The 31-year-old and 26-year-old Aine Raupelyte are running on a good measure of momentum.
The duo achieved their greatest milestone by becoming the first Lithuanian beach volleyball team to qualify for and compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. While they lost all their matches in the challenging pool play against powerhouse pairs from Brazil, the Netherlands and Japan, they quickly showed their resilience by immediately pursuing a stronger comeback campaign.
The Lithuanians sought to return to the sands with a major result, forging a semifinal appearance at the European Championships held in the Netherlands. They went on to play in the Beach Pro Tour, hitting their season-high as they made the cut for the BPT Elite 16 in Rio de Janeiro before finishing among the top four teams at the BPT Challenge Chennai, both in November 2024.
Monika Paulikiene at the Beach Pro Tour Elite16 in Cape Town, South Africa.
They picked up speed in the 2025 Beach Pro Tour as they secured Main Draw appearances in Elite 16 and Challenge events. They recorded their best finish of the 2025 season as ninth placers at the BPT Elite 16 Joao Pessoa in September, while also earning fifth-place finishes at both the BPT Challenge Nuvali in October and the BPT Challenge Baden in August.
Paulikiene & Raupelyte are reaping the merits of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Empowerment Programme. As active beneficiaries of Coach Support covering the period of 2021 to 2026, they have unlocked their potential to consistently participate in Beach Pro Tour stops and continental meets, enabling them to chase their chances toward a World Championship title.
The FIVB’s total investment of USD 252,000 is seen to propel the performance of Lithuania’s lone entry in Adelaide. Coaches Paulius Matulis and Simon Nauch have worked with the pair since 2022, helping to strengthen the Lithuanian programme across key participation platforms in the Beach Pro Tour. They were also at the helm during the pair’s debut in the 2023 edition of the World Championships, held across various cities in Mexico.
Aine Raupelyte serving in a match at the Beach Pro Tour Elite16 Cape Town.
Paulikiene & Raupelyte completed the pool phase in third place, which earned them a fighting chance in the Lucky Loser round. They went on to the knockout stage before bowing out to Brazil’s Ana Patricia & Duda, the eventual runners-up.
As they mark their return to the World Championships, the Lithuanians now aim to translate that consistency of participation and hard work into a historic deep run in Adelaide 2025. They are set to compete in Pool G, scheduled to play against Spain’s Daniela Alvarez & Tania Moreno, USA’s Molly Shaw & Kelly Cheng, and Australia’s Jasmine Fleming & Stefanie Fejes at Adelaide’s The Drive and Pinky Flat.
Ranked 22nd in the FIVB World Rankings as of this writing, Paulikiene & Raupelyte have charted an impressive trajectory over recent years, helping Lithuania’s beach volleyball history reach uncharted heights. With the added boost of the FIVB Empowerment Programme, Paulikiene & Raupelyte continue to inspire fellow athletes as they collectively write new chapters in their nation’s growing beach volleyball story.
