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The men’s and women’s trophies of the second edition of the CEV Beach Volley European Cup will sit side by side in the same cabinet as Azeri giants Azerrail prevailed in both genders of the tournament, which came to an end on Sunday.
The second edition of the Beach Volley European Cup was held over the course of four days at the iconic Club Montpellier Beach Volley, in France, reuniting 12 clubs in each gender, which represented 15 different European nations.
Azerrail’s victory among the men extends the Azeri dominance in the gender as they succeed their compatriots of Murov AzTerminal, who triumphed in the inaugural edition, as the reigning champions. Among the women, Azerbaijan becomes the second country to win gold, following the victory of Slovenia’s BVC Ludus in 2023.
Featuring Konstantin Semenov, Igor Velichko, Dmitrii Veretiuk, German Aleksandrov, Vadim Kutukov and Heydar Mammadli in their squad, Azerrail were faced with Spain’s CVP Poniente Benidorm Alicante, who had the Bello siblings Javier, Joaquin and Juan, Raul Mesa, Mees Sengers and Hernan Tovar, in the finals.
The Azeris won the first duel in the tie-breaker (17-21, 21-14, 15-12), but saw their opponents come back and take the second, also in three sets (19-21, 21-16, 16-14). In the golden set, Azerrail prevailed 15-12 to claim the title.
Austria’s Aloha Beachvolleyball Club Wörthersee won consecutive matches against the home team of Montpellier Beach Volley – the first in two sets (21-13, 21-18) and the second in three (22-20, 22-24, 15-10) – to finish third and secure bronze.
CEV Beach Volley European Cup – Men’s Results
In the women’s final, Olga Motrich, Alina Salmanova, Larisa Smeltsova, Arina Iarancetceva, Adelya Akhmetova and Fidan Ahmadkhanova represented Azerrail against the Ukrainians of Sunrise Beach Sports Academy, who counted on Valentyna Davidova, Tetiana Lazarenko, Daria Romaniuk and Yeva Serdiuk.
The Azeris struck first, winning the first duel in the tie-breaker (19-21, 23-21, 15-11), but the Ukrainians responded and leveled things with a two-set (26-24, 21-13) victory in the second encounter. In the golden set, Azerrail came up big to win 15-10 and secure the title.
Last year’s champions of Slovenia’s BVC Ludus found their way to the podium again, beating the Hungarians of Ėdra Tata in two matches (21-13, 21-12 and 21-13, 21-16) to claim bronze.