Nanjing, China, July 14, 2017 – Zoé Vergé-Dépré from Switzerland is younger sister of successful beach volleyball player Anouk Vergé-Dépré and along with her partner Esmée Böbner are through to the final 16 at the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships.
Quick links - Beach volleyball:Nanjing U21 - WebsiteNanjing U21 - Women's TeamsNanjing U21 - Men's TeamsFIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 20172017 FIVB World Championships - Beach Volleyball2017 FIVB World Championships - Beach Volleyball qualificationRio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games - Beach VolleyballFIVB.com - Beach VolleyballLatest VideosFacebookTwitterInstagramMedia GuidesNineteen-year-old Zoé Vergé-Dépré and 18-year-old Böbner had some high quality preparation for the U21 World Championships in Nanjing. The pair was at the Gstaad Major FIVB World Tour five star event at the beginning of July to train and support Anouk who finished in the final four with teammate Joana Heidrich. Heidrich/Vergé-Dépré A. currently rank number 11 in the world.
“We were in Gstaad Major, not playing but practicing and watching the other teams. We’ve been practicing all year together, but it’s our first year as a team. We’ve had some sparring partners and tried to play side-out at a high level,” said Vergé-Dépré.
The pair met Spain’s Maria Belen Carro Marquez de Acuna and Tania Moreno Matveeva in their first knock-out match in Nanjing, defeating the Spanish team in a close fought match, 2-1 (24-22, 19-21, 15-9).
Switzerland's Zoé Vergé-Dépré (right) and Esmée Böbner up against Spain's María Belén Carro Márquez de Acuña (green) “We started really badly in this tournament so we’re trying to get better with every match and now it’s cool that we could show it, so we’re happy,” said Vergé-Dépré.
“We won the first set, but it was very tight and we didn’t play very consistently, but we always had some point advantage so we could take them in the end. The third set was very clear, so we were a little bit safe in our mind,” said Böbner.
“We were aiming for ninth place before we came here, so now we have achieved we want to get more, but let’s see,” said Vergé-Dépré.
Switzerland's Zoé Vergé-Dépré (right) and Esmée Böbner The Swiss team now face reigning champions Brazil’s Eduarda Santos Lisboa and Ana Patricia Silva Ramos in the round of 16.
“We’re not so happy about our next opponent, but we will see. We’ll give it everything and see what’s the result,” said Vergé-Dépré.
Coming from a volleyball family, Vergé-Dépré followed the same route as her sister preferring beach volleyball.
“All of my family are playing, but it was a clear choice of my own that I wanted to play beach volleyball. I also played indoor first, but I like beach volleyball better,” said Vergé-Dépré.
The Vergé-Dépré sisters competed once against each other and Zoé isn’t ruling out the possibility of playing together in the future.
“I imagined playing against my sister to be a bit special, but in the game it was like a normal opponent. It was just a bit funny to shake hands with her, but it was a cool experience and great that we can play against each other,” said Vergé-Dépré.
“We have trained together and we played once against each other in the Swiss championship. It was fun, but I don’t know if we will play together in the future. It would be cool, but I have to become a bit better,” said Vergé-Dépré.