The Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) U18 Beach Volleyball Championships, organised by the Latvian Volleyball Federation in Cēsis, concluded with victories for **Latvia’s Monika Mamaja and Alise Aleksāne** in the girls` tournament and **Estonia’s Armin Kender and Patrik Parijõgi** in the boys`. Both gold medallist teams have earned their spots at this year`s #EuroBeachVolleyU18, set to take place in Corigliano Rossano, Italy, in mid-September. Also qualifying for the European Championship main stage are the second-place teams: **Latvia’s Tomass Silavs and Bruno Liepiņš** and **Estonia’s Marta-Mia Ploomipuu and Hannemai Hanimägi**.
The full podium of the event where teams from Latvia and Estonia claimed top honours
Girls` Tournament Summary
In the girls` competition, Mamaja and Aleksāne displayed remarkable form, dropping only a single set throughout the entire tournament. Their semi-final match saw them comfortably defeat Poland’s Emilia Skwierczynska and Aleksandra Wolny (21-17, 21-12). The second-seeded Estonian pair, Ploomipuu and Hanimägi, faced tougher challenges, being taken to three sets in both the quarterfinals and semi-finals. They overcame Ukraine’s Kateryna Nitsenko and Viktoriia Kachyoni in their semi-final clash with a 2-1 score (21-16, 12-21, 15-12). The final, however, was a dominant performance from the Latvian duo, who secured the title with a convincing 2-0 victory (21-13, 21-18).
Reflecting on their performance, Aleksāne stated, “We played with confidence. We only lost one set, and even that one we should have won.” Mamaja added, “Before the tournament, I didn’t expect us to play so convincingly or that things would go so well. I thought the final would be tougher.” Both players expressed their delight with the tournament win and, particularly, with securing qualification for the European Championship finals. “I would say I’m even happier about qualifying for the final stage of the continental tournament,” Aleksāne shared.
The bronze medal match in the girls` event was won by the Ukrainian duo Nitsenko and Kachyoni, who defeated the Polish pair in straight sets (21-15, 26-24).
Boys` Tournament Summary
The boys` final featured the top two seeded teams. Latvian favourites Tomass Silavs and Bruno Liepiņš earned their place in the final after a hard-fought three-set semi-final battle against Ukraine’s Yehor Skrypnychenko and Andrii Lunkan, winning 2-1 (17-21, 23-21, 16-14). On the other side of the draw, Estonia’s Kender and Parijõgi reached the final by defeating Poland’s Igor Gliszczyński and Alan Robak in straight sets (21-16, 21-19).
In the gold medal match, the Estonian duo proved too strong for the home heroes, securing a 2-0 victory with set scores of 21-13 and 21-14. The bronze medals in the boys` tournament were claimed by the Ukrainian team, who defeated Poland 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) in the third-place playoff.
The Estonian winners commented on their success: “The tournament was well organised. It was a pleasure to compete in Cēsis. Winning is always rewarding, but earning a place in the U18 European Championship and the opportunity to play against Europe’s best is especially exciting. We hope to deliver our best performance there.”
Teams from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine participated in the championships. As a result, the top two teams in both the girls` and boys` categories have qualified for the #EuroBeachVolleyU18, which will take place from September 11 to 15 in Corigliano Rossano, Italy.
Cēsis is also set to host the next EEVZA event, the U16 Championships, scheduled for July 3-4, featuring 16 boys’ and 16 girls’ teams.
#BeachVolleyball
