BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Australia’s Youth Olympic beach volleyball players Phoebe Bell and Britt Kendall have a lot to contend with before serving it up in Nanjing this August.

Following a large training block in Denmark, the girls who hail from Queensland and South Australia travelled to Cyprus for the U21 World Championships.

The Aussies did not progress to the main draw, but notched a strong first round win over locals Christodoulou-Dimitriou (8-21, 10-21).

“Competing in the U21 World Championships was a great experience and the biggest tournament Phoebe and I have played in,” Kendall said from Cyprus.

“The heat played a major role in performance for all teams, but proved to be an advantage for us in our first match.”

Unfortunately Bell-Kendall were stopped in their winning ways, falling short against a higher ranked Greek pair Parisaki-Manavi in the second round while carrying two new injuries (21-11, 21-18).

This put an abrupt end to their competition.

“Our tournament was not as successful as we would have hoped but it gives us a chance to rest and look after our injuries after being on tour for a few weeks,” Kendall explained.

In reality, this tournament was not the Australian’s main focus. Instead the U19 World Championships in Porto beginning on 29 July is a major goal.

“Playing against older players (in Cyprus) is a great learning curve for our team, and due to our loss early on, it make us only more hungry to improve performance and get some wins on the board at U19 World Champs,” Kendall said.

As for the whirlwind tour and competition blitz, Kendall says: “we are managing our routine fairly well and improving for next week.”

The beach volleyball competition at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games begins on August 17 in Nanjing, China. Bell and Kendall are Australia's only Youth Olympic pair.

Taya Conomos
olympics.com.au
@AUSOlympicTeam