Swedish win again as Europeans take five medals in Nuvali
Beach Pro Tour
European beach volleyball teams were in top form in the last Challenge event of the 2024 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour season, collecting five of the six medals in play in Nuvali, the Philippines, this weekend.
Led by Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson, who took gold on the Beach Pro Tour for a second-straight week, the continent secured a podium sweep in the men’s tournament, with duos from Germany and England joining the Swedish in the awarding ceremony. The women’s event had duos from the Netherlands and Germany taking silver and bronze, respectively.
One week after their historic victory in Chennai, Hölting Nilsson and Andersson continued in top form to take gold in Nuvali. In the gold medal match, they overcame Germans Paul Henning and Lui Wust in straight sets (21-17, 21-16) to step on the top of the podium again.
Elmer Andersson“It feels amazing! We really didn’t expect it. The first time we thought it was easier playing without pressure, but when we already won one, we really thought it would be more challenging the next time, and it was! But yes, a really nice feeling!”
Swedish Beach Volleyball Player
The bronze medal match in Nuvali also pitted two European teams against each other, with the English Bello twins Javier and Joaquin getting the better of Austrians Philipp Waller and Timo Hammarberg to secure a 2-1 (21-18, 17-21, 15-12) victory that earned them a spot on the podium.
After enjoying a very successful campaign, which started in the qualifier, Dutch Brecht Piersma and Noa Sonneville represented Europe in the women’s gold medal match in the Philippines, but they couldn’t handle Americans Molly Shaw, who triumphed in the tie-breaker (24-22, 17-21, 15-10).
Two European duos fought for bronze and Germans Sandra Ittlinger and Kim Van de Velde came out on top, beating Polish Malgorzata Ciezkowska and Urszula Lunio in two sets (21-18, 21-16) to claim the medals.
The 2024 Beach Pro Tour season will come to an end next week with the Finals being held in Doha, Qatar. Eight men’s and five women’s teams will represent Europe in the event.