Six clubs in contention for the title in Balikesir
Beach Volley European Cup
The race for the men’s and women’s titles of the inaugural edition of the CEV Beach Volley European Cup is now limited to six clubs in each gender after pool play was completed in Balikesir, Türkiye, on Friday.
Heading into the weekend, men’s clubs from Austria, Azerbaijan, France, Hungary, Italy and Türkiye and women’s teams from France, Italy, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Türkiye remain in contention at the Burhaniye Ören Beach.
The top teams in each of the two pools in each gender advanced directly to the semifinals. In the men’s event, that was the case with Pool A winners ABC Wörthesee of Austria and Pool B leaders Beach Volley Montpellier of France.
To finish at the top of Pool A, the Austrians got to 15 points, with a campaign of seven wins and one loss. On Friday, they won both of their matches against Türkiye’s Kartal Anadolu SK Istanbul and split wins with Azerbaijan’s Murov AzTerminal Baku.
The Azeris and the Italians of Beach Volley Training Beinasco took the other two spots in the playoffs, ranking second and third with the same campaign of five wins and three losses that earned them 13 points – Murov had the advantage in the tie-breakers.
CEV Beach Volley European Cup – Men’s Match Schedule and Results
Pool B had two teams tied at the top with 15 points (seven wins, one loss), but the French of Montpellier got first place over Türkiye’s TVF Spor Liseki SK Ankara in the tie-breakers. They had a perfect day on Friday, winning all their four matches against Hungary’s Strandroplabdazasert SE Budapest and Slovenia’s Ludus Ljubljana without dropping a set.
The Turkish were second, followed by the Hungarians, who got to 11 points with three wins and five losses. The two teams will have to go through the playoffs on Saturday.
Lukas Niemeler“I thought we played very well today. We’re very lucky to play here, it’s been a very nice tournament.”
Strandroplabdazasert SE Budapest Player
Women’s Pool A had France’s Ré Beach Club in first place. The French entered the second day of pool play in a good spot following a strong opening day and advanced after splitting wins with Türkiye’s Altinyurt Spot Kulübü Istanbul and getting to 14 points with six wins and two losses.
Below them, three clubs tied with 12 points (four wins, four losses) and Italy’s Beach Volley Training Beinasco and Türkiye’s Kulübü got the two spots in the next round, moving forward to compete in the playoffs.
CEV Beach Volley European Cup – Women’s Match Schedule and Results
Pool B was won by Slovenia’s Ludus Ljubljana, who won their two matches against Czechia’s Telocvična Jednota Sokol Brno in straight sets to rank first with 15 points (seven wins, one loss).
The Spanish of CV Majadahonda Madrid ranked second with 13 points (five wins, three losses) and Hungary’s Édra Tata took the remaining spot in the elimination rounds with 11 points (three wins, five loss) and a better point ratio than Czechia’s Jednota.
Florian Nazaret“We are happy for this victory as we get to advance to the next round.”
CV Majadahonda Madrid Player
On Saturday, the playoffs and the semifinals will be played in Balikesir. In the elimination rounds, clubs will face each other in two matches and, in case of a tie, a golden set will be held to determine the winners.
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.