The women`s national beach volleyball teams from Ukraine and France, along with the men`s teams from Austria and Denmark, all benefiting from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program, have earned their places in the CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup Finals in Espinho, Portugal, by winning their respective pools. The national teams of Lithuania also triumphed in their events.
Women`s Tournament
FIVB Volleyball Empowerment has supported the Ukraine Volleyball Federation since 2022 with funding totaling USD 670,000 for volleyball and beach volleyball activities. Their women`s beach volleyball team finished first in Pool C of the CEV Nations Cup, held in Riga, Latvia. They remained undefeated in the three-team round-robin, sweeping matches against both Israel and Latvia. In the decisive tie against the hosts, Valentyna Davidova and Anhelina Khmil secured a 2-0 victory over Latvia`s Liva Ebere and Paula Krieva. Although Anija Ozolina and Marta Ozolina pushed Maryna Hladun and Tetiana Lazarenko to three sets in the final rubber, the Ukrainians ultimately prevailed 2-1 (21-18, 17-21, 15-11) to claim victory in the pool.
The French beach volleyball program has received USD 1,077,000 in coach support from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, guided by Youssef Krou, plus USD 5,500 for equipment. With four Paris 2024 Olympians in their squad, France topped Pool D of the women`s CEV Nations Cup in Messina, Italy. Due to an injury to Reka Orsi Toth, hosts Italy had to withdraw after their first match, resulting in only three rubbers being played. The crucial tie was against Belgium. Lezana Placette and Alexia Richard won their match 2-0 (21-11, 21-12) against Simone Vervloet and Lente Thant. Clemence Vieira and Aline Chamereau then secured the pool victory for France by coming back from a set down to win 2-1 (19-21, 21-14, 15-7) against Ines Piret and Youna Coens.
In Pool B of the women`s competition, held in Vilnius with four participating teams, hosts Lithuania and Finland defeated Norway and Croatia to set up a direct contest for qualification. Finland`s Anniina Parkkinen and Valma Prihti initially took the lead for their team with a 2-1 comeback win against Ariana Rudkovskaja and Skalve Krizanauskaite. However, Lithuanian Paris Olympians Monika Paulikiene and Aine Raupelyte secured a dramatic 2-1 victory (23-21, 26-28, 15-11) over Niina Ahtiainen and Taru Lahti-Liukkonen, which was just enough for Lithuania to claim first place in the pool based on point ratios.
Men`s Tournament
Austria`s beach volleyball program has received USD 84,000 for coach support under Georgios Kotsilianos and USD 6,000 for a coach development program through FIVB Volleyball Empowerment. In the three-team Pool B tournament held in Riga, Austria and hosts Latvia both defeated Israel before competing head-to-head for the top spot. Julian Horl and Moritz Pristauz-Telsnigg put Austria ahead with a 2-1 victory (21-19, 21-23, 15-4) over Latvia`s Arturs Rinkevics and Ardis Bedritis. While Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots won their match against Timo Hammarberg and Tim Berger 2-0 (21-16, 25-23), this result was not sufficient for Latvia to overtake Austria in the final standings.
Volleyball Denmark`s beach volleyball has received USD 126,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment support for their national pairs, coached by Tobias Rex, along with USD 6,000 for equipment. In the three-team Pool E, all country ties finished tied 1-1 in rubbers won. However, based on individual match results, Denmark emerged victorious to qualify for the Finals. Mads Mollgaard and Nicolai Hovmann were crucial to this success, achieving 2-0 wins against both Germany`s Jonas Sagstetter and Benedikt Sagstetter (21-17, 21-16) and Italy`s Enrico Rossi and Marco Viscovich (21-16, 21-18).
The Lithuanian men`s national team also capitalized on playing at home in Vilnius, securing their ticket to the Finals in Espinho. In Pool D, they defeated both Slovenia and Bulgaria in their initial ties, as did Poland. The final tie between Lithuania and Poland therefore served as the de facto final for first place. Poland took the lead with Aleksander Czachorowski and Jakub Krzeminski`s 2-0 win over Lithuania`s Artur Vasiljev and Robert Juchnevic. However, Arnas Rumsevicius and Karolis Palubinskas delighted the home crowd with a 2-0 victory (21-19, 21-17) against Szymon Beta and Szymon Pietraszek, securing the top position in the pool for Lithuania.
The CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup Finals are scheduled to take place in Espinho, Portugal, from July 17 to 20. The women`s tournament will feature hosts Portugal, along with Estonia, France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, and Ukraine. The men`s competition will include Austria, Denmark, France, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain.
Oliver Wrenwick 
Finley Blackwood