Volleyball series goes to the wire

WINDY conditions in the morning and high temperatures in the afternoon saw a challenging fifth round of the DTS/NHP Beach Volleyball Series at the DTS arena in Olympia on Saturday.

Twelve teams entered in the three categories which included youth, women and men. The youth competition saw a few close games between the current number one team, Leander Schatz and Bjoern Pascheka, and last year’s winners Viggo von Scheliah and Helmo Minz.Von Scheliah and Minz managed to win the first game 2-0 and struggled in the second game losing one set, but fighting back to win the tournament by 2-0 games and 4-1 sets.Third place went to Bernard Schurz and Tin Hlubic.Current men’s ranking leader Heiko Diehl, playing with new partner Uwe Selck, managed to reach the finals, securing his lead on top position.Mwita Sikopo playing with Donald Doeseb was the team to beat and Diehl and Selck won the first set 21-17, with Sikopo and Doeseb coming back and winning the second set 21-12.The decisive third set was a real thriller; with the score at 15-15 the game did not deserve a loser, but good defensive work by Heiko Diehl gave the number one team the tournament victory, winning by 18-16.Third place went to Walter Farmer and Michael de Koe.The toughest competition this year was the women’s division, where four of the 10 exiting games were decided in only three sets.In three of these games Katja Biesemann and Anita Kinder were involved but luck was not on their side as they lost all three tie-break games and the number two team only ended up in fourth place.The number one team of Wiebke Hoeritzauer and Antje Kesselmann lost their first game against Lizette Roettcher and Teja Lueck in a very close match, 27-29, 18-21, but winning all the rest of their games.Roettcher and Lueck looked like the certain winners, but a very strong team of Karin Curschmann and Simone von Wietersheim beat the favourites 21-13, 24-22 and secured them third place.Sets and points had to decide who would win the women’s division and the better ratio saw Hoeritzauer and Kesselmann winning their fourth consecutive tournament.Full results were: Youth: 1.Viggo von Scheliah / Helmo Minz 2.Leander Schatz / Bjoern Pascheka 3.Bernard Schurz / Tin Hlubic Men: 1.Heiko Diehl / Uwe Selck 2.Mwita Sikopo / Donald Doeseb 3.Walter Farmer / Michael de Koe Ladies: 1.Wiebke Hoeritzauer / Antje Kesselmann 2.Lizette Roettcher / Teja Lueck 3.Karin Curschmann / Simone von Wietersheim The next tournament will be held on November 7 and 8 in Windhoek, while the Swakopmund International Tournament is slated for December 27 and 28.The youth competition saw a few close games between the current number one team, Leander Schatz and Bjoern Pascheka, and last year’s winners Viggo von Scheliah and Helmo Minz.Von Scheliah and Minz managed to win the first game 2-0 and struggled in the second game losing one set, but fighting back to win the tournament by 2-0 games and 4-1 sets.Third place went to Bernard Schurz and Tin Hlubic.Current men’s ranking leader Heiko Diehl, playing with new partner Uwe Selck, managed to reach the finals, securing his lead on top position.Mwita Sikopo playing with Donald Doeseb was the team to beat and Diehl and Selck won the first set 21-17, with Sikopo and Doeseb coming back and winning the second set 21-12.The decisive third set was a real thriller; with the score at 15-15 the game did not deserve a loser, but good defensive work by Heiko Diehl gave the number one team the tournament victory, winning by 18-16.Third place went to Walter Farmer and Michael de Koe.The toughest competition this year was the women’s division, where four of the 10 exiting games were decided in only three sets.In three of these games Katja Biesemann and Anita Kinder were involved but luck was not on their side as they lost all three tie-break games and the number two team only ended up in fourth place.The number one team of Wiebke Hoeritzauer and Antje Kesselmann lost their first game against Lizette Roettcher and Teja Lueck in a very close match, 27-29, 18-21, but winning all the rest of their games.Roettcher and Lueck looked like the certain winners, but a very strong team of Karin Curschmann and Simone von Wietersheim beat the favourites 21-13, 24-22 and secured them third place.Sets and points had to decide who would win the women’s division and the better ratio saw Hoeritzauer and Kesselmann winning their fourth consecutive tournament.Full results were: Youth: 1.Viggo von Scheliah / Helmo Minz 2.Leander Schatz / Bjoern Pascheka 3.Bernard Schurz / Tin Hlubic Men: 1.Heiko Diehl / Uwe Selck 2.Mwita Sikopo / Donald Doeseb 3.Walter Farmer / Michael de Koe Ladies: 1.Wiebke Hoeritzauer / Antje Kesselmann 2.Lizette Roettcher / Teja Lueck 3.Karin Curschmann / Simone von Wietersheim The next tournament will be held on November 7 and 8 in Windhoek, while the Swakopmund International Tournament is slated for December 27 and 28.