Itapema, Brazil, May 18, 2018 – Joy Stubbe’s international career might be recent, but it is moving forward quickly. One of the fastest developing players on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, the 20-year-old Dutch blocker made a partnership change in 2018 which is already paying her dividends.
After playing in part of 2016, her first year on the Tour, and 2017 with Jolien Sinnema, the blocker joined forces with two-time Olympian Marleen van Iersel for the 2018 season.
The new team has played in five World Tour events and has finished in the top-10 in four of them, including last week’s Lucerne Open, when they were fourth, just one victory away from their first medal together.
“We have a good energy together and we’re both powerful players,” Stubbe commented about the new team. “Sometimes she comes up with some small things that make the difference and help us to improve faster. For sure she has more knowledge and experience than I do and it’s good to use when you don’t know what to do.”
But van Iersel’s contributions to Stubbe’s game are not coming only inside the courts. With her new partner, the young blocker traveled to Brazil in January to prepare for the season, returning to the country this week for the Itapema Open.
It was the first time she had left the Netherlands for a long camp overseas and the benefits of the training period in Brazil are easily noticed by Stubbe.
“It was perfect,” she mentioned. “We were in Fortaleza and all the people around there were great to us. We’ve spent more time there than home this year. It was my first time doing such a long camp overseas and it was great for my game.”
With an experienced and competitive partner and a strong preseason, the impatient Stubbe is looking forward to seeing some fast progress for the team. The duo’s debut in the Itapema Open was not promising, as the Dutch lost to Austria’s Lena Plesiutschnig and Katharina Schutzenhofer, but the blocker’s aspirations for the season remain sky high.
Van Iersel (left) and Stubbe did not have a good start in the Itapema Open
“We’re making big steps every time, but there’s still so much to learn,” she commented. “Step by step, we are getting closer to our goals for this year, which would be becoming a top-10 team in the world rankings and hopefully competing in the World Tour Finals in Hamburg.”
“Being with Marleen makes me feel closer to my goals. I’m not a patient person and I want to achieve my goals as quick as possible so I hope it happens soon.”