Mangaung, South Africa, December 10, 2014 – France’s Ophelie Lusson was told only four days before the start of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Mangaung Open that she was on a flight to South Africa. Laura Longuet’s partner called in sick and 19-year old Lusson, who did not have any World Tour experience yet, was going to fill the spot.
She proved to be a lucky charm. Wednesday morning Lusson and Longuet defeated the other French team Adelin/Giaoui 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) and upset the third seeded Russians Ukolova/Prokopeva 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) in the afternoon. Because pool C only has three teams they automatically topped the pool.
“It’s a magic moment”, Lusson said after the game against Russia. “I was very nervous this morning, I was very stressed. During the warm-up I was even trembling. But now I am very happy.”
So far Lusson’s best finish was 9th at the FIVB U21 and U19 last year. “She is a keeper”, Longuet said. “It’s the first World Tour event for her, but for me it’s also the first time I get into the second knock-out round. My best so far was 17th.”
The key to winning both matches on Wednesday was their serve, Longuet said. “We just played well and they did not. We served very well, and we dug a lot of balls. We wanted to get out of the pool and we did.”
For Lusson this first day has already been a great experience. “The level is very high and our opponents are very experienced. So I learn a lot.”