Stare Jablonki, Poland, July 7, 2013 – Karla Borger and Britta Buthe went from 15th seeds at the start of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships Mazury 2013 to silver medallists and it was a run based on bettering their opponents in as many facets of play as possible.
The pair had signalled their potential by finishing fourth at the Rome Grand Slam, the final FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour competition before the World Championships before they became the first European team to reach a World Championships final, at Mazury 2013.
Borger was the long-time leader in aces and she added three over the semifinals and final to finish the tournament with 20, though one of her opponents in the gold-medal match, China’s Chen Xue, was tied in second place with Finland’s Emilia Nystrom on 17.
The 24-year-old Borger was also the most productive around the back of the court with 82 digs, though once again one of their vanquishers in the final, Zhang Xi was not far behind in second place with 77.
Buthe meanwhile was the tournament leader with successful spikes, landing 154 in the 19 sets she played. Once more though the Chinese were not far behind and Zhang Xi landed 126 spikes in 17 sets.