As we come to the end of another fantastic year for youth volleyball, let us look back at some of the key highlights for both players and fans alike.
Throughout 2023, age group competitions in both volleyball and beach volleyball featured stellar athletic performances from young volleyball stars, capturing the attention of fans worldwide. The U19 and U21 indoor tournaments alone received over 40 million views on YouTube and a spectator reach of over 120,000.
The FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships for men and women were held in Roi Et, Thailand, whilst the volleyball events in the same age category took place in Manama, Bahrain for men and in Leon and Aguascalientes, Mexico for women. In addition, San Juan, Argentina organised the 2023 FIVB Volleyball U19 Boys’ World Championship, while Osijek, Croatia and Szeged, Hungary welcomed the girls’ edition.
FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships
A total of 43 teams from 34 different countries took part in the 19th edition of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship from 7 to 12 November in Roi Et. Belgium’s Joppe Van Langendonck and Kyan Vercauteren triumphed as champions. They won all seven of their matches in Thailand, including the final against 2022 European U20 champions Timo Hammarberg and Tim Berger of Austria, in which they mounted a 2-1 comeback win. The podium was completed by France’s Arthur Canet and Teo Rotar, 2021 U19 world champions and 2023 U20 European champions. In the third-place match, they managed a 2-1 victory over Brazil’s Pedro Augusto Sousa De Oliveira and Henrique Camboim de Barros.
Van Langendonck and Vercauteren celebrate as 2023 U21 world champions
Roi Et also hosted the 19th edition of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship from 7 to 12 November. As many as 48 teams representing 37 beach volleyball nations took part. Desy Poiesz and Brecht Piersma of the Netherlands grabbed the title after mastering a 2-0 sweep of the final against Switzerland’s Leona Kernen and Annique Niederhauser. The Dutch duo dropped only two sets in the seven matches played in Thailand, both in a three-set loss to the same Swiss pair, when they first met in pool play. 2023 U20 European champions Malgorzata Ciezkowska and Urszula Lunio of Poland took the bronze after an injury during the tie-breaker of the third-place match prompted their Chinese opponents Yan Xu and Zhou Mingli to withdraw.
Poiesz and Piersma rejoice on top of the 2023 U21 World Championship
FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship
The Bahrain capital Manama hosted the 22nd edition of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s U21 World Championship from 7 to 16 July, with 18 junior national teams participating. Iran claimed the coveted title, the country’s third medal in the history of the competition. In the final showdown, they persevered through a five-set duel with Italy to celebrate a 3-2 victory, leaving their European opponents with silver. Bulgaria grabbed the bronze after a 3-0 sweep of the third-place match against Argentina.
Iranian opposite Amir Mohammad Golzadeh was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament and was joined by setter Arshia Behnezhad (Iran), outside hitters Mobin Nasri Mastanabad (Iran) and Mattia Orioli (Italy), middle blockers Filippo Bartolucci (Italy) and Lazar Bouchkov (Bulgaria), and libero Gabriele Laurenzano (Italy) on the Dream Team.
Iran celebrates upon the final whistle
FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship
16 national teams competed in the 22nd edition of the Junior Women’s World Championship, the first for which the previous U20 age limit was changed to U21, held in the Mexican cities of Leon and Aguascalientes from 17 to 26 August. China earned their fourth title and 13th overall medal in the history of the competition. In the gold medal game, they squeezed out a hard-fought 3-2 victory over defending champions Italy. In the bronze medal match, Brazil produced a convincing 3-0 win over Japan.
China’s outside hitter and captain Zhuang Yushan was honoured as the tournament’s MVP and on the Dream Team. Setter Valentina Bartolucci (Italy), opposite Anna Adelusi (Italy), outside hitter Stella Nervini (Italy), middle blockers Wan Ziyue (China) and Luzia Nezzo (Brazil), and libero Zhu Xingchen (China) were the remaining six athletes on the honour roll of the championship.
China defeat Italy in U21 World Championship final
FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship
The 18th edition of the FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship took place in San Juan, Argentina from 2 to 11 August, with the participation of 20 youth national teams. In the final played in front of a sell-out crowd (pictured in the main photo), France delivered a 3-1 victory over Iran to collect their first-ever gold and second overall medal in the competition’s history. Korea snatched the bronze after claiming a 3-1 win over the USA in the third-place match.
The outside hitter and captain of the new world title holders, Mathis Henno, was named MVP of the tournament and recognized on the Dream Team, He was in the company of setter Amir Tizi-Oualou (France), opposite Thomas Pujol (France), outside hitter Lee Woojin (Korea), middle blockers Joris Seddik (France) and Armin Ghelichniazi (Iran), and libero Seyed Morteza Tabatabaei (Iran).
French boys triumph as U19 world champions
FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U19 World Championship
For the first time in history, the Youth Girls’ World Championship was played in the U19 and not in the U18 age category. The 18th edition of the championship was also the first held in two different countries. As many as 24 teams played at the tournament from 1 to 11 August in Osijek, Croatia and Szeged, Hungary. The USA achieved their second world title after a tight 3-2 comeback victory in the final showdown against Türkiye to add a fifth medal to their collection in the competition’s history. Another five-set battle decided the third place with the bronze going to Italy, who celebrated a narrow 3-2 win over Japan.
The USA’s 16-year-old outside hitter Abigail Vander Wal was recognized as the MVP of the tournament. She was also named on the U19 World Championship’s Dream Team along with setter Ilaria Batte (Italy), opposite Beren Yesilirmak (Türkiye), outside hitter Teraya Sigler (USA), middle blockers Aurora Papac (Croatia) and Begum Kaczmaz (Türkiye), and libero Rin Nishikawa (Japan).
American U19 girls celebrate victory in Osijek
Source : fivb.com
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