Beach volley duo qualify for tour

Hamilton beach volleyball duo Shauna Polley and Julia Tilley came within a set of upsetting one of the world's top pairings at the New Zealand Beach Volleyball Open Finals in Mount Maunganui.

They got off to a dream start in winning the opening set of the women's final against Vanuatu's Miller Elwin and Henriette Iatika, before getting rundown by an irrepressible performance in front of an impressive crowd.

With energy levels clearly wavering after a tough road through qualifying, Polley and Tilley fell short of pulling off a massive upset.

"We fought a hard battle to get there so we were pretty amped, but also tired after the first set," Tilley admitted after a quick dip in the Main Beach sea on a scorching afternoon.

"Initially it all went our way and we were firing, but it showed that we were a bit fatigued."

She paid tribute to her opposition, who barely blinked after dropping the first set.

"They are a great team with a top 10 finish at the world champs so they really showed it and we struggled to keep up a little bit.

"That girl, with those shots, was finding some good space. They were nice, dinky shots and I couldn't chase them down today.

"It's great to have the international teams coming over to our tour because in New Zealand you are basically playing the same teams all the time.

"You have to learn a new game and step it up, and we really need that international exposure on the world stage."

Based at the Mount during the summer peak season, Tilley and Polley will now return to full-time work in Hamilton while chasing sponsorship dollars.

As overall women's winners of the New Zealand tour, they have qualified for the Asian tour beginning in April.

"We are trying to foster up some money while working full-time; if we can pick up some deals we might try to go across to China and have a shot at the world tour."

New Zealand Beach Volleyball Open Finals women's final: Elwin/Iatika beat Polley/Tilley (18-21, 21-12, 15-8)