Anna and Jess played well against the Waikato pairing of Robertson / McAdam and beat them convincingly, 21-13, 21-19 at Matarangi yesterday. The second rubber was close but they pulled off the win well.

They then drew top seeds, the Brazilian pairing of Maestrini / Saldanha. Not surprisingly they lost this match 21-10, 21-11. However it was fantastic experience for them to be playing the top seeds and all eyes would have been on the girls in their BioPaints gear.

They then went down again against the Palmerston North pairing of Walsh / Gair 21-14, 21-16.

Now to watch the finals and learn some things before heading to round two of the National Tour at Ohope - January 5/6, 2008.

The Tour kicks off today (2nd January 2008) with the opening event in Matarangi.

The Volleyball NZ Website has an article listing the strong pairings they believe will be hard to beat in both the mens and womens events. Brazilians Camilla Saldanha & Lili Maestrini look to be the team to beat in the womens matches, with Anna Scarlett & Susan Blundell as the top New Zealand pair.

The action starts today with the initial rounds. The semi-finals for the tournament start at 10am on Thursday, 3 January, with the woman’s final scheduled to start at 2pm, and the men’s final at 3pm.

Let's hope Anna and Jess's names are on everybody's lips by the end of the event!

In the women's event, the Blue Chip Nelson pairing of Baldwin and McCulloch were taken to three sets by the Bio Paints duo of Anna Chamberlain and Jess Harris before clinching the title.
For the rest of the story go to the Nelson Mail

There is also a full write up that can be downloaded from the NZ Beach volleyball website.

The NZ Pro Beach Volleyball Tour slams into action early in 2008 on some of New Zealand’s hottest beaches.

New Zealand’s best and brightest rising starts will feature in the Pro Tour. Top international players will also be appearing ensuring tight scoring and dramatic action.

Beach volleyball has been played in New Zealand for a little over a decade at the professional level and the Pro Tour has seen beach volleyball become firmly established on the summer sporting calendar. A true spectator sport, with spectators and media right up close to the action, provides for a lively, unforgettable outing. There are lots of photos on the Volleyball NZ website showing how close the crowd is to the action.

Jethro Consultants has designed and built a new website for Anna as part of their sponsorship. As its still under construction at the moment things may be changed around a bit - come back regularly or subscribe to the RSS feed for all site updates.