Lausanne, Switzerland, January 1, 2019 – Madelein Meppelink and Sanne Keizer will lead the host nation’s hopes when the 4-Star DELA Beach Open takes place in The Hague from January 2-6 to mark the start of the 2019 side of the 2018-19 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
Meppelink and Keizer are one of 10 teams from the Netherlands and have been seeded second behind 2018 gold medallists April Ross and Alix Klineman of the USA for the tournament that will be played at the Sportcampus Zuiderpark.
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The Dutch pair played their first World Tour tournament together at the 2018 DELA Beach Open where they reached the knockout rounds. It was Keizer’s first tournament in nearly four years after she had taken time off to become a mother.
Meppelink and Keizer didn’t take long to finish on a World Tour podium when, after five months together, they won silver at the Mersin 3-Star in Turkey. By the end of the year they added a bronze from the Vienna 5-Star, gold from the CEV European Championships and qualified for the season-ending Hamburg 2018 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals.
In the men’s section Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen will lead the way for the Dutch teams and have been seeded fourth.
At the 2018 DELA Beach Open, the Mazury 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships gold medallists were the only Dutch team to finish on the podium when they won bronze. In March they then claimed gold at the Doha 4-Star and Aalsmeer 1-Star.
They were unable to add to their World Tour medal collection before the end of season, but they did reach the semifinals of two competitions and the quarterfinals of three more and qualified for the World Tour Finals.
For all the information on the teams that will be competing at the 4-Star DELA Beach Open, click here.