GOLDEN GIRLS: Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho win gold at the Espinho four-star stop on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
GOLDEN GIRLS: Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho win gold at the Espinho four-star stop on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. Contributed

Clancy picks up world tour honour

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Taliqua Clancy and her team mate Mariafe Artacho del Solar have been recognised for their stellar season on the world tour each picking up FIVB end of season awards.

Clancy picked up the best server award while Artacho del Solar was named as the most improved player on the world tour.

It is the first time an Australian women's player has received a world tour award since Louise Bawden, Clancy's 2016 Rio Olympics team mate, took home the top rookie award in 2009.

Along with their four FIVB World Tour gold medals, the team was able to finish their first season together with a 77 per cent win ratio and with the most titles won by any Australian beach volleyball team with four world tour and two Asian tour titles.

The team will now switch their focus to on qualifying for Tokyo 2020.

"We are heading to Hawaii for a training camp in preparation for the Asian Championships later this month, before we compete in a world tour event in China next month,” Artacho del Solar told the AOC.

"The Olympic qualification process started on the first of September, so every event counts towards getting us to Tokyo 2020. It's a very exciting time.”

The 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medallists are quickly proving themselves to be a winning combination.

"Taliqua and I played a Junior World Championships event back in 2012 where we won bronze, but it wasn't until October last year that we re-joined forces,” Artacho del Solar said.

"From the beginning, we had a natural connection. The trust and belief we have in each other is so strong, which makes it much easier to just focus on playing. We're both on the same page, competitive and always want to win.”

The duo have been arguably one of the most successful Aussie teams this year.

"It's definitely very exciting to see where we can continue to take our game. We want to keep growing and developing as a team,” Artacho del Solar said.

South Burnett

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