Krizanauskaite/Rudkovskaja and Bublyk/Tymchenko win EEVZA zonal event in Latvia

Lithuania’s Skalve Krizanauskaite/Ariana Rudkovskaja and Ukraine’s Oleksii Bublyk/Yaroslav Tymchenko triumphed on Sunday in the second stop of the Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) Beach Volleyball Tour held in Cēsis, Latvia. 

In the men’s final, Ukraine’s Bublyk/Tymchenko, the no. 8 seed in the competition, beat the third-seeded Latvian duo Olivers Bulgačs/Markuss Graudiņš in straight sets (21-19, 27-25). The team from Ukraine claimed a three-point advantage (14-11) in the first set but the home heroes responded with four blocks by Graudiņš to edge ahead at 17-15. At the end of the set, however, the Ukrainian duo performed more convincingly, thereby securing a 21-19 set win. In the second set, the Latvians scored five points in a row, and looked comfortable as they edged ahead 12-7. However, Bublyk scored the next five points to draw level. The Ukrainians used their fifth match point, and it was Bublyk to finish the match in straight sets. 

“I really like Latvians, Latvia and Cēsis. I am very satisfied with the tournament, because this year we have not been performing as we were hoping to. What we did here is much better than the performance we did show in the previous season,” said Bublyk in an interview with the Latvian television. 

In the bronze medal match, local favourites Mārtiņš Pļaviņš/Edgars Točs easily beat Ukraine’s Dmytro Kozii/Sviatoslav Nahornyi 2-0 (21-15, 21-18). The home team took a 4-1 advantage at the beginning of the match and did keep their lead until the end of the opening set. The Ukrainians started the second set with a two-point lead (3-1) and increased it to four at 12-8. However, with four points in a row, the Latvians flipped the charts, edging ahead for the first time (18-17), and the home team eventually cashed the second set 21-18 after Nahornyi hit the net.

“I must admit that after the Nations Cup we did only train once on the sand and once in the weight room, and that is obviously not enough in a span of four weeks,” 2012 Olympic bronze medal winner Pļaviņš said after the match, commenting on the loss in the semi-finals. “There is a little sourness about the loss in the semi-finals, but our youngsters obviously trained a little more, and we made mistakes. We did not take advantage of our chances,” echoed Točs.

In the semis, Bulgačs/Graudiņš had beaten Točs and Pļaviņš 2-1 (21-18, 18-21, 16-14) in a Latvian derby, whereas Bulyk and Tymchenko had won the Ukrainian duel with Kozii and Nahornyi in straight sets (21-14, 21-17).

In the women’s final, Lithuania’s Krizanauskaite/Rudkovskaja defeated the hosts Krista Paegle and Kitija Martini-Ādamsone in straight sets. In the second half of the first set, the Lithuanians gained an 18-14 advantage, but the next three points were scored by the hosts, who eventually lost the opening set 17-21 though. The Lithuanian pair started the second set with a 5-0 lead, but after Paegle’s attack, the hosts edged ahead for the first time – 15-14. However, the Lithuanians had the last word in the game, as Krizanauskaite blocked Martini-Ādamsone for 21-19.

“We enjoyed this tournament, and it was a great experience to be here. It seems to us that the most difficult match in the tournament was on the first day of the competition, when we lost in the group in three sets to the Ukrainian pair Yeva Serdiuk/Daria Romaniuk,” said the winners after the final. Back in June, they had already won a previous stop of the EEVZA Beach Volleyball Tour held in Estonia. 

Paegle/Martini-Ādamsone were the real sensation of the tournament, as they beat their compatriots and event pre-favourites Līva Ēbere and Deniela Konstantinova in the quarterfinals (21-19, 21-17), and in the semis they cruised to another 2-0 victory (25-23, 22-20) in another Latvian derby with Marta Ozoliņa and Luīze Skrastiņa. In the second semi-final, Krizanauskaite and Rudkovskaja beat the young Ukrainian duo of Yeva Serdiuk/Daria Romaniuk 2-1 (14-21, 21-18, 15-10).

In the bronze medal match, Serdiuk and Romaniuk beat the hosts Ozoliņa and Skrastiņa 2-0 (21-18, 21-19). In the first set, the home team gained a small advantage (7-5), but halfway through, the Ukrainians had moved ahead (13-10), and eventually sealed a 21-18 win after Skrastina’s serve error. In the second set, after several mistakes made by Ozoliņa, the Ukrainians took a 7-4 lead. However, courtesy of good serves by Skrastiņa, the Latvians came back to lead 8-7. The two teams exchanged the lead back and forth, and the Ukrainians eventually celebrated their victory (21-19) after Romaniuk’s successful attack.

“We are happy with the third place. We liked it playing here, and the weather was also good,” the happy bronze medal winners said.

Click here for full results of the men’s tournament. 

Click here for full results of the women’s tournament.