Pairs from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment supported federations of Austria, Czechia and Morocco lined up among the medalists at zonal beach volleyball events last week.
MEVZA Beach Volleyball Tour in Bibinje, Croatia
Michael Klemen & Elias Holzinger of Austria and Tomas Semerad & Adam Stocek of Czechia, both benefitting from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment support, took men’s gold and bronze at the MEVZA Beach Volleyball Tour stop (pictured in the main photo; source: MEVZA – Middle European Volleyball Zonal Association) in Bibinje last week. Luxembourg’s Colin Hilbert & Steve Weber brought home silver. Daniela Gonzalez & Shiray Danenberg of Israel, Chiara Honti-Majoros & Adrienn Posztos-Szabo of Hungary and Anita Dave & Ronni Lavie, also of Israel, picked up the podium spots in the women’s tournament.
Austria’s beach volleyball has so far been allocated USD 168,000 in coach support from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, in addition to USD 6,000 for a national beach volleyball team coach development knowledge transfer program. Greek coach Georgios Kotsilianos has been in charge of their men’s national duos. The Czech Volleyball Federation has been granted USD 252,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national beach volleyball teams and another USD 18,000 in national beach volleyball team coach development knowledge transfer programs. Their men’s pairs take advantage of Italian coach Andrea Tomatis’s expertise.
Austria’s Michael Klemen & Elias Holzinger suffered only one loss at the zonal tournament in Bibinje, to Luxembourg’s Colin Hilbert & Steve Weber in the Pool C final, but when they met again in the gold medal showdown on Sunday, Klemen & Holzinger took their revenge with a 2-0 (21-14, 21-15) shutout and lifted the Middle European trophy. Before that, in the semifinals, the Austrian duo came back from a set down against Czechia’s Tomas Semerad & Adam Stocek to celebrate a 2-1 (10-21, 21-13, 15-11) victory.
Semerad & Stocek bounced back with a 2-0 (21-17, 21-13) sweep of the bronze medal match against another Austrian pair – Philipp Sponer & Lorenz Petutschnig, who had lost to Hilbert & Weber by 2-0 (22-20, 21-14) in the other semifinal.
Meanwhile in the women’s competition in Bibinje, Israel’s Daniela Gonzalez & Shiray Danenberg cruised to the top of the podium with five wins in five matches played. In the semifinals, they produced a 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) victory over Czechia’s Tereza Novotna & Jana Mrkvickova, and in the final, they came back from a set down to put together a 2-1 (15-21, 21-12, 15-9) turnaround against Hungary’s Chiara Honti-Majoros & Adrienn Posztos-Szabo.
The Hungarian duo also reached the final undefeated. They crowned their winning run with a 2-0 (21-13, 21-15) semifinal victory over another Israeli pair, Anita Dave & Ronni Lavie, who recovered with a 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) win over Novotna & Mrkvickova to get the bronze.
Women’s results and standings
27 men’s and 26 women’s teams from Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Hungary, Israel, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Slovenia took part in the MEVZA tournaments in Bibinje.
CAVB Zone I Beach Volleyball Championships in Kelibia, Tunisia
FIVB Volleyball Empowerment supported pairs from Morocco emerged champions at the CAVB Zone I Beach Volleyball Nations Championships held in Kelibia, Tunisia from 11 to 15 June. Morocco’s Oussama El Azhari & Soufiane El Gharouti won the men’s competition while their compatriots Oumaima El Mahi & Imane Yakki emerged women’s champions of the zonal tournament where the top two teams in each gender category qualified for the 2026 CAVB Africa Nations Beach Volleyball Championships.
Morocco are coached by Italian expert Ezio Goia who is in charge of both their senior and junior men’s and women’s teams as part of a one-year coach support project under the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program worth USD 42,000.
El Azhari & El Gharouti strung together a five-match flawless streak including a 2-0 (21-18, 21-13) sweep of Tunisia’s Anas Ben Messaoud & Youssef Ben Arab in the semifinals. The Moroccans crowned their superb run with a 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) victory over Tunisia’s Adem Elmeddeb & Bassem Lemjid in the final to claim the gold medal without dropping a set.
Elmeddeb & Lemjid had edged out Algeria’s Kallouche Mohamed-Islem & Ayyoub Dekkiche by 2-1 (21-19, 14-21, 15-8) to reach the final. The Algerian duo bounced back in the third-place playoff to clinch the bronze medal with a 2-0 (21-15, 21-10) rout of Tunisia’s Anas Ben Messaoud & Youssef Ben Arab.
Oumaima El Mahi & Imane Yakki were equally flawless in the women’s competition where they claimed the gold medal on a 6-0 win-loss record. After four consecutive straight-set wins in the preliminary round, El Mahi & Yakki defeated Algeria’s Kaouther Boucetta & Nesrine Amalou by 2-0 (21-7, 21-12) in the semifinals and followed it up with a 2-0 (21-09, 21-11) sweep of another Algerian pair, Louiza Bayou & Amira Bechar, in the final to emerge champions.
Bayou & Bechar had eliminated Tunisia’s Lamis Lourassi & Nermine Ben Hamza by 2-0 (21-8, 21-9) in the semifinals. It’s Algeria’s Boucetta & Amalou who overcame Tunisia’s Lamis Lourassi & Nermine Ben Hamza by 2-0 (21-8, 21-9) in the third-place playoff to clinch the bronze medal.
Women’s results and standings
Eight men’s and five women’s teams from Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Libya participated in the CAVB Zone I Beach Volleyball Nations Championships held in Kelibia.
