Nummerdor & Varenhorst avenge world championship setback

Moscow, Russia, May 29, 2016 – With the Rio 2016 Olympic Games starting in 10 week, Reindeer Nummerdor and Christiaan Varenhorst of The Netherlands were just looking for continued improvement with their Beach Volleyball game.

With improvement needed after losing two of their first three matches in the US$800,000 Moscow Grand Slam earlier this week, Nummerdor and Varenhorst finally found their “groove” here Sunday afternoon as the fifth-seeded Dutch pair overcame a second-set thrashing at the hands of top-seeded and reigning world champions Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt to post a 2-1 (21-19, 7-21, 17-15) gold medal win in 48 minutes over the Brazilians.

In winning their third FIVB World Tour gold medal in 18 international starts together, Nummerdor and Varenhorst shared the $57,000 first-place prize.  Alison and Bruno, who entered the match with a 2-0 FIVB mark against the Dutch pair highlighted by a three-set win at last July’s world championships in The Hague, split $43,000 for the silver medal.

By winning their last four Moscow Grand Slam matches after their dismal pool record,  ummerdor and Varenhorst posted their best international placement together in 10 world tour events since losing the gold medal match to Alison and Bruno at the 2015 FIVB World Championships last July in The Hague.  Brazil and The Netherlands have now played 11 times for a FIVB World Tour gold medal with the South Americans holding a 6-5 edge.

As for the gold medal win, the 39-year old Nummerdor said it was a “terrible final.  I think the level was terrible, but it was a tough tournament, a long tournament.  And you know, in the end the only thing that matters is winning.  It doesn’t matter how, it’s all …

continue reading in source www.fivb.org