Austrian teenagers Lia Berger and Lilli Hohenauer clinched the top spot in the women`s competition at the Leuven Futures event on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. Local Belgian favorites Youna Coens and Sarah Cools earned the silver, while the Dutch pair Lisa Luini and Desy Poiesz took home the bronze. In an all-Belgian men`s final, Louis Vandecaveye and Gilles Vandecaveye narrowly defeated Kyan Vercauteren and Joppe Van Langendonck, with Poland`s Piotr Kantor and Artem Besarab completing the men`s podium.
Seventeen-year-old Lia Berger and eighteen-year-old Lilli Hohenauer celebrated their inaugural Beach Pro Tour gold medal. Prior to this, only Berger had secured a Tour medal, a bronze at Balikesir Futures last year with a different partner. The reigning U18 European champions faced only one defeat in Leuven, in their pool final against the top-seeded Peruvian duo Lisbeth Allcca and Claudia Gaona. They then embarked on a four-game winning streak, culminating in a dominant 2-0 (21-17, 21-19) victory in the gold medal match against Belgium`s Youna Coens and Sarah Cools.
In the semifinals, the eighth-seeded Austrians delivered a convincing 2-0 (21-15, 21-15) win over another Belgian pair, Britt Ruysschaert and Isabel Van den Broeck. Fourth-seeded Coens and Cools secured their first podium finish as partners on the Beach Pro Tour by overcoming third-seeded Lisa Luini and Desy Poiesz with a 2-0 (21-15, 21-18) score.
The Dutch team recovered in the third-place playoff, defeating Ruysschaert and Van den Broeck 2-0 (21-15, 21-18), marking their third Beach Pro Tour medal.
Top-seeded Louis Vandecaveye and Gilles Vandecaveye lived up to their reputation, securing the men`s gold in Leuven. This marks their second consecutive victory, following their triumph at the Ios Futures, bringing their total Beach Pro Tour medal count to five. They thrilled the home crowd in Belgium with a flawless five-win run, which included a thrilling 2-1 (19-21, 21-16, 15-12) comeback win against their compatriots, the reigning U21 world champions Kyan Vercauteren and Joppe Van Langendonck, in the final showdown.
Third-seeded Vercauteren and Van Langendonck also reached the final undefeated. They fought back from a set down to achieve a 2-1 (19-21, 21-19, 15-11) semifinal victory over Polish qualifiers Piotr Kantor and Artem Besarab, guaranteeing themselves their third Beach Pro Tour podium appearance. In the other semifinal, the Vandecaveyes secured a close 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) win against the fourth-seeded Czech duo Adam Waber and Matyas Jezek.
Two-time Olympian Kantor and 19-year-old Besarab celebrated their first joint Beach Pro Tour participation with a bronze medal, prevailing 2-0 (21-17, 23-21) over Waber and Jezek in the third-place match.
The Leuven Futures tournament featured 27 women`s teams and 28 men`s teams, representing 24 countries from all five continental confederations. The next Futures events are scheduled for Tallinn, Estonia, from August 13 to 16, and Busan Gwangalli, South Korea, from August 14 to 17.
Jasper Thornfield