While many good reasons have been given, I didn't see anyone mention the advantage in maneuvering/bank angle with additional speed. simply put , a few extra knots means you are a bit safer if you have to maneuver.
I completely agree with that and bubbers comment. There was a fancy way of saying this, which I forget, but it essentially goes like this: if you're low on altitude, you better have some airspeed - and if you're low on airspeed, you better have some altitude.
When you're low to the ground in these VEF/V1/V2 conditions being discussed here - you better have some airspeed!!