Toronto, Canada, September 15, 2016 - Switzerland's Joana Heidrich and Nadine Zumkehr posted their second win of the SWATCH FIVB World Tour Finals to capture Pool B by upsetting reigning Olympic champions Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst of Germany in a three-set match here Thursday on Polson Pier.
With their 2-1 (10-21, 21-16, 15-8) win in 45 minutes over Ludwig and Walkenhorst, Heidrich and Zumkehr defeated the Germans for the second-time in three FIVB World Tour matches between the two teams. The victory also earned the Swiss a "bye" into the quarter-finals for Friday's two rounds of elimination play.
Laura Ludwig - “It definitely was not our day, two losses in the same day. Now we need to get all our energy back and start fresh tomorrow. We have to accept that we are a little tired and not playing on the level we were in Rio. We saw in the first sets of both matches we can play really well but we get a little tired in the second and third so we want to do this better tomorrow.”
Nadine Zumkehr - “We know it’s our last tournament together and we tried to really have fun out there, and I think that also makes us dangerous. In the first set, for example, I played really bad. But I think we stayed calm and waited for our chance and that makes us strong. It’s a very emotional time for me, the Swiss Championships and now this tournament. I’m happy we made it right to the quarterfinals. In my whole career I played my best when I really enjoyed being on the court so that is what I am trying to do.“
Joana Heidrich - “This is a really good day. We are really happy. They are a really good team, the Olympic champions, so I feel really good.”
“We started really well. They played better in the second and third sets and we didn’t play as well, so I am happy that we bounced back."