Windhoek
The Namibian beach volleyball ladies team qualified for the 3rd round of the CAVB Continental Cup Olympic qualifier after finishing 3rd out of four participating nations in Group C, with hosts Egypt claiming top position.
In a tough opening match against the host nation, the combination of Namibia’s No. 1 team Kim Seeebach and Julia Laggner were a bit unlucky to lose both their matches in a 3-set tiebreak.
Rosi Hennes and Stephanie Palmhert teamed up for the 2nd team but also lost 2-0 to Egypt, thus giving the hosts a 4-0 victory in the country vs country division.
Next opponents were the Rwandan teams, who finished 3rd at the recently concluded All African Multi Sports Games in Congo Brazzaville.
The Namibian pair of Seebach and Laggner beat the Rwandan second strings 2-0, but lost against their No. 1 team, while the Hennes and Palmhert combination also lost both matches in straight sets, giving Rwanda a 3-1 victory.
The last match saw Angola’s second team facing the Namibian ladies and after a 2-0 win by Seebach and Laggner, the Namibians lost 1-2 against the Angolan No. 1 team, while Hennes/Palmhert also lost their clash against Angola’s top team.
The final match between the No. 2 teams was a real thriller with Hennes/Palmhert claiming the 3rd set tiebreak giving Namibia a deserved equalizer (2-2) – forcing a golden set to decide the result for the bronze medal encounter.
Only one set up to 15 points is played in this golden set and both teams resolved to field their No. 1 teams.
The combination of Seebach and Laggner showed determination and used their experience to finish the particular set 15-13 to give Namibia their first victory over Angola in beach volleyball.
The top 3 countries from each of the four groups (12 teams) qualify for the next round, which is the semifinals to be played beginning of 2016. Only one team in each gender group from Africa will qualify for the Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.