Shaunna Polley and Olivia Macdonald of New Zealand made it two titles in two weeks as the duo ruled the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures Nuvali with a 21-18, 21-14 win over Japan’s Sakura Ito and Mayu Sawame on Sunday in the City of Santa Rosa, Laguna.
Champions of the Asian Volleyball Confederation Beach Tour Phu Yen Open in Vietnam last week, the Kiwis sustained their fine play to post back-to-back conquests after two silver medal finishes, including the AVC Beach Tour Nuvali last month.
‘The level is really high, you don’t know what to expect. We knew it was going to be tough and we met some very tough teams.’
“Happy to come back here and get the gold,” Polley said.
“We’re really glad, we’ve been playing consistently and to finish with two gold medals in the last two weeks is awesome.”
Slovakia’s Lubos Nemec and Adrian Petruf won a nail-biting men’s final against Israel’s Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov, 21-15, 18-21, 19-17.
Elazar and Cuzmiciov had beaten the Philippines James Buytrago and Rancel Varga in the quarterfinals.
Polley and MacDonald noted that playing in FIVB Volleyball World tournaments such as the BPT Futures Nuvali, which featured teams from 19 countries, presents a different challenge and they are glad to come out on top.
“The level is really high, you don’t know what to expect. We knew it was going to be tough and we met some very tough teams,” Polley said.
Macdonald lauded the Japanese, who drew cheers of admiration from the crowd for their grit and determination.
“Their defense is amazing. Their serves are amazing. They’re always fun to play against because they play a completely different style to us,” the former University of Arizona star said.
Ieva Dumbauskaite and Gerda Grudzinskaite of Lithuania bagged the women’s bronze with a 21-19, 19-21, 19-17 win over Romania’s Beata Vaida and Francesca Alupei.
On the way to the medal round, Vaida and Alupei eliminated the Philippines’ Kat Epa and Honey Grace Cordero in the Round of 12 before stopping Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons in the quarterfinals.
The men’s bronze went to Oskars Bulgacs and Matiss Graudins of Latvia, who beat Stavros Ntallas and Dimitris Chatzinikolaou of Greece, 21-15, 19-21, 15-5.
