Volleyball: Families triumph in finals

The finals of both the men's and women's New Zealand Open beach volleyball titles yesterday were family affairs, with Bulgarian sisters and Swiss brothers easy winners.

Paul and Martin Laciga, ranked second in the world, were never troubled in disposing of Australians Lee Zahner and Julian Prosser 21-18, 21-20, 21-19 at Stanley St.

As promised, the brothers never spoke on court as they led all the way through the first two sets and came from behind halfway through the third to cruise home with a better set-up and delivery system than the world ninth-ranked Australians.

Then 30-year-old Paul packed to head home to ski while his younger brother planned a Kiwi holiday.

They start serious training for their assault on the world tour next month but, out of season, were not pushed by the in-season Australians.

San Diego-based Lina Yanchulova, 26, and sibling Petia, 23, knocked out the top-seeded Brazilians in the semifinals yesterday and went on to down Canadians Sarah Maxwell and Izabella Rudol 21-14, 14-21, 21-16.

The Bulgarians have never played their chosen game on the Black Sea beaches of their homeland.

But they have seen the world thanks to the sport and both they and fellow Sydney Olympians the Lacigas declared their liking for the converted tennis court, where 100 cu m of Helensville sand had been laid.