July 21, 2018, 6:23 PM
Updated July 21, 2018, 7:24 PM
Latvia’s strongest beach volleyball duo Aleksandrs Samoilovs / Jānis Šmēdiņš on Saturday in the Dutch city of The Hague in three sets with a 2: 1 win in the quarterfinals against the home team Aleksandrs Brouvers / Roberts Mevens and entered the European Championship semi-finals.
In the first set with 21:13 the Dutch duo was superior, but in the second set the Latvian duo revenge 22:20 and in the decisive set with 15:10 secured a place in the semi-finals. Samoilov / Šmēdiņš will meet with Russian beach volleyball players Konstantin Semyonov / Ilya Leshukov on Sunday. The second finalist will be determined by the Spanish duo Pablo Erera / Adriana Gaviras in the game against Norwegians Anders Bernzen Mol / Christian Sandl Serum.
Alexander Samoilov’s shot gets stuck in the block
In the middle of the first set, the home’s superiority in the net was manifested, with Mevens playing the block successfully several times. Latvian services, on the other hand, were often inaccurate or did not cause difficulties for opponents. The Dutch pair increased their lead to 14: 8 and safely took the first set to victory.
The Latvian team discusses the course of the fight during the game break
The Latvian couple started the second set more successfully, no longer allowing the homeowners to get to easy points. Having gained an 8: 5 advantage, the Latvians held the lead and consulted vigorously even during the technical break.
In the controversial episode, the judge favored the hosts
The Dutch duo was still able to reach a draw (17:17) and in a controversial situation, the judge awarded a point at the top of the set to the home team, who reduced the deficit to 19:20 and was able to rebalance the result. At the top of the set, however, Latvian beach volleyball players were superior.
The Latvian duo secures victory in the third set
In the decisive set, the Latvian couple could no longer be stopped, successfully taking advantage of the mistakes of the owners of the field and strengthening their leadership.
The second Latvian duo Mārtiņš Pļaviņš / Edgars Točs lost in the eighth final and finished the championship in 9th place.
The European champions in the men’s competition will be announced on Sunday, when the semi-finals will also take place.
Highlight text and press Ctrl+Enterto send the text to be edited!
Highlight text and press Report a bug buttons to send the text to be edited!
