Teams from the Netherlands, Czechia, and Austria, benefiting from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment support, recently achieved significant success at zonal beach volleyball events in Europe. Concurrently, the SAVA U21 Beach Volleyball Championships took place in Asia.
WEVZA Zonal Tour Women’s Event in Benidorm (Spain)
At the women`s WEVZA Zonal Tour stop in Benidorm, Spain, two Dutch pairs reached the podium. Nigella Negenman and Esmee Radstake captured the gold medal, while Eline Peeters and Anique Tavenier secured the bronze. Spanish duo Nazaret Florian and Adriana Serrano won the silver medal.
The Netherlands Volleyball Federation (NEVOBO) has received substantial support from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, totaling USD 217,600 for national beach volleyball coach support. Their women`s teams train under the guidance of Cypriot coach Antreas Savvidis and his staff.
Negenman and Radstake, seeded third, dominated the Benidorm tournament, winning all five of their matches without dropping a single set. This included a 2-0 (21-9, 21-17) victory over their seventh-seeded Dutch teammates Peeters and Tavenier in the semifinals. In the other semifinal, top seeds Florian and Serrano defeated another Dutch pair, Benthe Essink and Lieke Gijsen, 2-0 (21-18, 21-15).
The gold medal match saw Negenman and Radstake complete their perfect run with a 2-0 (21-19, 21-12) win against Florian and Serrano. The all-Dutch bronze medal match was won by Peeters and Tavenier, who defeated Essink and Gijsen 2-0 (21-17, 21-12).
The tournament featured 18 women’s pairs from Spain, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
MEVZA Zonal Tour Event in Bibinje (Croatia)
Czech and Austrian teams also earned medals at the MEVZA Zonal Tour event in Bibinje, Croatia. In the women`s competition, Czechia`s Justyna Frommova and Jaroslava Marcelova claimed silver, and Michaela Kubickova and Tereza Pluharova took bronze. For the men, Austria`s Felix Friedl and Florian Schnetzer secured silver, while Michael Mario Klemen and Philipp Sponer won bronze. The top spots went to Slovenia’s Tjasa Kotnik and Maja Marolt (women`s gold) and Czechia’s Tomas Semerad and Adam Miroslav Stocek (men`s gold).
The Czech Volleyball Federation has received USD 168,000 from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment for women’s beach volleyball coach support, plus an additional USD 24,000 for coach development knowledge transfer programs. The women`s teams are coached by Argentinean Sebastian Menegozzo.
Both Czech women`s pairs, Frommova and Marcelova, and Kubickova and Pluharova, successfully advanced from qualifications to the semifinals. Frommova and Marcelova defeated Hungary’s Chiara Honti-Majoros and Adrienn Szabo in a tough 2-1 (21-12, 18-21, 15-12) semifinal match.
Top-seeded Slovenians Kotnik and Marolt remained undefeated throughout their five matches. They stopped Kubickova and Pluharova`s run in the semifinals with a 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) victory, and went on to win the final against Frommova and Marcelova in three sets (19-21, 21-14, 15-9). Kubickova and Pluharova rebounded to win the bronze medal game against Honti-Majoros and Szabo 2-0 (21-18, 21-17).
Austria`s beach volleyball program has also benefited from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, receiving USD 84,000 in coach support and USD 6,000 for a coach development program. Greek coach Georgios Kotsilianos guides the men`s national duos.
Austrians Felix Friedl and Florian Schnetzer reached the men`s final in Bibinje through the playoffs, including a semifinal victory over Slovenia`s Maj Nanut and David Renko (2-0: 23-21, 21-17), a team they had lost to earlier in the pool stage.
Their compatriots Michael Mario Klemen and Philipp Sponer made it from qualifications to the semifinals with a four-match winning streak, where they were defeated by top seeds Tomas Semerad and Adam Miroslav Stocek 2-0 (21-13, 21-15). Semerad and Stocek remained unbeaten, winning the gold medal match against Friedl and Schnetzer 2-0 (21-11, 22-20). Klemen and Sponer claimed the bronze medal by defeating Nanut and Renko 2-0 (21-18, 21-16).
The Bibinje event attracted 27 women’s and 24 men’s teams from Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Israel, Luxembourg, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
SAVA U21 Beach Volleyball Championships in Roi Et (Thailand)
At the SAVA U21 Beach Volleyball Championships held in Roi Et, Thailand, host nation pairs dominated, securing five of the six medals. The only non-Thai medal went to Vietnam’s Phu Tho Bao and Nguyen Hoang Long, who won men`s bronze. In the men`s final, Wichaya Wisetkan and Paphawin Manyahong defeated Saiphirun Ruairung and Suranath Rattanapolsaen. The women`s podium was swept by Thailand: Varagkhana Sogalee and Samitta Simarongnam took gold, Somruedee Koedkaew and Suchipha Rittila earned silver, and Ainthira Bunpasong and Natthamon Meebun finished with bronze.
The top seeded teams in both the men`s and women`s tournaments advanced to the final without losing a single set.
In the women`s final, Varagkhana and Samitta triumphed over Somruedee and Suchipha in a close match, 2-0 (21-18, 24-22). Earlier, they had comfortably won their semifinal against Malaysia`s Shamsulrizal Nur Auni and Noor Aishah 2-0 (21-9, 21-11).
Somruedee and Suchipha secured their spot in the final by defeating Ainthira and Natthamon 2-0 (21-18, 21-14) in the other semifinal. Ainthira and Natthamon secured the bronze medal by coming back from a set down to beat Auni and Aishah 2-1 (10-21, 21-15, 15-12).
In the men`s bracket, Wichaya and Paphawin had a decisive 2-0 (21-11, 21-15) semifinal win against Thai compatriots Rueangrit Wiromrat and Chaiwat Muadthong. They then secured gold with a tighter 2-0 (26-24, 21-17) victory over Saiphirun and Suranath, who claimed silver.
Saiphirun and Suranath reached the final after a dramatic 2-1 (15-21, 21-19, 15-13) comeback win against Vietnam`s Vao and Long in their semifinal. Vao and Long then edged out Rueangrit and Chaiwat in another thrilling bronze medal match, winning 2-1 (20-22, 21-19, 17-15).
The SAVA U21 Championships saw 12 men’s and eight women’s teams compete, representing Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Oliver Wrenwick 
Finley Blackwood