News Beach volleyball 24/07/2014 Main draw of the FIVB U21 World Championships on its way Larnaka, Cyprus, July 24,2014 - The first two rounds of pool play at the FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 WorldChampionships in Larnaka on Thursday brought forth a major upset in the women’scompetition. Last year’s U21 champions Kociolek and Gruszscynska from Poland losttheir opening match to German qualifiers Glenzke and Schreiber. In the men’s competitionAgathokleous and Rudenko booked the only win of the day for the Cypriot teams.To the delight of the home crowd they defeated Nigeria’s Godwin and Shekarau 2-0 on centre court. Key points· A total of36 teams per gender are competing in the U21 main draw, playing round robin in6 pools of 6. Only the top 4 in each pool qualifies for the elimination phase.· Cyprus hastwo teams competing in the women’s main draw and two in the men’s.· Matches inLarnaka start at 8.00 every day, with the last match is scheduled for 21.30.· The centrecourt stadium on Finikoudes beach seats 1,500.· Quite afew former beach volleyball stars travelled to Larnaka to coach: José GeraldoLoiola, Carlos Frederico ‘Alemao’ Galetti, Jorge Barros de Araujo, Raul Mesa,Jenny Johnson Jordan and Andrea Raffaelli. Pressure gets to U21 titledefenders Kociolek/GruszczynskaEverybody expects Poland’sKatarzyna Kociolek and Jagoda Gruszscynska to win another gold medal at theFIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships. All this pressure got to them asthey lost their opening match on Thursday in Larnaka. The 19-year old Polish girls were defeated 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) by Germanqualifiers Nadja Glenzke and Lara Schreiber in the early morning. “There is alot of pressure”, said Kociolek. “Everyone tells us: oh, you won last year, soyou will also win this year.” Read more Brazil’s Andre and Viniciustake lead in tough pool at U21 World ChampionshipsBrazil’s Andre Loyola Steinand Vinicius Rezende Costa Freitas put their mark down with two straight winson the first day of main draw at the FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 WorldChampionships in Larnaka. The two 19-year olds defeated Mexico’s Jurado/Cardenas 2-0 (24-22, 21-18) inthe morning, and booked another 2-0 (21-11, 21-15) win over American qualifiersHagen Smith/Orenic in one of the strongest men’s pools in Larnaka. Readmore Paraguay’s Michelle: from shyWorld Champ debutant to leader in the fieldIn 2013 a very shy and timidMichelle Valiente Amarilla made her debut at the FIVB Beach Volleyball WorldChampionships in Poland at the age of 15. Now, one year later at the U21 WorldChampionships in Larnaka, the Paraguayan girl transformed into a fearlessleader in the field with a vast array of shots. Back then in Poland Michelle and her 29-year old partner were the first team torepresent Paraguay at a World Championship, they finished 37th eventually.After the big event in Stare Jablonki Michelle started training with her ownage group. Readmore Another two rounds of poolplay are scheduled for Friday, starting at 8.00 with the last match scheduledat 21.30. The last round will be played on Saturday morning, followed by thefirst elimination round. The second round, quarterfinals, semifinals and medalmatches for both genders are played on Sunday. Larnaka is hosting an agegroup event for the second time. Two years ago the Cypriot holiday resortorganized the FIVB U19 World Championships. Last year the U21 were hosted byPorto. Porto will be the fourth and final stop on the FIVB age group calendarthis year with the U19 World Championships running from July 29 till August 3. Print this Page News {{item.LocalShortDate}} {{item.Title}} All the News