Volleyball a big attraction at sports festival
The Flying Fish Beach Volleyball tournament which was presented as part of the Tshwane 10s festival, produced dazzling action.
The seasoned pairing of Colin Pocock and Casey Augoustides edged past two-time champions, Leo Williams and Grant Goldschmidt to claim title at this year’s third Flying Fish Beach Volleyball tournament on Saturday.
The competition was hosted at the inaugural Tshwane 10s event held at the Harlequins Rugby Club this weekend. In the women division it was South Africa’s top seeded pairing of Dieke Hessels and Lianne Vink who outsmarted the experienced duo of Kirsten Pocock and Vita Nel, to walk away with their first tournament victory this series.
The tournament saw 16 male and female teams compete over two days with the quarter-final matches taking place on Saturday. Thousands of spectators flocked to the Groenkloof-based rugby sports grounds as the Flying Fish Beach Volleyball tournament formed part of the exciting sporting festival.
Colin Pocock and Augoustides had to navigate past the formidable team of Jaimane Naidoo and Clinton Stemmet in their semi-final match while Williams and Goldschmidt were made hard to work for their spot in the final against Andile Masinga and Freedom Chiya. Despite a spirited effort from the University of the Western Cape team of Bejanke Della and Christin Delcarme in the ladies semi-final, the Dutch-born pair of Hessels and Vink secured a hard fought victory. Nel and Kirsten Pocock leaped into the final following their semi-final victory against Natasha Webber and Claire Botha.
Hessels and Vink won the final comfortably in the end by 2-0 but in the men’s final it was not all smooth sailing for Colin Pocock and Augoustides. Back-to-back tournament winners, Williams and Goldschmidt pushed hard and despite not claiming the gold gave the spectators value for their money. The match had to be decided by a third and final set, with Cape Town-based Williams and Goldschmidt falling agonisingly short, 15-12 in the end.
* Dodgeball, a game that is not well known in South Africa, has attracted much attention at the festival. (See video)
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