Lili Maestrini (left) and Camillinha Saldanha were too good for the Kiwis in the final. Photo / Dean Purcell
It was one from two for the Kiwis at the New Zealand Open beach volleyball champs at Stanley St in Auckland yesterday with the men dominating to prove Olympic potential and the women falling in the final to the unbeaten Brazilians.
Camillinha Saldanha and Lili Maestrini have not
lost a set on the summer volleyball tour and after eliminating the United States 2-0 in the semifinals yesterday they dealt to Anna Scarlett and Susan Blundell 22-20 and 21-16.
The Kiwi women saw off Australia to make the final and proved themselves competitive against the Brazilians, but need more experience on the world tour, says Volleyball NZ development manager Richard Casutt.
Their Olympic aim is at London in 2012 rather than Beijing in August. "They are physically as good as anyone and what they need is time playing at the top level," Casutt said.
The men are on track to earn one of 22 spots at Beijing. Kirk Pitman and Jason Lochhead beat the Netherlands two-one in the semifinals yesterday then went on to take the title 22-20 and 21-19 over the US, who had downed the second-ranked New Zealand team of Russell Watson and Greg Lindsay-Brown in the other semi.
Casutt rates the men a real chance for Olympic qualification. They are ranked 27th in the world and have until July 20 to move inside the world top-22 that is the Olympic cut-off and then must gain selection from the NZ Olympic Committee.
"They have beaten top-10 teams and they performed well at the world championships. All they need is three top-10 finishes between now and July."
