Meppelink/Van Gestel Upset #3 Agatha/Duda To Win Pool C

2017 FIVB BEACH VOLLEYBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – VIENNA

• July 28 to August 6
• Vienna Centre Court, Vienna, Austria
• Co-ed
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No one goes undefeated in Pool C as the Netherland’s Madelein Meppelink and Sophie van Gestel upset Agatha Bednarczuk/Eduarda ‘Duda’ Santos Lisboa in straight sets 2-0, (21-19, 21-15) on Santos’ 19th birthday.

The win for the Dutch pair puts them in first place in the pool with a sets ratio advantage, followed by Canada’s Julie Gordon/Camille Saxton in second, leaving Bednarczuk/Santos in third place in Pool C. Though they finished in third place, they had enough points in the pool to miss out on the Lucky Losers portion of the tournament and move straight to the Round of 32.

The win on the sand was a tough obstacle for both teams but Meppelink expressed after the match that she and van Gestel are okay with a little bit of wind.

• Match Stats

Despite a wildly erratic and inconsistent serve, van Gestel was able to throw the Brazilian’s off as she sent the majority of her serves to Bednarczuk, including two aces. This forced Bednarczuk to attack more, as she used a mixture of shots to trip up the Dutch. However, this forced her to square off with Meppelink at the net, where she had four blocks in the match, stopping Bednarczuk three times in the first set alone.

On the attack, van Gestel used sharp, short angle shots around the block to upend the Brazilian side. In the match, the Dutch side was 68% effective on the attack using these tough shots, while the Brazilians were only 47% effective.