Xiamen, China, April 20, 2017 – Brazil’s Maria Antonelli and Carolina Horta Maximo utilise jetlag and a new partnership to earn a spot in the main draw of the Xiamen 3 – star FIVB World Tour.
Maria Antonelli/Carol Horta come together for their first international tournament, entering Xiamen qualification in top position.
The Brazilian pair defeated wild cards Katrien Gielen and Liesbeth Mouha from Belgium in their opening match, 2-1 (21-10, 18-21, 15-13).
“We’re very, very happy for this emotional qualification, it’s always hard. We came from the other continent to come here from Brazil – it’s a long way and it’s a very good team, they didn’t play last year so I didn’t know what I was doing in the beginning of the set," said Maria.
"But I’m very proud of my partner, she was amazing in the side-out and the block and service. So the emotion is very good because we put our power, our energy and it was so beautiful to win this game."
https://twitter.com/FIVBBeach/status/854865677294776320"For me it’s the first tournament of the season to travel so far and have jet leg. It’s difficult, last night I didn’t sleep and Carol was the same. We stayed up watching the football, Barcelona and Juventus and we put our power like them, here today," said Maria.
"Carol is young, I can learn a lot with her and she can learn with me and we like each other a lot out of the court and this is very important because it’s hard to stay together all the time. We are women, we are difficult, like all women, but we like to play with each other and I like the energy in her side-out and this is very good for me."
"There is a good spirit playing with Maria, when I started playing she was one of the top players in Brazil. It’s an honour to have this experience and play here," said Carolina.
Maria Antonelli/Carol Horta now enter Xiamen main draw which begins on April 21.
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