Nanjing, China, July 14, 2018 – Germany’s Lukas Pfretzschner/Filip John of Germany, the Netherlands’ Raisa Schoon/Emi van Driel and Spain’s Daniela Alvarez/Tania Moreno were able to beat the heat in Nanjing with an even hotter game as they all advanced to the semifinals of the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships.
Quick links - Beach volleyball:
FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships
In the men’s quarterfinals, Pfretzschner/John defeated their Polish counterparts Dominik Poznanski/Mikolaj Miszczuk 2-0 (21-14, 21-14), completing the semifinals cast that includes Russians Shekunov/Veretiuk and Gusov Shustrov, and Argentines Zelayeta/Amieva.
“It’s been great because we had a difficult group with the Russians and the Brazilians in pool play, but we made it through and won the group,” John said.
“This quarterfinal victory is by far our most favourite in the tournament, but let’s see what comes next in the semifinals. It was really difficult because it was hot out here, but it’s who survives the heat wins the game.”
“It’s quite exhausting here because of the heat, but it’s been a great tournament and we love playing here in Nanjing,” Pfretzschner added.
Schoon/van Driel will face Alvarez/Moreno in the women’s semifinals, following their respective victories against China’s J. Dong/T. Hang 2-0 (21-13, 21-12) and Poland’s Julia Gierczynska/Patrycja Jundzill 2-0 (23-21, 21-15).
“We haven’t played in these temperatures before, but we’re getting used to it and it’s great that we’re getting a lot of experience here,” Schoon said. “It’s great that we made it this far. We just really like playing and we play our best when we are happy. Having fun during the game makes us feel comfortable and in a very good mood.”
“We are so excited and right now the temperature is so high, so we had to make of effort and finally we reached our goal to make it to the semifinals in this tournament,” Moreno said.
“In the Continental Cup we got the bronze medal, so we had this dream of making it to the semifinals. This is my partner’s first World Championship and this is my fourth, so it’s about time that we get this opportunity, which we worked so hard for.”