Toronto, Canada, September 16, 2016 - After dropping two pool play matches Thursday, Rio Olympic champions Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst of Germany rebounded here Friday afternoon at the SWATH FIVB World Tour Finals by eliminating Heather Bansley and Brandie Wilkerson of Canada 2-1 (21-17, 18-21, 15-10) in 49 minutes.
With the win, the Germans advance to a late Friday afternoon quarter-final match against Rio Olympic bronze medal winners April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings of the United States.
Laura Ludwig - "Winning is always motivation. It’s tough to say at the end of the season. Everybody’s a little tired, also a little tired in the head but we definitely want to play as a team and play strong expecially after that season we want to go out and show at least a little bit of what we can do. That’s just what we’re here for.
"It will definitely be a tough match. It’s always tough against Kerri and April but we have to serve tough and hopefully get them in a little bit of a struggle."
Kira Walkenhorst - “Going into the third set we knew we had just 15 points to play so we put everything into it. It’s been a long season but a really good one. Of course it’s really nice to win the gold medal in Rio, but we’ve had a lot of tough weeks and tough matches here.”
Brandie Wilkerson - “There is a natural tendency where if there is a higher standard you either rise to it or not, and the level of athletes here are world-class and I really want to be at that level. I have learned an even harder work ethic playing with, training with, and practicing with Heather (Bansley) so I am going to push myself this offseason and bringing out something new and better for next season. She is inspirational and brings a calmness and stability to the game, whether we are up or down. She keeps the energy pretty steady and that is vital for when you are playing such high pressure games.”
Heather Bansley - "They settled down a little bit better than we did. They were a little bit more consistent with their sideout."
"I was just here appreciating every match since Tuesday onward and happy to be a part of this tournament. I didn’t think about it too far in advance or during the tournament. I was just kind of enjoying every moment on the court with Brandie."
(will we see Heather and Brandie on the Tour next year?) "Yes, but whether we’ll be together I don’t know. That’s a decision we’re going to think about in the fall.
"I think Brandie played incredible all week. I have to give big credit to her for helping us qualify and keeping us in the tournament. I had no doubt she would perform as well as she can. She’s a great athlete and I think she made a name for herself this week and opened up the eyes of many other teams here. She showed what she’s capable of doing. I’m really excited tio see her keep going. She’s pretty young and has tons of potential. I’m really happy I had the opportunity to share the court with her and give this opportunity to play at this level."