Olympic Games within reach

ÖVV women win Nations Cup tournament in Lithuania

Katharina Schützenhöfer and Lena Plesiutschnig(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Austria's elite women's beach volleyball team won the Nations Cup tournament in Vilnius/Lithuania in impressive fashion and have advanced to the final phase of the competition in their quest for an Olympic ticket. 

On Sunday, they beat Slovenia 2:0 without losing a set, after losing 2:1 to the Slovenians in the opening match on Friday. But this was followed by victories against Romania, top seed Lithuania and now against the neighboring country.

Katharina Schützenhöfer/Lena Plesiutschnig remained undefeated throughout the tournament, shining in the decider with a 2:0 (13,12) win against Maja Marolt/Ziva Javornik. Dorina and Ronja Klinger finally sealed the deal with a 2:0 (11,15) win against Tjasa Kotnik/Tajda Lovsin. Their participation in the final tournament from June 13 to 16 in Jurmala, Latvia, is now secured.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Of the 24 spots per gender for the Olympic tournament, 17 will be awarded via the world rankings, one each to the host country France and the World Championship winners and five via the Continental or Nations Cup - one for Europe, in Jurmala. A maximum of two teams per nation are eligible to take part in the men's and women's Olympics. Austria's men already qualified for Jurmala last year by winning the tournament.