European beach volleyball: Lupo-Nicolai lose against the olympians Mol-Sorum

The European beach volleyball tournament for blue couples ends two days before mid-August. After the elimination of Carambula-Dal Corso in the round of 32, Nicolai-Lupo surrendered in the round of 16 against the reigning Olympic champions Mol-Sorum, in a challenge that saw the winners of the last five editions of the continental tournament opposing. On the bank of the Danube, in the 2,500-seat Red Bull Arena, all sold out for a while (despite prices ranging between 15 and 60 euros), a beautiful and intense race is staged that exalts the public who, albeit with an accent unlikely, constantly incites ours. Too bad for the Azzurri, for long stretches superior to the Norwegians, who, however, pay too many imperfections when they tried to bring the engine revs over the threshold.

Balance

—

Against Mol-Sorum comes the fifth defeat in five matches played (with only one set won). The Azzurri play a great game, but they have to fold 2-0 (21-18, 28-26) and greet the European in ninth place. The first set is played on the edge of balance. Both pairs keep the level of the ball change high and the wall-defense phase is also of a high level. The Norwegians try to escape the technical time out, but the Azzurri are good at taking them back immediately upon returning to the field. At the end, however, Nicolai’s long line closes the set in favor of the “Vikings”.

In the second the airmen start strong, take some risks, force the blows and they are right. Ahead 14-10, however, a couple of bloody mistakes pave the way for the Norwegians’ double aces returning to the game. Nicolai attacks just outside the ball that would have given the first set point to the Italians and begins an adrenaline rush with the Norwegians (almost) always with the match point in the barrel. Until the blue attack breaks on the Norwegian wall. In the round of 32 Nicolai-Lupo had beaten 2-1 (21-18, 17-21, 15-13) Bryl-Szalankiewicz: won the first set without too many problems, the pair of Air Force airmen were ahead 14-12 in the second , before suffering the return of the Poles and going into trouble in the tie break, where he had to recover from a 7-10 disadvantage.

Ex coach

—

The race of Carambula-Dal Corso stopped at the sixteenths, beaten 2-0 (24-22, 21-11) by the Latvian Samoilovs-Smedins, coached by Marco Solustri, the former coach of Carambula-Rossi until April, a little before the start of the sprint (match in Cancun) with which they won the qualification for the Tokyo Olympics. After a very balanced first set, in which the Azzurri were two thirds ahead of the set, before paying the Latvian return and giving in at the point to the final point, Carambula-Dal Corso suffered the blow and, in the match up to 9 all, have suffered a row of 6 consecutive points which, in fact, closed the set and the dream of accessing the quarter-finals of the European Championship (where Samoilovs-Smedins then lost to the Czechs Perusic-Schweiner) in the first ever tournament together .