The second event of the 2025 NORCECA U23 Beach Volleyball Tour recently took place on Seven Mile Beach in the Cayman Islands. The United States pair of Alexis Durish and Audrey Koenig emerged victorious in the women`s tournament, while Julian Araya and Jhostin Varela from Costa Rica secured the championship in the men`s division.
Women`s Tournament Highlights
Second-seeded Alexis Durish and Audrey Koenig of the USA showcased a dominant performance, remaining undefeated throughout the women`s competition and winning all five of their matches without losing a single set. They advanced to the final with a convincing 2-0 win (21-11, 21-18) over El Salvador`s Daniela Vigil and Karla Tovar in the semifinal. In the gold medal showdown, they defeated Sofia Vega and Laura Molina of Costa Rica with a score of 2-0 (21-10, 21-14).
Costa Rica`s Vega and Molina secured their place in the final by overcoming Sierra Rayside and Destiny Layne of Barbados 2-0 (21-7, 21-5) in their semifinal match. The women`s bronze medal went to Daniela Vigil and Karla Tovar of El Salvador, who defeated the Barbadian pair, Rayside and Layne, 2-0 (21-10, 21-14) in the third-place match.
Men`s Tournament Highlights
For the men, Julian Araya and Jhostin Varela of Costa Rica claimed their second consecutive NORCECA U23 Tour gold medal, having also won the tour`s opening event in the Dominican Republic. The second seeds maintained an undefeated record across their six matches in the Cayman Islands. Their only dropped set occurred in their 2-1 (15-21, 26-24, 15-10) semifinal battle against the American duo, Ayden Keeter and Carson Barnes. In the final, Araya and Varela defeated Yoel Guardado and Christopher Guardado of El Salvador 2-0 (21-19, 21-15) to clinch the title.
El Salvador`s Guardado and Guardado reached the final after a hard-fought three-set victory (2-1: 18-21, 21-15, 15-12) in their semifinal against Canada`s Brandon Burnside and Reed Venning.
The men`s bronze medal match saw the third-seeded American team, Ayden Keeter and Carson Barnes, come back from losing the first set to defeat Brandon Burnside and Reed Venning of Canada 2-1 (18-21, 21-17, 15-12).
The NORCECA U23 Beach Volleyball Tour event held on Seven Mile Beach attracted 14 women’s teams and 16 men’s teams, representing a total of 13 national federations.
Oliver Wrenwick 
Finley Blackwood