SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, October 18, 2026.– Twin sisters Avery and Addison Junk of the United States celebrated their first appearance on the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Continental Tour by capturing the women’s U23 title with an undefeated record, without dropping a single set, at the Beach Volleyball Stadium Flor Blanca in San Salvador, El Salvador.
The American sisters defeated Mexico’s twins Giselle and Vanessa Chay 2-0 (21-12, 21-19) in Sunday’s gold medal match, bringing an exciting conclusion to a championship showdown featuring two pairs of twin sisters.
After taking the opening set comfortably, the Junk sisters faced a much tougher challenge in the second, as the Mexican duo raised its level of play and put pressure on the Americans. Avery and Addison regained their rhythm in the closing stages to secure the title in straight sets.
“Winning the gold feels great. That was our intention coming into this tournament, and we’re really happy that we were able to achieve it,” said Avery Junk. “This is our first NORCECA event ever, and hopefully we’ll be competing in many more.”
Addison Junk acknowledged the adjustments Mexico made in the second set and explained how the Americans managed to respond. “Mexico played better. They missed fewer serves and were more consistent with their passing,” Addison explained. “We had a difficult stretch at the beginning of the second set, with some miscommunication when they served down the middle. I think after a technical timeout, we figured it out.”
The championship marked a successful NORCECA debut for the American twins, who maintained their unbeaten record throughout the competition and did not surrender a single set on their way to the gold medal.
Canada’s Julia McDougall and Natalia Casas earned the bronze medal after defeating El Salvador’s María Jimena Castañeda and Daniela Vigil 2-0 (21-18, 21-15).
The Canadian pair prevailed in a competitive opening set before maintaining control in the second to secure third place, while the Salvadoran duo finished fourth in front of its home crowd.
Earlier in the semifinals, the Junk sisters displayed their strength with a 2-0 (21-9, 21-11) victory over Castañeda/Vigil, earning their place in the championship match.
Mexico’s Chay twins completed the final lineup after defeating Canada’s McDougall/Casas 2-0 (21-16, 21-11), setting the stage for the all-twins gold medal encounter.
Dominicans Zoe Paniagua and Yerelin Reyes secured fifth place with a 2-0 (21-12, 21-11) victory over El Salvador’s Gabriela Flores and Adriana Vargas.
Sisters Vernecia and Verneeci Caines of the U.S. Virgin Islands finished seventh after defeating St. Kitts and Nevis’ Shaylee Pinney and Jontelle Hensley Philip 2-0 (21-15, 21-10).
Costa Rica’s Laura Molina and Ashly Chavarría claimed ninth place with a hard-fought 2-0 (21-17, 25-23) victory over Nicaragua’s Nahima Silva and Abdi Narváez. The second set developed into a closely contested battle, with the Costa Rican pair prevailing after extra points.
Bermuda’s Megan Hands and Natalie Gazzard secured eleventh place by defeating the Cayman Islands’ Julissa Kelly and Elise Swaby 2-0 (21-14, 21-10).
One of the day’s closest matches came in the contest for thirteenth place, where Barbados’ Destiny Layne and Janica Grant battled past Guatemala’s Daphne Mendoza and Marisabel González 2-1 (20-22, 25-23, 15-13). After dropping the opening set, the Barbadian pair saved their chances with a dramatic 25-23 second-set victory before edging Guatemala in a tightly contested tiebreak.
Anguilla’s Laveshka Richardson and Deandra Fleming completed the tournament in fifteenth place after defeating Honduras’ Miley Rodríguez and Valeria Acosta 2-0 (21-18, 21-19).
Other Results:
Classif. 5/8: Zoe/Reyes (DOM) d Vernecia/Verneeci (ISV) 2-0 (21-8, 21-14); Flores/Vargas (ESA) d Pinney/Hensley Philip (SKN) 2-0 (21-9, 21-15).