The 2025 Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) U16 Beach Volleyball Championships, hosted by the Latvian Volleyball Federation in Cēsis, concluded on Friday. Home crowd favourites Milana Tīna Aleksejeva and Karlīna Bērziņa claimed the girls` title, while Lithuania’s Tautvydas Galubickas and Rokas Lukoševičius secured the boys` gold.
Girls` Tournament
In the girls’ final, Latvia’s Aleksejeva and Bērziņa overcame the Ukrainian team Diana Avramenko and Vira Hudz in a hard-fought three-set match, winning 2-1 with scores of 18-21, 21-16, and 17-15.
Commenting on their victory, Milana Tīna Aleksejeva said, “This tournament was quite tough because we had just played in the EEVZA U18 Championship before, and the fatigue was noticeable. Playing several three-set matches was unusual and physically demanding. However, we are very proud that we overcame the challenge and delivered a strong performance. We view this result positively. We proved to ourselves and others that we can stay resilient, even in difficult conditions.” She added, “This victory may not be the most important one in our career, but it holds value because it earns us additional points in the FIVB and Latvian championship rankings, which will help us attain better positions in future tournaments. This victory is a practical gain that will benefit us going forward.”
In the bronze medal match, Poland’s Natalia Lewandowska and Hanna Lesniewicz defeated Latvian duo Anna Kovaļova and Marija Dārta Jaundžeikare 2-1 (21-17, 17-21, 15-9).
Earlier, in the semifinals, Avramenko and Hudz defeated Kovaļova and Jaundžeikare 2-0 (24-22, 21-18), while Aleksejeva and Bērziņa overcame the Polish pair 2-1 (21-13, 15-21, 15-12).
Boys` Tournament
In the boys’ final, the Lithuanian pair Tautvydas Galubickas and Rokas Lukoševičius triumphed with a 2-0 victory (21-13, 21-15) over Poland’s Wojciech Witkowski and Antoni Czarnecki.
The match for the bronze medal saw another Polish duo, Hubert Ziajka and Karol Lunio, defeat Estonia’s Marten Heinlaid and Jan Erik Praks 2-0 (21-14, 22-20). The top Latvian boys’ team, Ralfs Linga and Edvards Miķelsons, were eliminated in the quarterfinals by their Estonian rivals.
In the semifinals, Galubickas and Lukoševičius beat Heinlaid and Praks 2-0 (21-18, 21-19), while Witkowski and Czarnecki won a tight 2-1 contest (21-19, 12-21, 15-11) against their compatriots Ziajka and Lunio.
The EEVZA U16 Championships featured teams from five countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine.
Earlier in the week, the EEVZA U18 Championships also concluded in Cēsis. In the boys’ final, Estonia’s Armin Kender and Patrik Parijõgi (#2 seed) defeated Latvian top seeds Tomass Silavs and Bruno Liepiņš in straight sets (2-0; 21-13, 21-14). For the girls’ U18 title, Latvian pair Monika Mamaja and Alise Aleksāne won 2-0 (21-13, 21-18) against Estonia’s Marta-Mia Ploomipuu and Hannemai Hanimägi. All four finalist teams from the U18 event secured their places at the CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championships, scheduled to take place from 11 to 15 September in Corigliano Rossano, Italy.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood