BEACH GIRLS ON TRACK FOR LONDON WITH STRONG RESULTS IN MOSCOW

VOLLEYBALL, JUNE 11, 2012: With Australia’s London-bound men’s indoor volleyballers in celebration mode over night in Tokyo the ball fell very much in the court of Australia’s leading beach volleyball teams to continue their Olympic journey at the FIVB World Tour Event in Moscow.

And that’s just what Louise Bawden and Becharra Palmer and Natalie Cook and Tamsin Hinchley did when they lined up against each other.
 
Both teams showed they are right on track for London 2012 after outstanding results which saw them face each other for a quarter-final spot.

The two teams met head-on in an all-Australian showdown and in a keenly fought match it was Bawden and Palmer who defeated four-time Olympian Cook and duel Olympian Hinchley 21-12 and 25-23.
 
Bawden, a member of the Australian indoor team with Hinchley in Sydney 2000 and Palmer then fell to two-time FIVB Moscow winners, defending champions and FIVB world ranked number one team from China Xue and Zhang 21-16 and 21-19.

The top eight finish for Bawden and Palmer, currently sitting precariously at 16th on the Olympic rankings, will see them move up the points ladder before the final pre-Olympic World Tour event in Rome next week.
 
“All things being equal the Adelaide-based AIS pairing are well positioned to take an automatic top 16 qualification,” said Volleyball Australia’s High Performance Manager Matt Sebbens
 
“That would provide Cook and Hinchley (ranked 23rd) the avenue of making the Olympics through the Continental Cup pathway, giving Australia two teams for London which would be a great result for us.,
 
“I’m sure the girls will be buoyed by the qualification of our men’s indoor team for London over night in Tokyo and it will be a long weekend Volleyball Australia can certainly be proud of.”
 
The beach teams will now prepare for the FIVB World Tour event in Rome (June 12-17) while the men’s indoor team will arrive back into Australia overnight before assembling at the AIS in Canberra on Sunday for a training camp before a pre-Games tour to the USA and Europe.

Issued on behalf of Volleyball Australia by: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.