Alanya, Turkey, June 3, 2018 – Third-seeded Sarah Schneider and Viktoria Seeber of Germany won the big final of the women’s one-star event in Alanya on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. For 2014 U19 world vice champion Schneider it was the second gold on the World Tour after claiming one at the Phnom Penh one-star last month. For her teammate Seeber, however, it was the first ever Tour medal.
Home favourites, fourth-seeded Aleyna Vence and Bugra Eryildiz, celebrated Turkey’s historic first women’s medal on the World Tour by finishing second in Alanya. “This is the first FIVB medal in Turkish women’s beach volleyball history - easy to say, but not to do. I am proud of my team,” said Adem Mert, coach of Vence and Eryildiz. “Nothing is impossible!” stated Bugra Eryildiz after getting the silver medal around her neck.
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Daria Rudykh and Elizaveta Zayonchkovskaya, the 14th-seeded pair from Russia, took the bronze medals. For both the 2013 U18 European champion Rudykh, now 21, and her 20-year-old current partner, it was a first podium finish on the Tour.
The women’s podium at Alanya
In the final on Alanya’s Kleopatra Beach, Vence and Eryildiz delighted the home fans by winning the first set against Schneider and Seeber. The Germans, however, reacted with a speedy win in the second set to extend the battle to a decisive third. In a competitive tie-breaker Schneider and Seeber persevered to celebrate with a 2-1 (18-21, 21-13, 13-15) victory.
Bugra Eryildiz dives for the ball during the final match in Alanya
Rudykh and Zayonchkovskaya started well in the third place match and took the first set, only to allow their opponents, fifth-seeded Silvia Costantini and Gaia Traballi of Italy, to claim the second by an eight-point margin. However, the Russians regained control to win the tie-breaker and set foot on the podium with a 2-1 (21-15, 13-21, 15-12) win.
Rudykh and Zayonchkovskaya celebrating during the bronze medal match
In the semifinals on Sunday morning, Vence and Eryildiz came back from a set down against Costantini and Traballi to step up to a 2-1 (19-21, 21-19, 15-13) victory, while Schneider and Seeber delivered a 2-0 (21-15, 22-20) shutout of Rudykh and Zayonchkovskaya.