FIVB Volleyball Empowerment-supported teams shine at continental and zonal beach volleyball competitions

A number of teams benefitting from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment support claimed international podium spots at recent continental and zonal beach volleyball competitions, including the AVC Continental Cup and the ECVA U19 Beach Volleyball Championship. The CAVB U21 Beach Volleyball Nations Championships also took place in the last days of August.

AVC Continental Cup - Oceania Zone and Eastern Zone

New Zealand and Vanuatu finished first and second, respectively, in both genders’ Oceania Zone tournaments of the first phase of the 2023-2024 AVC Continental Cup. New Zealand’s beach volleyball programme has so far been allocated CHF 252,000 in Volleyball Empowerment coach support, in addition to CHF 28,000 in terms of beach volleyball equipment. The Vanuatu National Federation has also received assistance of CHF 225,000 of coach support for its national beach volleyball teams.

The final tie of the women’s tournament in Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila was resolved in three matches. In the first one, New Zealand’s Alice Zeimann and Olivia MacDonald mastered a 2-0 (21-8, 21-13) victory over Vanuatu’s Majabelle Lawac and Sherysyn Toko, but then the home team leveled the score after Loti Joe and Linline Matauatu’s 2-0 (21-12, 21-15) sweep of the second contest against Kiana Stevenson and Maria Hanabadi. The team guided by head coach Jason Lochhead, assisted by Mike Watson, Craig Seuseu and Brad Takai, came out on top after a deciding third match pushed into a tie-breaker, in which Zeimann and MacDonald persevered for another win, 2-1 (18-21, 21-15, 15-13), over Lawac and Toko, steered by FIVB-funded coach Shannon Zunker.

The men’s final was more straightforward, with New Zealand’s Bradley Fuller and Alani Nicklin producing a 2-0 (21-12, 21-18) win over Vanuatu’s Stivano Banga and James Chilia, and Thomas Reid and John McManaway following up with a 2-0 (21-9, 21-6) sweep of Hotel Maki and Mahlon Mansale to take the silver.

Solomon Islands swept the men’s third-place tie with straight-set victories in both challenges against Tuvalu. The same went for Australia against Solomon Islands on the women’s side.

The women’s and the men’s national teams of New Zealand (Photo credits: BREJ Pacific General Distribution via volleyballnz.org.nz)

Oceania Zone - results and standings

The Phase 1 Eastern Zone event was held in Tangshan, China, with three men’s and two women’s national teams participating.

In the men’s final tie, China defeated Japan in two straight-set contests. Ha Likejiang and Wu Jiaxin produced a 2-0 (21-11, 21-14) win over Kai Kurokawa and Shiro Furuta, and Wang Yanwei and Li Jie delivered a 2-0 (21-15, 21-19) victory over Hiroki Dylan Kurokawa and Kosuke Fukushima. Hong Kong finished third after losing the opening tie to Japan, also in two straight-set matches.

On the women’s side, Japan’s Suzuka Hashimoto and Akiko Hasegawa claimed a 2-0 (21-15, 21-11) victory over Hong Kong’s Lo Wai Yan and Au Yeung Wai Yan in the first meet, before Reika Murakami and Yurika Sakaguchi finished the job with a 2-0 (21-15, 21-16) win over To Wing Tung and Tsang Ngok Ling.

Action from the AVC Continental Cup Eastern Zone men’s final between China and Japan (Photo credits: asianvolleyball.net)

Eastern Zone - results and standings

Zonal winners advance straight to Phase 3 (the Finals) of the AVC Continental Cup, while zonal runners-up move to Phase 2, a five-team tournament, whose winner will also progress to the Finals.

ECVA U19 Beach Volleyball Championship

Teams receiving coach support from Volleyball Empowerment took three of the six podium spots at the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association (ECVA) U19 Beach Championships in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis. Saint Lucia’s Peter Emmanuel and Rio Jaden Victor took the men’s gold, leaving the silver to the home team of Julian Bristol and Vickash Sundar, while Dominica’s Bill Clarke Frederick and Mervin Mervel Mingo settled for bronze. Dominica’s Nyla Edmund and Alyssa Kadija Bully, Antigua and Barbuda’s Jaya Carr and Jassania Joseph, and Anguilla’s Deandra Flemind and Lavesha Richardson, in that order, topped the women’s standings.

ECVA U19 Beach Volleyball Championship men’s podium

Saint Lucia’s beach volleyball has so far been allocated a total of CHF 63,000 of coach support and that paid off with ECVA U19 gold in the name of Peter and Rio. In the men’s final (pictured in the main photo), they mastered a 2-0 (21-10, 21-14) victory. Silver medallists Bristol and Sundar of Saint Kitts and Nevis also benefit from Volleyball Empowerment. Their federation’s volleyball and beach volleyball national teams have received a total of CHF 117,000 worth of coach support with Rick Swann mentoring the beach programme, in addition to CHF 9,500 worth of beach volleyball equipment. Frederick and Mingo grabbed the bronze after a hard-fought 2-1 (21-18, 15-21, 16-14) victory over Grenada’s Kibose Hamilton and Zerick Walcott in the third-place match.

Men’s results and standings

ECVA U19 Beach Volleyball Championship women’s podium

Coach Francisco Cruz has taken over Antigua and Barbuda’s national pairs on a three-month Volleyball Empowerment coach support grant. The women’s pair of Carr and Joseph reached the ECVA U19 final and settled for silver after a 2-0 (21-18, 21-15) setback at the hands of Edmond and Bully. Flemind and Richardson managed a 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-8) comeback against Grenada’s Teasia Jones and Makayla Mason for the bronze.

Women’s results and standings

CAVB U21 Beach Volleyball Nations Championships

Gambia and Morocco were crowned champions of the CAVB U21 Beach Volleyball Nations Championship after winning gold in the men’s and women’s competitions, respectively. A total of 16 men’s and 11 women’s teams participated in the competition held at Ain Sebaa beach in Casablanca, Morocco from 25 to 31 August.

Gambia’s men’s pair of Mario Dampha and Laity Nyabally won gold after beating Mozambique’s Denilson Sitoe and Rafael Junior 2-0 (21-14, 21-10) in the final. En route to the final, Dampha and Nyabally beat Egypt’s Mazen and Youssef 2-0 (21-18, 21-12) while Sitoe and Junior edged out Sierra Leone’s Ahmed Aruna and Musa Kamara 2-1 (21-19, 27-29, 15-10). Aruna and Musa made up for their semifinal upset with a 2-1 (21-18, 20-22, 15-07) win over Mazen and Youssef to claim bronze.

From left: The top three women’s teams at CAVB U21 Beach Volleyball Nations Championship: Nigeria (silver), Morocco (gold) and Gambia (bronze) pose for a photo during the medal ceremony at Ain Sebaa beach in Casablanca, Morocco (Photo credits: CAVB)

In the women’s category, Morocco’s duo of Nogales Lamzaouak Aida and Nogales Lamzaouak Carmen emerged as champions after defeating Nigeria’s Naomi Yaro and Esther Mbah 2-0 (13-21, 21-15, 18-16). Carmen and Aida had beaten Gambia’s Bojang Anna and Ceesay Fatou 2-0 (27-25, 21-16) to reach the final, while Yaro and Mbah overcame Morocco’s Imane Fakhr and Fatimazahra Bouysfi to proceed. Bojang and Fatou secured bronze after beating Fakhr and Bouysfi in the third-place playoff.

Fifth-placed Egypt (women) and Burundi (men) joined the top four teams in each gender in qualifying for this year’s FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships to be held in Thailand in November.