National beach volleyball teams from Ukraine and France (women), and Austria and Denmark (men), all receiving support through the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program, have successfully qualified for the CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup Finals. They secured their spots by winning their respective pools in the European qualification rounds. Lithuania`s women`s and men`s teams also emerged victorious in their pools, earning their places in the Finals.
CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup – Women
The FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program has actively supported the Ukraine Volleyball Federation since 2022, providing substantial funding (totaling USD 670,000 so far) under an ongoing Memorandum of Understanding. The Ukrainian women`s national beach volleyball team dominated Pool C in Riga, Latvia, finishing at the top of the standings. They remained undefeated throughout the three-team round-robin tournament. Ukraine and host Latvia both swept their matches against Israel before facing each other in a decisive tie. In the first rubber, Valentyna Davidova & Anhelina Khmil of Ukraine defeated Latvia`s Liva Ebere & Paula Krieva in straight sets (2-0: 21-17, 21-16). Latvia had one last chance to turn the tide in the final rubber, but Anija Ozolina & Marta Ozolina were ultimately overcome by Maryna Hladun & Tetiana Lazarenko after a hard-fought three-set battle (2-1: 21-18, 17-21, 15-11), securing Ukraine`s triumph.
French beach volleyball has received significant coach support funding from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, totaling USD 1,077,000 to date, with their women`s national duos coached by Youssef Krou. The French Federation has also benefited from USD 5,500 in beach volleyball equipment. With four Paris 2024 Olympians in their ranks, France topped the final standings in women`s Pool D, held in Messina, Italy. Due to an injury to Reka Orsi Toth, hosts Italy withdrew from the competition after just one rubber, meaning only three of the six scheduled rubbers were played. The opening tie between France and Belgium proved decisive. Lezana Placette & Alexia Richard easily defeated Simone Vervloet & Lente Thant 2-0 (21-11, 21-12). Clemence Vieira & Aline Chamereau then mounted a comeback against Ines Piret & Youna Coens, winning 2-1 (19-21, 21-14, 15-7) to seal France`s qualification.
Women`s Pool B in Vilnius featured four teams. Hosts Lithuania and Finland defeated Norway and Croatia respectively in their initial ties before facing off directly for the remaining Finals spot. Finland`s Anniina Parkkinen & Valma Prihti took an early lead with a 2-1 comeback victory (13-21, 21-19, 15-11) against Ariana Rudkovskaja & Skalve Krizanauskaite. However, Lithuanian Paris Olympians Monika Paulikiene & Aine Raupelyte secured an epic 2-1 win (23-21, 26-28, 15-11) over Niina Ahtiainen & Taru Lahti-Liukkonen. This result was just enough for Lithuania to edge out Finland for first place in the pool based on point ratios.
CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup – Men
Austrian beach volleyball benefits from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment support, including USD 84,000 for coach support under Greek coach Georgios Kotsilianos, plus USD 6,000 for a national team coaches development program. In the three-team CEV Nations Cup Pool B tournament in Riga, both Austria and hosts Latvia defeated Israel before competing head-to-head for the top spot. The crucial encounter began with Julian Horl & Moritz Pristauz-Telsnigg securing a 2-1 victory (21-19, 21-23, 15-4) over Arturs Rinkevics & Ardis Bedritis, giving Austria the lead. Although Martins Plavins & Kristians Fokerots leveled the tie for Latvia with a 2-0 win (21-16, 25-23) against Timo Hammarberg & Tim Berger, this result was not enough to surpass Austria in the final standings, allowing Austria to claim first place.
Volleyball Denmark`s beach volleyball program has received USD 126,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national pairs, guided by German instructor Tobias Rex, plus USD 6,000 for equipment. In Pool E, all three ties among the three teams finished tied at 1-1 in rubbers. However, Denmark emerged victorious in the final standings based on the separate results, securing their spot in the Finals. Their first pair, Mads Mollgaard & Nicolai Hovmann, were instrumental, achieving a 2-0 win (21-17, 21-16) over Germany’s Jonas Sagstetter & Benedikt Sagstetter and a 2-0 victory (21-16, 21-18) over Italy’s Enrico Rossi & Marco Viscovich.
The Lithuanian men`s national team also capitalized on playing on home sand in Vilnius. In Pool D, they mirrored the women`s success by booking their ticket to Espinho. They defeated both Slovenia and Bulgaria in their initial two ties, as did Poland, making their final tie a de facto final for first place. Poland took the lead when Aleksander Czachorowski & Jakub Krzeminski beat Lithuania’s Artur Vasiljev & Robert Juchnevic 2-0 (21-17, 21-13). But Arnas Rumsevicius & Karolis Palubinskas then delighted the home crowd with a 2-0 victory (21-19, 21-17) over Szymon Beta & Szymon Pietraszek, securing the top spot for Lithuania.
The CEV Beach Volley Nations Cup Finals are scheduled to take place in Espinho, Portugal, from July 17 to 20. In the women`s tournament, hosts Portugal will compete alongside Estonia, France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, and Ukraine. The men`s competition will feature hosts Portugal, Austria, Denmark, France, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood