The 2025 Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) U16 Beach Volleyball Championships, hosted by the Latvian Volleyball Federation in Cēsis, concluded on Friday. The top titles were secured by the Latvian home team of Milana Tīna Aleksejeva and Karlīna Bērziņa, and the Lithuanian duo Tautvydas Galubickas and Rokas Lukoševičius.
Girls` Tournament Summary
In the girls` competition, the Latvian pair Aleksejeva and Bērziņa won the final against Ukraine`s Diana Avramenko and Vira Hudz in a thrilling three-set match with scores of 18-21, 21-16, and 17-15.
Milana Tīna Aleksejeva commented on their victory, stating, “This tournament was quite tough, because we had just played in the EEVZA U18 Championship before, and the fatigue was noticeable. Playing multiple three set matches was unusual and physically demanding. But we are very proud that we endured the challenge and delivered a strong performance. We view this result positively. We proved to ourselves and others that we can stay resilient, even in difficult conditions.” She added that while perhaps not their most significant win career-wise, it provides valuable FIVB and Latvian championship ranking points beneficial for future tournaments.
The bronze medal match saw Poland`s Natalia Lewandowska and Hanna Lesniewicz defeat fellow Latvians Anna Kovaļova and Marija Dārta Jaundžeikare in three sets (21-17, 17-21, 15-9). In the semifinals, Avramenko and Hudz had advanced by beating Kovaļova and Jaundžeikare 2-0 (24-22, 21-18), while Aleksejeva and Bērziņa also needed three sets to overcome the Polish team, winning 2-1 (21-13, 15-21, 15-12).
Boys` Tournament Summary
For the boys` title, Lithuania`s Tautvydas Galubickas and Rokas Lukoševičius secured a dominant 2-0 victory (21-13, 21-15) over Wojciech Witkowski and Antoni Czarnecki from Poland.
The third-place match was won by another Polish team, Hubert Ziajka and Karol Lunio, who defeated Estonia`s Marten Heinlaid and Jan Erik Praks 2-0 (21-14, 22-20). The top Latvian boys` pair, Ralfs Linga and Edvards Miķelsons, were eliminated in the quarterfinals by the Estonian team.
In the semifinals, Galubickas and Lukoševičius defeated Heinlaid and Praks 2-0 (21-18, 21-19), while Witkowski and Czarnecki won a close all-Polish semifinal against Ziajka and Lunio with a 2-1 score (21-19, 12-21, 15-11).
Overview and U18 Results
The EEVZA U16 tournament included participants from five nations: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine.
The championships followed the EEVZA U18 event, which also took place in Cēsis earlier in the week. In the U18 boys` final, Estonia`s Armin Kender and Patrik Parijõgi beat Latvian top seeds Tomass Silavs and Bruno Liepiņš 2-0 (21-13, 21-14). The U18 girls` final saw the Latvian team of Monika Mamaja and Alise Aleksāne defeat Estonia`s Marta-Mia Ploomipuu and Hannemai Hanimägi 2-0 (21-13, 21-18).
All four pairs who reached the finals of the U18 event qualified for the CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championships scheduled for September 11-15 in Corigliano Rossano, Italy.
