SANTA ROSA, Laguna — Switzerland’s Julian Friedli and Jonathan Jordan rallied from a set down to stun Germany’s Philipp Huster and Sven Winter, 18-21, 21-13, 15-13, to bag the men’s bronze in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Nuvali Challenge on Sunday night at the Nuvali Sands Courts here.
The Swiss pair displayed composure down the stretch, holding their ground to shatter a 13-13 tie with a closing back-to-back hit to snatch a podium finish.
“For us it was really hard mentally and physically with the conditions that’s quite hot and exhausting but we have a dream of winning a medal. That kept me pushing, believing in what we do and I think it’s worth it now,” said Jordan, who scored 11 points to complement his partner’s 28 points.
Tied at 13 Friedli scored off a push before Jordan’s game-winning kill.
Meanwhile, Emi van Driel and Mila Konink of the Netherlands salvaged some measure of pride after beating Ukrainian tandem Valentyna Davidova and Anhelina Khmil, 22-20, 21-18, in the women’s division battle for third.
The Dutch had a hard time shaking off the Ukrainians in the opening frame as they needed to hang tough down the stretch to survive the extended set.
Ukraine recovered from an early deficit in the second set and kept it tight, tying it at 16 before Driel and Konink surged with one final push.
The Dutch unleashed a closing 5-2 run capped by a well-placed soft shot by Konink to seal the deal.
Van Driel and Konink rebounded from a sorry 18-21, 15-21, loss to Lithuanian Olympians Monika Paulikiene and Aine Raupelyte in the semifinal earlier.
The Lithuanians are taking on Alaina Chacon and Madelyn Anderson of the United States as of press time.
Chacon and Anderson fended off a late rally from Davidova and Khmil, 21-18, 21-19, to reach their first championship round as partners.
The two sides have already crossed paths twice on this tour, splitting their previous two meetings, setting up a tightly balanced showdown for glory in the tournament organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) under the leadership of chairman Patrick Gregorio.
The Lithuanians are looking to clinch their first Beach Pro Tour title after falling short in both the Tlaxcala Challenge and Xiamen Challenge earlier this year, while the Americans are also eyeing their maiden gold as a pair after previously collecting multiple Futures titles with different partners last season.
“We played against them two times, I think this year. One we won, one we lost. So, it will be an even fight. Like always, we’ll just concentrate and do as less mistakes as possible and have a good fighting spirit,” said Raupelyte, who finished with 22 points in Lithuania’s victory over the Dutch.
“We know it’s gonna be a tough game. We’re gonna go out there scout, things we need to do to prepare and the game’s going to be tough. We’re confident, we know it’s going to be tough but we’re gonna be ready for it,” said Chacon, who registered 23 points against Ukraine.
With little separating them and plenty of familiarity between the pairs, Lithuania and Team USA head into the final looking to finally gain the upper hand and one-up each other on the biggest stage of the Nuvali Challenge, which is supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Rebisco, Akari, Ayala Land and PLDT.
Meanwhile, in the men’s Final Four, Aussies Thomas Hodges and Ben Hood split the first two sets before pulling away in the decider to defeat Friedli and Jordan, 21-18, 12-21, 15-7, to qualify for the gold medal match.
The Swiss tandem of Adrian Heidrich and Yves Haussener, on the other hand, held off a strong challenge from Huster and Winter, 21-19, 23-21, to set up a high-stakes clash against Australia in the tournament hosted by the City of Santa Rosa and supported by Medical South City Luzon and Jersey Haven.
Both duos — Hodges and Hood, and Heidrich and Haussener — are making their first gold medal match appearance as partners on the Beach Pro Tour, and are also assured of their first podium finish in this tour.