Yangzhou, China, October 13, 2018 – It will be an all-Russian affair in the final of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Yangzhou 4-star, as Viacheslav Krasilnikov/Oleg Stoyanovskiy and Konstantin Semenov/Ilya Leshukov recorded their respective victories in the semifinals on Saturday.
Krasilnikov and Stoyanovskiy fought their way into the final by beating Brazilian duo Gustavo Albrecht and Saymon Barbosa 2-0 (21-16, 21-12).
The Russian pair outperformed their Brazilian rivals as they mounted solid blocks and showing a good service game to win their third match of the day.
Earlier, they beat the United States’ Miles Evans and William Kolinske 2-0 (21-14, 21-15) in the Round of 16 and then eliminated Latvia’s Martins Plavins and Edgars Tocs 2-0 (21-11, 21-8).
“It’s a big win for us because it’s our first tournament as a team,” Stoyanovskiy said. “We are happy to reach the final here in Yangzhou, which is such a great city. It’s really good for Russian beach volleyball to have two Russian teams playing in the final.
“Our opponents were a little bit tired after their quarterfinal match and we took advantage of that. We had good block-defence and service that helped us in our victory.”
The Russians showed great consistency in their performance in the tournament, winning all their matches in straight sets leading to their semifinal win.
Quick links - Beach volleyball:FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour - YangzhouFIVB.com - Beach volleyballLatest VideosFacebookTwitterInstagramMeanwhile, Semenov and Leshukov sailed into the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 4-star final after Canada’s Sam Pedlow had to retire mid-match with an injury on his right ankle.
Pedlow and partner Sam Schachter struggled to keep pace with the Russian duo and conceded at 21-11.
Semenov and Leshukov logged two triumphs prior to their semifinals. First was against USA’s Casey Patterson and Stafford Slick 2-0 (21-19, 21-16), then the next one against Austria’s Robin Seidl and Philipp Waller 2-0 (21-8, 23-21).