Scotland Make an Impact as Beach Volleyball Makes Games Debut
Team Scotland’s Beach Volleyball Pairs secured their place in history on the Gold Coast earlier today, with both the men and women winning their opening matches as the sport made its Commonwealth Games debut.
The men’s Pair of Robin Miedzybrodzki and Seain Cook were first up against Sri Lanka, a largely unknown outfit who put up a fight right to the end, but it was the Scottish duo who were victorious, winning 2-1 (21-15, 18-21, 16-14).
Delighted with the result Cook said: “I’m very happy to win. It was a tough slog. After the first set we thought we would be cruising, but they came back and the third set was an absolute fight.”
The women’s pair of Lynne Beattie and Melissa Coutts were up next against Grenada in an equally action-packed match, however in the end they ran out 2-0 (21-8, 21-11) winners in just 28 minutes.
“We stuck to our game plan. We wanted to put them under pressure with our serve and we also wanted to enjoy the moment,” said Beattie, who was inspired by the electric atmosphere inside the 4,000-seat venue on Coolangatta’s stunning beachfront.
“It’s absolutely amazing. You can prepare for anything you’d like, but nothing compares to coming out in front of such a great crowd, and we had great Scottish support that made it even better.”
The significance of these matches as part of the first ever Commonwealth Games Beach Volleyball competition was summed up by Robin Miedzybrodzki, who added: “It’s great to have Beach Volleyball in the Commonwealth Games and to be able to pull on a Team Scotland jersey.”
Team Scotland’s Beach Volleyball players will be back in action again tomorrow evening with the Women’s Pair looking to turn the tables on Cyprus, who beat them in the European group qualifiers, forcing them to wait for a wild card. The men face Sierra Leone. Those matches take place at 19:30hrs (10:30hrs UK time) and 21:30hrs (12:30hrs UK time) respectively.
Day 2 Roundup
Team Scotland’s Beach Volleyball Pair, Robin Miedzybrodzki and Seain Cook, booked their place in the quarter-finals tonight with a hard fought 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-13) win over Sierra Leone. Of the result Miedzybrodski said: “We fought and fought and fought. I’m really proud of that victory. Those are the ones that count.”
Meanwhile, Team Scotland’s Women’s Pair Lynne Beattie and Melissa Coutts suffered a tough 2-0 (8-21, 16-21) defeat at the hands of Cyprus, Beattie commenting: “We made far too many errors. We made it really easy for them, so we’re really disappointed.”
Coutts and Beattie are back in action tomorrow, taking on hosts Australia at 21:30hrs (12:30hrs UK time), while the men play on Monday against Canada at 12:30 (03:30 UK time).
Day 3 Roundup
Team Scotland’s Beach Volleyball Pair, Robin Miedzybrodzki and Seain Cook, booked their place in the quarter-finals tonight with a hard fought 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-13) win over Sierra Leone. Of the result Miedzybrodski said: “We fought and fought and fought. I’m really proud of that victory. Those are the ones that count.”
Meanwhile, Team Scotland’s Women’s Pair Lynne Beattie and Melissa Coutts suffered a tough 2-0 (8-21, 16-21) defeat at the hands of Cyprus, Beattie commenting: “We made far too many errors. We made it really easy for them, so we’re really disappointed.”
Coutts and Beattie are back in action tomorrow, taking on hosts Australia at 21:30hrs (12:30hrs UK time), while the men play on Monday against Canada at 12:30 (03:30 UK time).
Day 4 Roundup
Lynne Beattie and Melissa Coutts faced a strong Australia pair in the final preliminary pool match. The Scots pair made their opponents fight for every point, but eventually lost the match 2-0. They still have a chance of making the quarter finals; but must wait for results to go their way in the final pool matches tomorrow.
Day 5 Roundup
Scotland’s Men’s Pair Seain Cook and Robin Miedzybrodzki faced Canada in the final pool game at Coolingata Beach. The match ended 2-0 to the Canadians, but the Scots pair had already done enough to qualify for the quarter-finals. They’ll face England tomorrow at 12:00hrs (00:00 UK time) for a place in the semis. The women’s team are also through to the semi-finals and will play Canada in the evening session at 21:30hrs (12:30hrs UK time).
Day 6 Roundup
Team Scotland’s Beach Volleyball Men’s and Women’s Pairs were in quarter-final action today against England and Canada respectively.
Despite a spirited fightback in the second set, Robin Miedzybrodzki and Seain Cook lost 0-2 to England, ending their Commonwealth Games campaign on the Gold Coast. Speaking of the result, Robin said “We’re pretty disappointed not to hang on to that second set and push it to a third. We’re very happy with our overall performance in the tournament and to finish fifth, but we would have liked to have got into the semi -final to push for a medal.
“It’s been an amazing journey with Seain and I can’t thank him enough for everything he’s put in to it and all the coaches and supporters back home.”
Lynne Beattie and Melissa Coutts took on Canada this evening, but the world number one pair proved too much, despite a passionate effort from the Scottish pair who lost 0-2.
“Canada are the number one team in the world. We knew how tough it would be,” said Coutts.
Beattie added “We had a tough draw but we were delighted to have made the quarter-final.”
