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With coach support from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, Spain’s Sofia Izuzquiza & Marta Carro claim FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championship silver
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Two US teams, Myriah Massey & Lily Davis and Sally Perez & Sarah Wood, complete the podium with gold and bronze
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Poland’s Szymon Pietraszek & Jakub Krzeminski, Latvia’s Matiss Salkovskis & Karlis Jaundzeikars and Iran’s AmirAli GhalehNovi & Habib AkbarzadehKashani line up with the U19 men’s medals
Sofia Izuzquiza & Marta Carro of FIVB Volleyball Empowerement supported Spain celebrated the women’s silver medals at the FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships in Shangluo, China last week. The USA’s Myriah Massey & Lily Davis beat Izuzquiza & Carro in Sunday’s final to triumph as U19 world champions. Another American duo, Sally Perez & Sarah Wood, took the bronze. Poland’s Szymon Pietraszek & Jakub Krzeminski snatched the U19 men’s world title, leaving Latvia’s Matiss Salkovskis & Karlis Jaundzeikars as runners-up. The bronze went to AmirAli GhalehNovi & Habib AkbarzadehKashani of Iran.
The Royal Spanish Volleyball Federation has so far been granted CHF 252,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for its national beach volleyball teams, who have been working with Brazilian instructor Marco Pires Albuquerque. Spain’s Izuzquiza & Carro reached the U19 World Championship final on a six-match winning run. Before losing to Massey & Davis by 2-0 (21-16, 21-16) in the gold medal showdown, the two 18-year-old Spanish athletes achieved a 2-1 (21-14, 13-21, 15-10) semifinal victory over Thailand’s Varagkhana Sogalee & Somruedee Koedkaew.
Izuzquiza & Carro celebrate after securing a world medal by winning their semifinal
Last year, Izuzquiza & Carro triumphed as U18 European champions, but the U19 silver they claimed in Shangluo was the first world-level medal for either of them. It was also Spain’s best achievement in the history of the competition, after their compatriots Daniela Alvarez & Tania Moreno took the bronze in 2018.
“I am super happy for this result,” said Marta Carro. “I would have liked to get the gold medal, but it was not possible, because our opponents were very good. I can only say thank you to my partner, because she is the best.”
“We are going to keep training, because we have to improve,” commented Sofia Izuzquiza. “We are also going to study at university in the United States. Our opportunity is going to be amazing now, so we are going to work harder.”
18-year-old Massey and 17-year-old Davis started the tournament from the qualifiers, but eight wins and one loss later, they could triumph as champions of the world. In their semifinal, they came back from a set down against compatriots Perez & Wood to celebrate a 2-1 (12-21, 21-19, 15-5) victory. It was the third time in history a US duo claimed the U19 women’s world title. At the previous edition of the tournament two years ago, Massey took the silver medal in partnership with Ashley Pater, but now went one step higher with Lily Davis, all the way to the top of the podium. For Davis, this was the first major international competition of her career.
In the bronze medal match, 17-year-old Perez and 16-year-old Wood secured a second American spot on the podium by delivering a 2-0 (21-17, 21-16) victory over Thailand’s Varagkhana & Somruedee. So after going through the tournament on a 6-1 win-loss record, they decorated their duo’s first world-level appearance with bronze, bringing the USA’s total medal count in the history of the competition up to seven.
The women’s FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championship podium
In the men’s final, Poland’s Pietraszek & Krzeminski defeated Latvia’s Salkovskis & Jaundzeikars in straight sets, but each of the two sets was decided by the narrowest of margins and the first was even pushed deep into overtime before the Polish duo could celebrate a 2-0 (25-23, 21-19) victory and the U19 world title. To get to the top of the podium, the 18-year-old Poles achieved a fantastic streak of nine consecutive wins from the qualifiers to the final and dropped only three sets along the way. They delivered a 2-0 (21-15, 21-18) sweep of their semifinal against Mexico’s Ines Antonio Vargas Lares & Carlos Andres Ayala Herrera.
Pietraszek & Krzeminski achieved Poland’s fifth title in the history of the competition, and first since 2012. It was the second time the two 18-year-old Polish beach volleyballers appeared together at a world-level tournament as a pair. At their Beach Pro Tour debut in June, they also reached the podium, claiming the silver medals at the Krakow Futures at home in Poland.
Poland and Latvia battling over the net during the men’s U19 World Championship final
After playing at two age-group CEV European Championships last year, now 18-year-old Salkovskis and 17-year-old Jaundzeikars decorated their first ever participation in a world-level event with silver, Latvia’s fifth U19 men’s world medal. Two Latvian pairs reached the final of the previous edition in 2022. Salkovskis & Jaundzeikars also started their journey in Shangluo from the qualification grind and eight wins later, crowned by a 2-1 (18-21, 21-16, 15-10) comeback victory in the semifinal against Iran’s GhalehNovi & Akbarzadeh, they found themselves in a direct battle with the Polish duo for the world crown.
A three-set battle unfolded in the third place match. 18-year-old GhalehNovi and 17-year-old Akbarzadeh snatched the bronze after a 2-1 (21-15, 19-21, 15-6) victory over Lares & Carlos Andres. At their first major international appearance, the Iranian duo achieved a 6-1 win-loss record, suffering a setback only in Saturday’s semifinal against the Latvians. It was Iran’s first ever medal from a U19 World Championship.
The men’s FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championship podium
49 women’s and 45 men’s teams representing 46 different countries from all five Continental Confederations took part in the 2024 FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships in Shangluo.
FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships: results and standings
