The women's team of the host nation Austria met Germany in the semifinals on the fourth match day. On the Austrian side, Dorina and Ronja Klinger started as the second seeded team in the first match. The sibling duo already enjoyed their first ever World Tour title in 2022. On court at the Red Bull Beach Arena, they awaited 34-year-old Julia Sude and 33-year-old Karla Borger of Germany, who just a few weeks ago secured fifth place at the Elite 16 in Gstaad.
The Austrian sibling duo did not start the first set of the first match as they wanted. The German team Borger/Sude already took the lead at the beginning and won one point after the other. Austria was able to catch up with the support of the numerous audience, but played partly unclean and showed themselves error-prone. The Klinger siblings showed fighting spirit and the will to win, but Germany was ultimately the better team and secured the first set with a lead of eight points (21:13).
The second set was similar as well. The Austrian sibling duo fought for every point in front of the home crowd. However, Julia Sude and Karla Borger from Germany showed extraordinary strength and managed to beat the host nation 21:12 in the second set. Germany thus won the first match 2:0.
In the second match, the top-seeded teams of the two nations now met. Katharina Schützenhöfer and Lena Plesiutschnig played on the side of the host nation. The two 28-year-olds are the 2021 national champions and have been part of Austria's elite in this sport for years. On the opposing side this time were the winners of the FIVB Elite 16 Ostrava 2022 as well as the World Championship bronze medalists in the same year - 31-year-old Cinja Tillmann and 21-year-old Svenja Müller.
Already in the first set, the two elite duos offered the thousands in attendance a breathtaking match, characterized by long rallies. The atmosphere in the Red Bull Beach Arena was incredible. Point by point, the crowd pushed the home team forward. There were numerous lead changes. From the Austrian point of view, however, the first set did not end as desired. The German duo gained the upper hand and thus secured the first set narrowly with 24:22.
In the second set, however, the tide turned. The Austrians showed the will to win and were able to prevail against the German team, which seemed partly unfocused, with 21:17. Thus, a third set with 15 points was played. Also in this set both teams showed extraordinary strength. It was a duel at eye level. For both nations it was about the entry into the final. Despite an impressive performance of the two Austrians Plesiutschnig/Schützenhöfer, the decisive third set went to the opposing duo with 16:14. Germany thus won the second match 2:1.
The Nations Score of the host nation is therefore 0:2.
While Germany will fight for the gold medal on Saturday (4:30 p.m.), the Austrian team will play their match for the third place also on Saturday (1 p.m.).
