Haussener and Friedli top all-Swiss podium in Spiez
Futures in Europe
For the second time in four events this season, European teams got all medals in play in a Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures event in the continent, with duos from four different countries stepping at the podium in Spiez, Switzerland, over the weekend.
The home fans had plenty of reason to celebrate on Sunday as they saw men’s teams from hosts Switzerland occupy all three spots at the podium. The women’s tournament ended on Saturday, with duos from the Netherlands, Czechia and Estonia winning gold, silver and bronze.
The men’s final in Spiez had two former partners against each other and saw Yves Haussener and new teammate, 17-year-old Julian Friedli, prevail over his former partner Quentin Métral and Jonathan Jordan in the tie-breaker (18-21, 21-19, 15-10).
In his first international tournament since 2021, Tokyo Olympian Mirco Gerson made it to the podium, taking bronze alongside Luc Fluckiger. The Swiss beat Serbians Djordje Klasnic and Marko Makaric in two sets (21-18, 21-15) to finish third in Spiez.
In the women’s tournament, Dutch Brecht Piersma and Wies Bekhuis were the winners, securing their first title and third medal in four events as partners. In the final, the two defeated Czechs Marketa Slukova and Karin Zolcinerova 2-0 (21-19, 21-14).
Estonians Liisa-Lotta Jurgenson and Eva Kuivonen completed a great run in Spiez, which started in the qualifier, on Wednesday, at the podium, after they topped Swiss Annique Niederhauser and Leona Kernen in straight sets (21-18, 21-15) to take bronze in the event, their first medal at the international level.
Two Futures events will be held simultaneously in Europe next week – a men-only tournament in Krakow, Poland, and a double-gender competition in Sveti Vlas, Bulgaria, both running from June 6-9.
The Beach Pro Tour Futures events in Europe are run by the CEV in close cooperation with Volleyball World and provide teams from the continent with several opportunities to compete and gain valuable international ranking points.