Tahiti, Mexico and Poland claim international volleyball trophies

National team volleyball events determined their medallists at various locations across the world last week. The volleyball tournaments at the Pacific Games 2023 concluded with Tahiti triumphant in both the women’s and men’s events. Mexico won the NORCECA U17 Girls' Continental Championship, while Poland topped the podium at the EEVZA U18 Women's Championship, with FIVB Volleyball Empowerment beneficiary Ukraine finishing second.

Pacific Games 2023 - Men’s Volleyball

10 national teams, initially split into two single round-robin pools, took part in the men’s volleyball tournament at the Pacific Games 2023 in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. Undefeated Pool B winners Papua New Guinea and Pool B runners-up Tahiti went through the quarterfinals and the semifinals successfully to eventually meet again in the final. This time, defending 2019 champions Tahiti, achieved an emphatic 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-18) sweep to celebrate their fifth gold in the history of the Pacific Games. Papua New Guinea’s silver was their best men’s volleyball result in the multisport event so far, topping the bronze they took in 2011. Samoa made the podium for the first time in history after a 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-16) victory over New Caledonia for the third place.

American Samoa, Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu also participated in the tournament.

Results and standings

Papua New Guinea’s team enjoys huge support from the stands in Honiara (Photo credits: Paul Fefera, Pacific Games News Service)

Pacific Games 2023 - Women’s Volleyball

Eight teams competed in the Pacific Games 2023 women’s volleyball tournament at the Friendship Hall in Honiara. Tahiti cruised through the competition winning all six of their games. The victory run climaxed with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 25-21) win over defending champions New Caledonia in the final, their eighth Pacific Games title and their 10th consecutive podium. New Caledonia, on the other hand, has missed out on medals only twice in the 16 editions of the tournament. Fiji earned the bronze, their fourth medal in the history of the competition, after a 3-1 (20-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-22) comeback victory over American Samoa in the third-place match.

Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu and hosts Solomon Islands were the other four teams that took part.

Results and standings

Tahitian triumph in Pacific Games 2023 volleyball (Photo credits: Paul Fefera, Pacific Games News Service)

NORCECA U17 Girls' Continental Volleyball Championship

Mexico celebrated the first-ever NORCECA U17 Girls’ Continental Championship title on Sunday after winning the inaugural edition of the event, held in Tegucigalpa. Puerto Rico claimed the silver medals, while Canada earned the bronze. The three teams also booked their tickets to the 2024 FIVB Volleyball U17 Girls’ World Championship. Mexico lost to Puerto Rico in their opening match in Honduras, but then went on a five-game winning streak, crowned with a thrilling 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 27-25, 25-21, 15-5) comeback against the same opponent in the final. It was Puerto Rico’s first defeat of the tournament, but they had to settle for silver. Canada completed the podium after a hard-fought 3-1 (28-30, 28-26, 25-23, 28-26) victory over Dominican Republic in the bronze medal match. Costa Rica, Cuba, Nicaragua and hosts Honduras, in that order, lined up in the places from fifth to eighth in the final standings.

Mexican libero Dibanhi Barrera (pictured in the main photo; credits: NORCECA) was honoured as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP), Best Defender and Best Receiver. She was also named on the Dream Team of the event, along with setter Megan Hunter (Canada), opposite Ylina Zuniga (Mexico), outside hitters Sara Lozano (Puerto Rico) and Aitana Rettke (Mexico), and middle blockers Caroline Rodriguez (Dominican Republic) and Keyling Olivas (Nicaragua). Cuba’s Salet Castillo received the Best Scorer award, while Mexico’s Gabriela Garza was recognised as the Best Server.

Results and standings

First-ever U17 girls’ NORCECA champions Mexico (Photo credits: NORCECA)

EEVZA U18 Women's Volleyball Championship

Poland triumphed as 2023 Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) U18 women’s volleyball champions and qualified for the 2024 CEV U18 Women’s European Championship finals. In the seven-team single round-robin EEVZA U18 Women's Volleyball Championship, held in Daugavpils, Latvia last week, they topped the final standings undefeated in six matches, losing only two sets along the way. In what proved to be a crucial battle for first place, Poland squeezed out a narrow 3-2 (25-15, 25-21, 23-25, 16-25, 15-8) victory over the team of FIVB Volleyball Empowerment beneficiary Ukraine. The Ukrainians finished with a zonal silver on a 5-1 win-loss record, while the bronze went to Estonia, placed third on 3-3. Also on 3-3, Georgia took the fourth place, followed by Lithuania (2-4) in fifth, Latvia (2-4) in sixth, and Azerbaijan (0-6) in seventh.

Poland celebrate as 2023 EEVZA U18 champions (Photo credits: cev.eu)

The organisers awarded the best player of each participating team: Natasza Ornoch (Poland), Kateryna Zhylinska (Ukraine), Anette Arak (Estonia), Magda Kobaidze (Georgia), Diana Ivcenkaite (Lithuania), Karmena Struka (Latvia) and Aisha Alismanova (Azerbaijan).

Results and standings

Volleyball Empowerment beneficiaries Ukraine rejoice as 2023 EEVZA U18 silver medallists (Photo credits: cev.eu)