Teams from Vanuatu and Australia, supported by FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, claimed the beach volleyball titles at the Pacific Mini Games. In the women`s competition, Majabelle Lawac and Sherysyn Toko of Vanuatu won the gold medal. For the men, Finley Bennett and Jed Walker from Australia secured first place.
The women`s silver medal went to fellow Australians Jasmine Rayner and Kayla Mears. Austia Mendiola and Kristen Serrano of Guam finished third, taking the bronze. In the men`s event, Logan Jon Mister and Andrew Scott Johnson from the Northern Mariana Islands took silver, while Sakiusa Naivana Vaka and Wilisoni Loga representing Fiji earned the bronze.
In the traditional volleyball tournament, American Samoa, Tahiti, and Wallis & Futuna were the top three teams in the women`s event. Wallis & Futuna also won the men`s volleyball gold. Papua New Guinea claimed silver, and Tahiti secured the bronze.
The Vanuatu Amateur Volleyball Federation`s beach volleyball program has received significant funding from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, including USD 430,500 for coach support, USD 6,000 for a national team coach development program, and USD 40,000 for equipment. Vanuatu`s teams have benefited from the coaching expertise of Robert Francis from the United Kingdom.
Volleyball Australia`s beach volleyball section has also received substantial support from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, totaling USD 378,000 for coaching national beach teams. The Australian women`s beach volleyball pairs have worked with a coaching staff including Switzerland`s Michael Suter and Australian Olympian/World Championship medalist Joshua Slack. Brad Tutton, Max Roiuk, and Joey Yigit have coached the men`s pairs.
At the Pacific Mini Games in Palau, the second-seeded Vanuatu pair of Majabelle Lawac and Sherysyn Toko won the women`s beach volleyball gold, dominant throughout the tournament by winning all four matches without losing a set. They defeated Austia Mendiola and Kristen Serrano of Guam 2-0 (21-14, 21-14) in the semifinals. In the final, Lawac and Toko secured the title with a hard-fought 2-0 (22-20, 21-18) victory against the third-seeded Australian duo, Jasmine Rayner and Kayla Mears.
This was the only loss for Rayner and Mears in Palau. Rayner and Mears reached the final after a perfect streak of four straight-set wins, including a 2-0 (21-13, 21-11) semifinal victory over Gladys Pressence and Tekela Fiafialoto of Wallis & Futuna. Mendiola and Serrano won the bronze medal match, defeating Pressence and Fiafialoto 2-0 (21-14, 21-16).
Australia’s Finley Bennett and Jed Walker also had a dominant run in the men’s beach volleyball tournament, winning all their matches without dropping a set. The second seeds recorded six consecutive straight-set victories, culminating in a 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) win for the gold medal against Logan Jon Mister and Andrew Scott Johnson from the Northern Mariana Islands.
In the semifinals, the Australians defeated Sakiusa Naivana Vaka and Wilisoni Loga of Fiji 2-0 (21-10, 21-11). Mister and Johnson reached the final after a close 2-1 (21-18, 19-21, 15-13) semifinal victory over Hevanoa Vaki and Rautini Cary of Tahiti. Vaka and Loga recovered from their semifinal loss to win the bronze medal match, defeating Vaki and Cary 2-0 (21-12, 21-19).
In the men`s traditional volleyball tournament, Wallis & Futuna were undefeated, winning the Pacific Mini Games gold medal with six consecutive 3-0 victories. They secured their place in the final by beating Micronesia 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-21) in the semifinals. In the gold medal match, they triumphed over Papua New Guinea 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-23).
Papua New Guinea reached the final with a 3-1 comeback win (18-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-21) against Tahiti in their semifinal. Tahiti went on to win the bronze medal, defeating Micronesia 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-14) in the third-place match.
The American Samoa women`s volleyball team began their tournament with a five-set loss to Fiji but responded strongly with five consecutive straight-set victories to reach the final. Their final match was another five-setter, where they emerged victorious with a thrilling 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 25-16, 20-25, 15-13) win against Tahiti, who took the silver medal.
Wallis & Futuna secured the bronze medal by defeating Fiji 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-20) in the third-place playoff.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood