swept Belgium's Liesbeth Mouha and Liesbet Van Breedam in their only competition Thursday, 23-21, 21-18. The Germans need to win the event in order to remain in contention for an Olympic berth. Ahead for the Germans is a match against the top-seeded team from Brazil, Carolina and Maria Clara Salgado, for the right to go to the semifinals.

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**truebluefan** · 07-23-2008, 12:19 PM

German teams comprise half of the remaining teams in the US$350,000 World Series13, as six teams are still in contention for the medal rounds which will be held on Sunday. In addition to looking for the country's first medal on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour since Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig won a Bronze in Austria on August 4, 2007, the German teams are battling for position for the second country spot in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Helke Claasen and Antje Roder of Germany have been playing together since 2005, and previously had advanced to just one semifinal, taking a fourth in Porto Santo in 2006. However in Marseille, the duo is undefeated after outlasting Russians Alexandra Shiryaeva and Natalya Uryadova 22-20, 18-21, 15-12 on Friday to move into their second career Final Four together.

In control for the second German Olympic spot alongside Goller and Ludwig is the tandem of Stephanie Pohl and Okka Rau. Pohl and Rau suffered an early loss during the first day of main draw competition, but since then have battled back through the contender's bracket, winning four straight matches. They began Friday’s play with a 21-18, 29-27 victory over France’s Deborah Giaoui and Eva Hamzaoui, setting up a contest against Belgium’s Liesbeth Mouha and Liesbet Van Breedam.

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**truebluefan** · 07-23-2008, 12:19 PM

The two semifinals of the US$350,000 World Series13 looked very similar to each other, as Germany faced Brazil in both of the semifinals. Brazil has won far more medals than any other country, while Germany is assured of garnering its 11th medal in the country's history. But for the players representing Brazil, Maria Antonelli and Vanilda Leao, this will mark their first ever title match.

Antonelli and Leão are also trying to make history on the SWATCH FIVB World Tour in addition to collecting their first medal. The duo is trying to become the first team in women's history to lose a first round match and then come back to win a tournament. The duo lost in three sets on Wednesday to the Swiss team of Muriel Graessli and Nadine Zumkehr, who had advanced through the qualifier and were seeded 31st.

Following the first-round loss, the Brazilians have won seven straight matches, including a pair of three-set wins today. In the morning they held off a German team striving to qualify for the Olympics, Rieke Brink-Abeler and Hella Jurich, marking the second time in as many tournaments they have knocked an Olympic hopeful out of the race. In the Grand Slam in Moscow two weeks ago they upset Americans Jennifer Boss and April Ross, taking them out of Olympic contention.

Antonelli and Leao met up with another German team, Antje Roder and Helke Claasen, who entered the match sporting an undefeated record in Marseille. Brazil led throughout the first set, staking a 21-16 win. It appeared the South American country was heading for a sweep when they took a 17-16 lead in the second set, but the Germans fought back and won 23-21. Again in the third set, Germany was in control leading 11-9 on a sidechange. But Brazil scored six of the final eight points in winning 15-13.

Two different Brazilian teams have won gold medals in Marseille the past two years, and Antonelli and Leao hope to become the third different tandem to sit atop the podium.

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**truebluefan** · 07-23-2008, 12:20 PM

The top three seeded teams all earned spots on the podium of the US$350,000 World Series13. Highlighting the final day of action was the German team of Stephanie Pohl and Okka Rau, who won the first women's gold medal in the history of the SWATCH FIVB World Tour. Brazil claimed two medals, winning multiple medals in Marseille for the sixth time. In the past three years, five different Brazilian teams have now won medals.

The German women achieved a pair of other accomplishments in the process as well. Their strong showing in Marseille helped hold off their competition for an Olympic berth, as they will head to Beijing for their second straight Olympic competition. Additionally, they became just the third women's team to lose a second-round match and then come back to win the gold medal. First done in Marseille in 1999, this marked the second time this season that this route to a Gold Medal was taken.

Pohl and Rau, whose 80 events together rank sixth all-time, were playing in their first title match. In the first set, they broke a 16-16 tie with a 4-0 run that enabled them to win 21-17. The Germans led in the second set 17-13, but a 6-1 scoring run by Maria Antonelli and Vanilda Leao, spurred on by three aces, gave Brazil the lead they needed in taking the set 22-20.

In the third set, Pohl and Rau used their Marseille experience to their advantage, as they won all five three-set matches they played here in this Mediterranean city. The third-seeded Germans took an early lead of 5-2 and built it up to an 11-5 advantage. Rau, normally the back-row defender, recorded a block to win the match 15-9. Pohl was selected as the SWATCH Most Outstanding Player of the event.

"To win an FIVB tournament is really special," an ecstatic Pohl said. "I didn't expect us to win because we were so exhausted from the past few weeks. I don't know where the energy came from. We're really happy to be the first German team to win a Gold. I don't know what I'm more happy about, winning a tournament or qualifying for the Olympics. This has been a perfect weekend for us."

The medal was the 11th overall for the country of Germany, with three of those belonging to Pohl and Rau. With less than three weeks before the Olympics begin, this gives Pohl and Rau momentum to build on their fifth-place finish in Athens in 2004.

"I'm really proud of me and Stephi that we made it," Rau said. "There was a lot of pressure in this tournament but if you're ahead then it's easier. It's even better that we won the tournament and made it to the Olympics."

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