Strong start for Lithuanian teams in EEVZA #EuroBeachVolleyU18 qualifier

On Wednesday, thirteen teams caught a perfect start to the EEVZA U18 Beach Volleyball Championships in Cesis, which also count as a qualifying event for this year’s #EuroBeachVolleyU18. Seven duos won both games on the first day of the tournament in the men’s competition, as did six teams in the girls’ division. The decisive matches for first place in each pool and access to the knockout stage will be taking place on Thursday.

The boys’ tournament in Cesis started off with a strong performance from the Baltic neighbours, Lithuania, whose three teams all took two victories on the first day of action. Rokas Lukosevicius and Kristupas Sliezauskas opened the tournament with a 2-0 (21-18, 21-19) victory over Latvians Arturs Zodziks and Kārlis Kupfers, who were seeded first, and continued their journey with a 2-0 (21-11, 21-18) victory over Armenians Hakob Baghdasaryan and Seryozha Mesropyan. In Pool B, Orestas Kubilius and Emilis Bendikas achieved two victories, as did Laimonas Alisauskas and Lukas Gumbelevicius in Pool D. The Lithuanians will be challenged for first place in Pool A by fellow Baltic nation Estonia’s Mattias Meresaar and Jaani Konrad, who also won two games on Wednesday. In Pool B, Ukraine’s Andrii Shulhin and Daniil Tverdokhlib will fight for the top spot with Kubilius and Bendikas, while in Pool D, Poles Igor Gliszczynski and Alan Robak will do the same in their matchup with Alisauskas and Gumbelevicius. 

The home team Paula Krieva and Estere Zaķīte won both games on Wednesday to confirm their status as top seed, as did the Polish pair Natalia Lewandowska and Hanna Lesniewicz, who will fight with the locals for first place in Pool A and a ticket to the quarterfinals. In Pools B and C, the Ukrainian teams Mariia Shkurat/Marharyta Vapniar and Anastasiia Boiko/Olexandra Kovalchuk took the lead with double wins, while in Pool D, the Baltic pairs Keira Liina Lukas/Susanna Elisabeth Rikand from Estonia and Lithuanian sisters Agata and Beatrice Michalkeviciute will compete for first place after winning both of their games on Wednesday. Second-seeded Polish players Aleksandra Wolny and Zuzanna Legien defeated Lithuania’s Elze Motiekaityte and Juste Raudyte 2-1 (22-20, 19-21, 15-9) in a tough three-set match, but lost 0-2 (19-21, 16-21) to local duo Karlīna Bērziņa and Milana Tina Aleksejeva later in the day. 

Thursday features the final round of group stage matches and the first two rounds of the elimination phase. The group winners will advance directly to the quarterfinals, while second- and third-placed teams will compete in the first round of the playoffs.

Players from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine are involved in the competition. The eventual champions and runners-up in both the boys’ and girls’ tournaments will secure a spot to compete at the CEV U18 Beach Volleyball European Championships which will be held in Izmir, Türkiye, from September 17 to 20.

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