The Finns lost their first two games of the tournament, but the win in the third game was enough to secure the match point ratio from the group stage to the playoffs.
Kamilla Rajander,
Bettina Törnvall
Taru Lahti-Liukkonen and Niina Ahtiainen secured their place in the playoffs of the EC beach volleyball tournament, when the Finnish duo beat Italy on Wednesday Reka Orsi Toth and by Giada Bianchi set 2–0 (21–19, 21–17).
The next spot on the EC sand in Rotterdam was just about to heat up. The only win in the group stage from the second match on Wednesday was enough to secure the third place in the group and advance to the first round of the playoffs.
Lahti-Liukkonen and Ahtiainen defeated France in their opening match of the tournament on Tuesday Clemence Vieira and Aline Chamereauta against 1-2 (21-15, 20-22, 12-15) and suffered a 0-2 (15-21, 17-21) loss on Wednesday in their first game against Italy Valentina Gottard and Marta Menegatti against.
The duo went into their third game of the group upset by the losses.
– After two defeats, we knew that we have had a good training session behind us and we are in good shape. Perhaps it came through a certain kind of aggression that now let’s go.
Before the third match, Lahti-Liukkonen and Ahtiainen wanted more versatility in their attacking game. In addition, they focused especially on their passes in order to create pressure on the opponent.
– It worked out really well that we broke the opponent’s reception, thanks to which we got blocking defenses.
Lahti-Liukkonen’s and Ahtiainen’s games continue on Thursday. Finland’s opponent will be either Switzerland Anouk Vergé-Dépré–Joana Mäder or Spain Daniela Alvarez Mendoza–Tania Moreno Matveeva. The Swiss and the Spanish will face each other on Wednesday night, and the loser of the match will be the Finns’ next opponent.
The Spanish duo was fifth at the Paris Olympics. Because of the land quota, Vergé-Dépré and Joana Mäder missed the Olympics.
– You have to play well to win that game tomorrow. But there are full possibilities for that, the Finnish player predicts.