Finland’s rising stars claim double NEVZA gold, secure tickets to European Championship
News
U20 NEVZA medals were at stake at Santasport in Rovaniemi, Finland on Sunday, and both golds stayed in Finland. Moreover, with their successes, the local teams secured their participation in the Final Round of the U20 European Championships scheduled for the summer of 2027. The home girls beat Norway 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-11) in the final whereas the boys outplayed Sweden in straight sets too (25-11, 25-15, 25-18). Both teams played their finals the same way they had performed on Friday and Saturday: calmly, displaying their own game, and never giving the opponent a moment where the match looked like turning.
For the girls that meant five wins out of five, for the boys five wins with a single set dropped all weekend.
The best fight of the day, though, was for the boys’ bronze. Norway and Denmark went five sets: Norway took the opener 25-23, Denmark won the next two to lead 2-1, before Norway levelled via a 25-20 set win, and the decider ended 15-12. Norway won 3-2 despite Denmark scoring one more point than their rivals (105 to 104) over the entire match. By then the players from both finals were in the stands, and you could hear which bench was cheering for whom. The girls’ bronze went to Denmark following a comprehensive 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-18) victory over Sweden.
Tournament awards
Women’s Dream Team: setter Laura Alapuranen (FIN), opposite Neea Hautakangas (FIN), outside hitters Mille Bassøe (DEN) and Marina Kerman (FIN), middle blockers Nora Elliassen Langnes (Norway) and Helmi Laustola (Finland), libero Susan Söderlund (Finland).
Men’s Dream Team: setter Eeli Kuukasjärvi (FIN), opposite Jelani Conteh (ENG), outside hitters Kaapo Vanhatupa (FIN) and Hannes Holmberg (SWE), middle blockers Felix Björkholtz (SWE) and Maxim Sadovnikov (FIN), libero Alfred Fransson (SWE).
Most Valuable Player of the women’s tournament was named Denmark’s Mille Bassøe, with Alfred Fransson (Sweden) claiming the same award in the men’s competition.
Tournament director Jukka Mäkihannu closed the tournament at the end of the ceremony: “Congratulations to all awarded teams and players. All good things come to an end. As organisers, we want to thank you all for coming to Rovaniemi. It has truly been an honour to host this event once again. Thank you to the referees for your excellent work. Thank you to the players for giving our audience so many great moments. A special thank you for the way you have connected with our local young players. It has meant a lot to them. Thank you to all our volunteers. Without you, tournaments like this would not be possible. And thank you to our partners for being part of this event. We hope you have had a memorable weekend. Thank you all. The NEVZA tournament 2026 is now closed. Have a safe and pleasant trip back home!”
