Salvador, Brazil, March 29, 2015 – Maria-Clara and Carolina Salgado showed they are in good form ahead of the 2015 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour by winning the Salvador leg of the Brazil Tour on Sunday.
The sisters defeated Juliana Felisberta and Maria Antonelli 2-0 (21016, 16-21, 15-9) for their second gold of the current Brazil Tour, while Larissa Franca and Talita Antunes beat Agatha Bednarczuk and Barbara Seixas 2-1 (17-21, 21-12, 15-13).
The 2015 World Tour begins with the Fuzhou Open in China in April.
“This stage was very special to us because we come from a tournament where we had played poorly and had two and a half weeks to train hard and find our form,” Carolina Salgado said. “When you arrive at a tournament knowing that you did everything for it, you develop momentum.
“I think we were very strong and needed to be to hold off their attack. We had the strength to face the tie-break, forcing our serve on the match.”
The Salgados made their major breakthrough on the World Tour in 2014 when they won their first gold at the Moscow Grand Slam, as well as two silvers and three bronze. However, they didn’t perform as well in 2014 when they won only one silver medal.
However with the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships taking place in the Netherlands this year and the start of qualification for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games, the pair are aiming to recover their best form.
“We are all in this fight for Olympic participation,” Maria-Clara said. “We know we have to be among the top two teams and we have worked really hard to return to our best.”
Following the Salvador tournament, the Brazil Tour concludes with the Super Beach tournament in Maceio from April 27 to May 3.