Credit: volleyball.org.au
Main Draw – Tuesday 7 December
It was a tough day for our Aussies on day one of the main draw competition at the U19 Beach Volleyball World Championships.
With Howat/Bushby making their way through the qualification tournament, and Fleming/Mears claiming a lucky loser spot, they joined Stevens/Fejes and Pearse/Josefsen on the first day of pool play.
The most impressive performance of the day was put on by Stevens/Fejes who defeated Thailand’s K.Aungkwhawipa/Ch.Tassanee in straight sets 2:0 (21-16, 21-13).
All four Aussie teams will be looking to bounce back on Wednesday, on the last day of pool play with places in the Round of 24 on the line.
Day 1 Results – 7 December
Stevens/Fejes (AUS) def by Windeleff/Bisgaard (DEN) 0:2 (15-21, 17-21)
Fleming/Mears (AUS) def by Poiesz/Piersma B (NED) 0:2 (20-22, 9-21)
Pearse/Josefsen (AUS) def by Saviauk/Kais (EST) 0:2 (21-23, 10-21)
Howat/Bushby (AUS) def by Panchenko/Chuprinov (RUS) 0:2 (18-21, 15-21)
Stevens/Fejes (AUS) d K.Aungkwhawipa/Ch.Tassanee (THA) 2:0 (21-16, 21-13)
Fleming/Mears (AUS) def by Gottardi/Mattavelli (ITA) 0:2 (21-23, 12-21)
Qualification Tournament – Monday 6 December
Two Aussie teams took part in the qualification tournament, battling it out one of four positions (male and female) in the main draw of the U19 Beach Volleyball World Championships.
Joshua Howat/Solomon Bushby faced Finnish pairing Pulkkinen/Vainio in the qualification round, asserting dominance early and claiming a commanding 21-10 first set win.
The pair went from strength to strength in the second, managing to hold the Finnish pair at bay and claiming a straight sets win 2-0 (21-10, 21-18).
In doing so, the Australian men managed to claim one of the four spots on offer in the main draw, joining automatic qualifiers and team mates Jack Pearse and Lucas Josefsen.
The feat is only the second time an Australian men’s pairing have been able to achieve this, the first being Guehrer/Hunt in 2014.
Men’s Coach Andrew Schacht said he was extremely proud of the way Howat and Bushby played.
“It was a great team performance by Solomon and Josh to qualify for the main draw of the U19 World Championships,” Schacht said.
“The guys played a really strong first set with Solomon dominating at the net, and as the game progressed Finland started to come back but the boys strong team work came out again and proved too much for their opponents.
“Josh and Solomon are excited for their next challenge in the main draw,” he said.
In the women’s competition, Jasmine Fleming and Kayla Mears matched up against German pair Uhi/Prade.
Taking the game to three sets, the Aussie women unfortunately couldn’t hold on to their lead and lost 1-2 (21,19, 18-21, 17-19).
In a turn of events, Fleming/Mears went into the lucky losers draw and were lucky enough to earn a position in the main draw, where they will join fellow Aussies Alisha Stevens and Stefie Fejes.
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