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Beach Volleyball News
Belgian beach volleyball fans had a lot to celebrate on Monday, the country’s National Day holiday, as three duos from Belgium made it to the podium of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures event held in Leuven over the last four days.
Winning gold and silver among the men and silver in the women’s event, the home duos led teams from the continent in another successful week on the Beach Pro Tour, which also had Austria (gold) and the Netherlands (bronze) winning medals on the women’s side and Poland completing the podium among the men.
The men’s gold medal match at the popular Monseigneur Ladeuzeplein square was a delight for the home fans, who got to watch as two Belgian teams fought for the top spot on the podium. After three intense sets, the Vandecaveye brothers Louis and Gilles topped compatriots Kyan Vercauteren and Joppe Van Langendonck 2-1 (19-21, 21-16, 15-12) to celebrate a home title on the Beach Pro Tour for a second-straight season – they triumphed in Brussels last year.
Beach Pro Tour Leuven Futures – Men
Polish Olympian Piotr Kantor won his first medal with new partner Artem Besarab as the two, who started the event on Thursday’s qualifier, swept (21-17, 23-21) Czechs Adam Waber and Matyas Jezek to rank third in the event.
Young Austrians triumph among the women
Belgium were also represented in the women’s gold medal match in Leuven, but Youna Coens and Sarah Cools couldn’t handle reigning U18 European champions Lia Berger and Lilli Hohenauer of Austria, who secured the title with a two-set (21-17, 21-19) victory.
Beach Pro Tour Leuven Futures – Women
Dutch Lisa Luini and Desy Poiesz denied the home fans the presence of a fourth Belgian team on the podium after they took down wildcards Britt Ruysschaert and Isabel Van den Broeck in straight sets (21-15, 21-18) to secure the tournament’s bronze medals.
The Beach Pro Tour will have a one-month break for Futures events in Europe now, returning to action in Brno, Czechia, with a double-gender tournament from August 21-24.
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.