Japanese debutants defy time zone change to make it into the last 16

Lucerne, Switzerland, May 14, 2016 – Much to their surprise Reika Murakami and Hana Deguchi made it into the last 16 at the FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships on Saturday. It is the first time the Japanese girls participated in an international tournament and they already booked the best result ever for their country. With two wins in pool play on Friday Murakami (19) and Deguchi (17) finished second in pool C. In the first elimination round they defeated Poland’s Martyna Kloda and Agata Trybula 2-0 (21-16, 21-15) to reach the last 16. “We secretly hoped for this”, Murakami said after the match. “And we were determined to give it our best, but we still can’t believe we got this far. We’re so …

continue reading in source www.fivb.org