Pairs from Switzerland and Germany earned the women’s and the men’s Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games beach volleyball gold medals over the weekend in Duisburg. Menia Bentele & Annique Niederhauser triumphed in the ladies’ competition, leaving Floor Hogenhout & Nigella Negenman of the Netherlands and Alexis Durish & Audrey Koenig of the United States behind with silver and bronze, respectively. Home favorites Philipp Huster & Maximilian Just pleased the German fans with the men’s crown, while Quinten Groenewold & Tom Sonneville of the Netherlands and Elouan Chouikh-Barbez & Joadel Gardoque of France completed the podium.
Third-seeded Menia & Annique registered seven consecutive victories in the women’s competition to power through the tournament undefeated and claim the gold medal. In the semifinals, they achieved a 2-1 (16-21, 21-18, 15-11) comeback win over second-seeded Malgorzata Ciezkowska & Urszula Lunio of Poland and, in the final showdown (pictured in the main photo; source: Conny Kurth / Rhine-Ruhr 2025 via volleybal.nl), the Swiss pair put together a 2-1 (21-18, 19-21, 15-5) victory over Hogenhout & Negenman, seeded 12th.
The Dutch team also reached the gold medal match unbeaten in six games played. They crowned their quest to the podium with a 2-1 (21-15, 14-21, 16-14) semifinal win over fourth-seeded Durish & Koenig. The American duo bounced back with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-10) sweep of the bronze medal match against Ciezkowska & Lunio.
Men’s bracket leaders Huster & Just also cruised through their tournament on a seven-game winning streak. In the semifinals, the German pair dropped one of only two sets lost throughout their campaign to shape up a 2-1 (19-21, 21-18, 15-12) comeback over 14th-seeded Italians Riccardo Iervolino & Filippo Mancini. In the gold medal showdown, Huster & Just produced a 2-0 (21-13, 21-12) shutout of Groenewold & Sonneville.
The seventh-seeded Dutchmen mastered a 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) sweep of their semifinal against third-seeded Chouikh & Gardoque before the French pair recovered with a 2-0 (22-20, 21-18) bronze medal win over Iervolino & Mancini to make the podium.
24 women’s and 24 men’s teams from a total of 30 different countries took part in the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games beach volleyball events in Duisburg.
