2017-08-24 13:10:00 CET
Czech girls in the groove
Season of surprise for Kolocova/Kvapilova
Kristyna Kolocova in action during the win over Anouk and Joana
What a season it’s been so far for Kristyna Kolocova and Michala Kvapilova!
The Czech pair booked their place in the Swatch Beach Volleyball FIVB World Tour Finals presented by Vodafone with a string of impressive performances on the World Tour – and now they’re looking to cause a few surprises now there here in Hamburg.
And the manner of their straight sets victory over Swiss duo Anouk Vergé-Dépré and Joana Heidrich suggests they could end the season in real style.
Having joined forces at the beginning of the 2016 campaign, the team from the Czech Republic are really finding their form, as they showed last week when they won silver at the European Championships.
This season on the World Tour, Kolocova and Kvapilova have secured three top five finishes and three top 10 finishes – a big difference from last year when their best result was 17th.
“We know more about each other this season and that’s what’s made us better,” Kvapilova said after their impressive win over the Swiss. “We’re on an upward curve now.
“The silver in the Euros gives us confidence – especially the semifinal win [over Laboureur/Sude] and that gives us a good feeling when playing against the good teams.”
Despite the excellent result – that saw the Czechs win the second set 21-10 – Kristyna doesn’t believe their European silver gives them a chance of glory here in Germany.
“I wouldn’t say that means we’re favorites here,” said the defender. “There are way stronger teams here that have been playing together and winning over many years. We can sure be a surprise but we’re not favorites.
“However, this season has been great. I had surgery on my shoulder last year and Michala came straight from indoor so now, with a full preparation behind us, everything is normal.
“We know how to play, we’ve enjoyed a good winter of preparation and that has been a big difference – perhaps we’ve surprised ourselves, it’s been a bigger step than we expected.”
After securing their first win, the Czechs go head-to-head with their Euro victims Laboureur/Sude on the Red Bull Beach Arena at 6pm CET today – a game you can see live on BeachStream.
