Anapa, Russia, May 31, 2014 – Russian pair Ekaterina Syrtseva and Alexandra Shiryaeva are closing in on a home win after they reached the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Anapa Open on Saturday.
They fought back from losing the first set to defeat compatriots Evgenia Ukolova and Maria Prokopeva 2-1 (18-21, 21-18, 15-10) to set up a gold medal match later in the day against Victoria Bieneck and Julia Grossner.
The German duo beat Spain’s Angela Lobato Herrero and Paula Soria Gutierrez 2-0 (28-26, 21-17) in what was both teams’ first semifinal on the World Tour.
The bronze medal match begins at 15.00 local time, with the gold medal match following at 16.00.
The double-gender US$150,000 FIVB Anapa Open in Russia runs from Tuesday, May 27 through to Sunday June 1 and the top three teams in each gender receive 250, 225 and 200 world ranking points. It is the fifth event and the fourth Open on the 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar, which features nine Grand Slams and 11 Open tournaments.
The 2014 World Tour began at the Fuzhou Open in China in April and concludes at the Durban Open in South Africa in December. Next up on the World Tour calendar is the Moscow Grand Slam which runs from June 11-15.