French clubs start strong in Balikesir
Beach Volley European Cup
France was the most successful nation on the opening day of the inaugural edition of the CEV Beach Volley European Cup, with teams from the country winning eight of their ten matches on Thursday in Balikesir, Türkiye.
The opening day of the event held at the Burhaniye Ören Beach had the first half of pool play matches and ended with women’s teams from France, Slovenia and Spain at the top of their pools and men’s sides from hosts Türkiye, France and Austria leading theirs.
France’s Ré Beach Club were the strongest side on the women’s side, ending the opening day with five wins in six matches and 11 points in Pool A. The French won both of their matches against Italy’s Beach Volley Training Beinasco and Austria’s Bergstrand BV and split wins with Azerbaijan’s Azerrail Baku.
Pia Szewczyk“We started the tournament very well, winning five of our six matches on the first day. We thought we played very well during the day and are very happy.”
Ré Beach Club Player
CEV Beach Volley European Cup – Women’s Match Schedule and Results
Pool B ended with Slovenia’s Ludus Ljubljana and Spain’s CV Majadahonda Madrid tied in first place with four wins and two losses and ten points. Czechia’s Telocvična Jednota Sokol Brno are third with two wins and two losses (six points).
Veronika Kleiblova“Our match against the Turkish of Balikesir Büyüksehir Belediyespor Kulübü was very hard, especially the first set. We’re happy that we made it and will celebrate our victory.”
Telocvična Jednota Sokol Brno Player
On the men’s side, the home team of TVF Spor Lisesi SK Ankara and France’s Beach Volley Montpellier had the best records with three wins and one loss and share the top spot in Pool B with seven points.
French and Türkish split victories in their encounters and then went to win both of their matches against Czechia’s Beachclub Strahov and Slovenia’s Ludus Ljubljana respectively to get to the top of the standings.
Hasan Mermer“It’s special to play in the first edition of the tournament. We want to go match by match and see how far we can get. We’re at home, so we hope we can make a good run.”
TVF Spor Lisesi SK Ankara Player
CEV Beach Volley European Cup – Men’s Match Schedule and Results
Austria's ABC Wörthesee dominated Pool A with four wins and sit at the top of the standings with eight points. The Austrians won their two matches against Spain's Beachbol La Malva Valencia and Italy's Beach Volley Training Beinasco and went undefeated on the opening day of the event.
Pool play continues in Balikesir on Friday, when the three best-ranked clubs from each pool will advance – the pool winners move directly to the semifinals, while the second and third play an extra elimination round.
Created in 2023 by CEV, the Beach Volley European Cup is an event designed to further grow the sport through the organisation of domestic and international club competitions.