Eleven teams successfully completed the first day of the Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) U18 Beach Volleyball Championships without any losses, each achieving two victories. This tournament, hosted by the Latvian Volleyball Federation in Cēsis, also serves as the initial zonal qualification stage for this year’s #EuroBeachVolleyU18.
In the men’s event, the top-seeded home team of Tomass Silavs and Bruno Liepiņš secured two wins in Pool A. In Pool B, Estonia’s Armin Kender and Patrik Parijõgi (seeded #2) also claimed both of their matches, including a walkover against a Latvian duo. Polish players Igor Gliszczyński and Alan Robak (#7) achieved the same result in that pool. In Pool C, the Azerbaijani pair Ibrahim Mammadov and Muhammad Aslanli (#3), along with Ukrainians Yehor Skrypnychenko and Andrii Lunkan (#6), remained unbeaten. In Pool D, the Lithuanian team of Tomas Poplavskij and Danielius Sumeika (#4) earned two victories.
Among the women, the top-seeded home players Monika Mamaja and Alise Aleksāne won both their Pool A matches, defeating Azerbaijan in straight sets and then overcoming the Estonian duo Marta-Mia Ploomipuu and Hannemai Hanimägi (#2) in three sets (25-27, 21-13, 15-4). Lithuanian duo Meja Gurciutė and Beatrice Michalkevičiūtė (#6) also finished the day undefeated, handing the only loss to another Latvian pair. Ukrainians Kateryna Nitsenko and Viktoriia Kachyoni also recorded two wins.
The second day of competition will feature the final matches of the group stage and the first two rounds of the elimination phase. Teams winning their groups will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while those finishing in second and third place in their pools will compete in the first round of the playoffs.
Teams from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine are competing for medals and a place in the final round of the U18 European Beach Volleyball Championships. The top two teams in each gender will secure their qualification for the event scheduled for September 11 to 15 in Corigliano Rossano, Italy.
Additionally, Cēsis will host the EEVZA U16 Championships on July 3-4, featuring 16 teams in each gender.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood