Swakopmund takes over Zone Six fourth leg
The fourth leg of the fifth Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) Zone Six Beach Volleyball Tour returns to Namibia when Swakopmund hosts the regional circuit from tomorrow until Saturday.
Home hopes are expected to rest heavily on brothers Max and Jura Krafft, who won bronze at the opening leg before finishing fourth at the third stop in Maputo in May.
Their team manager and father Martin Krafft confirmed to Sport Wrap yesterday that the pair spent last weekend training in Cape Town, South Africa, in preparation for the Swakopmund leg.
The reigning African U21 champions return to regional competition after completing their biggest senior tour to date.
They competed in three consecutive Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures events in Turkey, Poland and Belgium between June and July.
Krafft brothers now second in Africa
The brothers recorded two match victories during the tour and collected 500 FIVB world-ranking points, taking their total to 1 568 and moving them to second among Africa’s senior men’s pairs.
The European campaign provided them with further exposure against internationally ranked opposition before their return to the regional circuit on home sand.
The Zone Six Tour began in Windhoek in February, where the Krafft brothers secured Namibia’s only medal after winning the men’s third-place playoff in straight sets.
Harris Lameesh and Albertina Matthew were the country’s leading women’s pair at the opening leg, finishing fifth.
The second leg was held at Costa do Sol Beach in Maputo in March, with Namibia represented only in the women’s section.
Matthew and Lameesh returned for the stop alongside Namibia’s second pair of Piroscha Lück and Nadia Böhm, who reached the quarter-finals.
Third-leg campaign
At the third leg in Maputo in May, Namibia fielded four pairs. The Krafft brothers were joined in the men’s section by Daniel Seidler and Otto Nahambo, who progressed from the pool stage to the knockout round.
In the women’s division, Meriam Mendos and Maggie Heita competed alongside Maike van Doorn and Carmen Curschmann. Both pairs advanced from the pool stage, with Van Doorn and Curschmann reaching the quarter-finals.
The Namibia Volleyball Federation (NVF) confirmed that all nine other Zone Six member countries are expected to compete in Swakopmund, with the final attendance list to be confirmed at today’s technical meeting.
NVF president Tobias Mwatelulo welcomed the country’s second opportunity to host the tour this year.
“Hosting international events means that you are also going international. It means that your players get to be exposed on the international stage at less cost for them to participate,” he said.
Mwatelulo added that, besides reducing the cost of international exposure for the host country’s teams, the tournament would strengthen Namibia’s reputation as a country capable of staging international events.
