#EuroBeachVolley 2024 Previews: Women’s Pools E-H
News
The best European beach volleyball teams have just arrived from Paris, where they worked hard to give the continent medals at the 2024 Olympics, but they will also have something big to play for the week after the Games.
With the 2024 CEV EuroBeachVolley heading to the Netherlands from August 13-18, it will be a quick turnaround for the top teams in the continent, who will be ready to fight for continental glory in front of the Dutch fans.
The tournament will begin with eight pools of four teams each and, after the completion of pool play, three duos in each group will move forward – the pool winners advance directly to the Round of 16 while the second and third-placed tandems move to the Round of 24.
As the competition approaches, let’s continue to take a look at the eight pools in each gender, this time finalizing our analysis on the women’s side with Pools E, F, G and H.
Pool E
Teams: Svenja Müller/Cinja Tillmann (Germany), Laura Ludwig/Louisa Lippmann (Germany), Miroslava Dunarova/Daniela Mokrá (Czechia) and Tjasa Kotnik/Tajda Lovsin (Slovenia)
Pool E features two of the favorites to win gold in the Netherlands, Müller/Tillmann and Ludwig/Lippmann, and two other duos that will do their best to move to the next round.
Coming from disappointing campaigns in Paris, the two German tandems have proven their worth at the international level as Müller and Tillmann have won multiple medals at the highest level while Ludwig is easily the most accomplished European woman in beach volleyball and will appear in the EuroBeachVolley for a final time in her carrer.
Dunarova/Mokrá and Kotnik/Lovsin have similar profiles as teams who have been competing internationally for a few years now with interesting results. Both teams won matches at last year’s EuroBeachVolley as the Czechs had a solid run finishing ninth, while the Slovenians were 17th.
Pool F
Teams: Daniela Álvarez/Tania Moreno (Spain), Joana Mäder/Anouk Vergé-Dépré (Switzerland), Karla Borger/Hanna-Marie Schieder (Germany) and María Carro/Sofía González (Spain)
After meeting in the semifinals of last year’s EuroBeachVolley, Álvarez/Moreno and Mäder/Vergé-Dépré will now face each other in pool play, likely with the first place on the line. That, in theory, leaves one berth for two new teams, Borger/Schieder and Carro/González, to fight for.
The Spanish are a team on the rise at the international level, having taken silver at last year’s EuroBeachVolley and are finished fifth in their first Olympics. Not having qualified for Paris will make of the Swiss a very dangerous team as they have what it takes to go all the way to the top of the podium, as they did in 2020, and could prepare exclusively to compete in the Netherlands.
Borger is a seasoned two-time Olympian, who recently joined the promising Schieder and the two will make their team debut at the EuroBeachVolley. The Spanish are also a new team and will get to the Netherlands with just one tournament under as partners their belts.
EuroBeachVolley - Women's Match Schedule
Pool G
Teams: Esmée Böbner/Zoé Vergé-Dépré (Switzerland), Sarah Cools/Lisa Van Den Vonder (Belgium), Katharina Schützenhöfer/Lena Plesiutschnig (Austria) and Valentyna Davidova/Anhelina Khmil (Ukraine)
There’s plenty of parity in Pool G as all four teams have enough quality to not only advance, but make solid campaigns in the event. Esmée and Zoé just succeeded in a dramatic three-way battle and had a solid first Olympic experience in Paris, finishing fifth, arriving at the EuroBeachVolley as the top-seeded team in the pool.
Cools and Van Den Vonder have not reached that level yet, but have been showing a solid game and have been in excellent form in Futures tournaments. Schützenhöfer and Plesiutschnig have been the top Austrian team for several years and have made deep runs in strong events.
The Ukrainians don’t play a lot internationally but can be dangerous when they do, beating strong teams by combining the experience of the 36-year-old Davidova and the youth of the 21-year-old Khmil, a highly-accomplished player at the junior level.
Pool H
Teams: Dorina Klinger/Ronja Klinger (Austria), Monika Paulikiene/Aine Raupelyte (Lithuania), Sunniva Helland-Hansen/Emilie Olimstad (Norway) and Emi van Driel/Kirsten Bröring (the Netherlands)
The starting scenario in Pool H suggests the Klingers and Paulikiene/Raupelyte should fight to be first while Helland-Hansen/Olimstad and Van Driel/Bröring compete for a spot in the elimination rounds in the Netherlands.
The Austrians have had tremendous growth over the last few years, getting wins over big teams, and were serious contenders to qualify for Paris 2024. The Lithuanians became the first players in the country to compete at the Olympics in Paris, but dropped all their three matches, ranking 19th.
Looking to upset the favorites, the Norwegians are looking to get that one big result in a major tournament to take a step forward in their partnership. The Dutch have just two tournaments together, but showed they can deliver, helping their country take gold at the CEV Beach Nations Cup Finals – Van Driel was also fifth last year in Vienna with Brecht Piersma.