Elite Finals 2025 - Dallas/Hatzinikolaou and Sotiropoulou/Polonyfi crowned new Beach Volleyball clubs champions
News
The 2025 Elite Finals concluded with thrilling matches and a celebration of top-tier Beach Volleyball at the Enso Sports Club - Varkiza Resort, under the organisation of former Olympian Efi Sfyri. After two action-packed days, Stavros Dallas and Dimitris Hatzinikolaou emerged as the men’s champions, while Zina Sotiropoulou and Maria Polonyfi secured the gold medal in the women’s category.
Men’s Final: a comeback victory
In a fiercely competitive men’s final, Christos Tsigaridas and Panagiotis Semitekolos took the first set 15-13, gaining early momentum. However, Dallas and Hatzinikolaou responded emphatically, dominating the second set 15-7 and forcing a decisive third. With composure and precision, they completed the comeback with an 11-7 win to claim the gold medal. Tsigaridas and Semitekolos earned the silver, while the bronze went to Giorgos Moniakis and Panagiotis Ioannidis, who defeated Antiol Kola and Vaggelis Sideris 2-1 in the third-place match.
“I am very happy that after a long winter of preparation with Dimitris, we managed to compete together at the Elite Finals. Over these two days, we showed a good glimpse of what’s to come this summer. It was a great start to the season,” said Dallas.
Dimitris Hatzinikolaou“I also play indoor volleyball during the winter, so our preparation is challenging, and I cannot attend every training session. Despite that, we managed to compete together in the Elite Finals and we are very happy we won it.”
Women’s Final: Sotiropoulou and Polonyfi shine
The women’s final featured intense rallies and strategic play between the duos of Loryn Malesic and Margariti Toli and Zina Sotiropoulou/Maria Polonyfi. Sotiropoulou and Polonyfi claimed the first set 15-12 and overturned a three-point deficit in the second to win 15-10, thereby securing the championship with a 2-0 victory.
The bronze medal was claimed by Athina Dilaveri and Penny Karakou, who edged Anais Angelopoulou and Vivi Souli 2-1 in a highly competitive match.
Zina Sotiropoulou: “We did not start the tournament very strongly - we had one win and one loss. But we kept winning after that, and we are very satisfied with the result.”
Maria Polonyfi: “We really enjoyed this journey, and we are happy with the result. In the end, we made it - and gave Zina the best birthday gift possible.”
The event did also help define which clubs will represent Greece in the third edition of the CEV Beach Volley European Cup.