Vienna, Austria, July 31, 2017 – Ana Gallay and Virginia Zonta of Argentina are one of the new teams competing at the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships presented by A1. But the South Americans are not actually unfamiliar with each other as they shared the court for two years from 2011 to 2013.
Together, Gallay and Zonta made history by becoming the first Argentinean team to compete in the Olympic Games in London 2012, where they finished 19th. The duo played eight FIVB tournaments together and finished ninth in the 2011 Pan-American Games.
“It’s cool to be back with her,” Zonta commented. “We are not too far from the team we once were. We know each other very well and she’s an excellent player, so it’s easy to play with her. I’m happy to be playing with Ana again.”
After the two years with Zonta, Gallay paired with Georgina Klug, with whom she finished 19th at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and won gold at the Pan-American Games one year before. However, in somewhat of a surprising outcome, Klug decided to retire earlier this year, after the FIVB World Tour stop in Rio de Janeiro, last May.
Without a partner, Gallay had no questions about who she would share the court with.
“Georgina’s initial plans were to retire after the World Championships, so the timing was a little bit surprising to me,” said the two-time Olympian Gallay. “I needed to find a new partner to play the last tournaments of the year and Virginia was my best option. For the next year, though, I’ll have a new partner as I want to play as a defender since it’s getting harder for me to be a blocker. I’m looking for a younger and taller player.”
The Argentinean reunion has got off to a slow start, however, as they lost their first two matches in the World Championships to teams from Canada and Switzerland. They need to win the South American clash with Venezuelans Norisbeth Agudo and Gabi Brito this Monday at 14.00 (local time) to advance to the second round.