Credit: volleyball.org.au
The main draw of the Beach Pro Tour Futures event saw its first matches played Thursday, with several Australian pairings shining on the world stage.
The third of four events included in VolleySlam at Coolangatta Beach, the Beach Pro Tour Futures event will run until Super Sunday on March 24.
Following qualification Wednesday, nine Australian teams competed in the main draw Thursday, aiming to set the tone for the remainder of the competition with a positive outcome in their first pool match.
For Developing Beach Volleyroos Georgia Johnson and Jasmine Flemming, a dominant 2:0 win over USA pairing Jessica McGuire and Logan Beitler has done just that (21-11, 21-12).
“We had some tough conditions out there this morning with the wind and the rain but Jazz and I were feeling good and were able to work the ball control in our favour,” said Johnson.
“We were very happy to get that first win of the tournament under our belt today, we’ll go into our second game tomorrow looking to top the pool.”
Having earned themselves a place on their last two Futures podiums, the gold medallists from Geelong are aiming to go all the way on the Gold Coast.
“It’s definitely a strong Futures competition here at Coolangatta but we’re obviously hoping to make our way to Super Sunday and find ourselves on the podium,” said Johnson.
“We feel we have the home ground advantage here, we’ve both got our families and friends coming down to watch us which goes a long way for us.”
The first game in the main draw for thirteenth seeds Solomon Bushby and Jed Walker saw them come up against training partners Ben Hood and D’Artagnan Potts.
A three set game saw Bushby and Walker ultimately seal the deal over their fourth seed opponents 2:1 (22-20, 21-13, 15-13).
“They’re some pretty big boys and we knew we had to get them off the net so we were just ripping really hard into the breeze to make them play from the other end,” said Walker.
“We battle against those boys every day back home, so to come out here and finally get one over them after they’ve knocked us off a few times over the last year or two feels really good.
“It came right down to the wire but I can’t believe that result, I’m so happy,” he said.
The Western Australian is looking forward to the coming days of competition, noting he’s hoping for more competitive games like the one this afternoon.
“Our win today will take a bit of pressure off us tomorrow, it won’t be a do or die sort of game,” he said.
“It’ll be pretty competitive over the next few days so we’ll have to bring our best to the court but we’ll just do our best to soak up everything we can.”
Click here for draws and results
Volleyslam 2024 is supported by Experience Gold Coast and the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland.
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