DOHA, Qatar, December 7, 2024.- Kristen Nuss & Taryn Kloth are the 2024 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour champions. The American duo defended their Doha Finals gold from last year and triumphed as champions for the second time in a row, while collecting their overall eighth gold and 12th medal on the Tour over the years.
The other American pair in the women’s tournament in Qatar, Terese Cannon & Megan Kraft, also reached the final of the Finals, but settled for silver. They are now on a streak of four consecutive medals on the Tour, after their Gstaad Elite16 silver, Vienna Elite16 bronze and Rio de Janeiro Elite16 silver, but their first gold as a team is still evading them.
Top-seeded Tina Graudina & Anastasija Samoilova earned the bronze. It was their ninth medal on the Beach Pro Tour, but first at a Finals event.
Both sets of Saturday evening’s all-American final went back and forth with Nuss & Kloth taking the upper hand for a 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) victory. Nuss’s four aces and Kloth’s five kill blocks tilted the outcome their way. They finished with 16 and 17 points, respectively, while Cannon delivered a match-high 22 points.
“I don’t know if there are many words there, but we have to give a huge credit to our fellow Americans Meg and Terese. What a tournament!” Nuss told VBTV after the final. “We are very excited to end the season like this. What a year it’s been! So to go out like this – I don’t think you can ask for much better.”
“It feels pretty good,” Kloth added. “We are ready for a nice break, but we were so happy to be here. Thank you, beach volleyball world for an amazing year!”
In the bronze medal match, Tina & Anastasija played against fifth-seeded Xue Chen & Xia Xinyi of China. After winning a dramatic first set in the overtime, the Latvians were well in control of the second and celebrated a 2-0 (24-22, 21-16) win. Tina was the best scorer of the match with 23 points, including three blocks and two aces. Anastasija also fired two aces to finish with 12 points. On the other of the net, Xue matched their combined ace total, while Xia led the team with 20 points, all in attack.
Earlier on Saturday, both American teams won their semifinals in straight sets. Cannon & Kraft mastered a 2-0 (21-17, 21-14) sweep of their encounter with Tina & Anastasija. Kraft fired three aces towards a 19-point match high, while Cannon put away three kill blocks and two aces to finish with 15 points. Then, Nuss & Kloth were even more emphatic and hammered out a 2-0 (21-13, 21-13) shutout of Xue & Xia. Kloth led the way with 21 points, including three blocks and two aces. Nuss added 13.
DOHA, Qatar, December 6, 2024.- Americans Cannon/Kraft and Kloth/Nuss to face Tina/Anastasija of Latvia and Xue/Xia of China, respectively, in the semifinals of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Finals in Doha on Friday for a place in the tournament’s gold medal match.
The duels will both happen on Saturday, with Tina and Anastasija battling Terese Cannon and Megan Kraft at 13:00 local time (10:00 GMT) and Xue and Xia facing Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss one hour later. The medal matches will be held on Sunday.
Cannon and Kraft are the only undefeated team in the women’s tournament in Qatar. The winners of Pool A with four victories and just one set lost, they advanced directly from pool play to the semifinals following their 2-0 (21-10, 21-15) victory over Italians Valentina Gottardi and Reka Orsi Toth.
Latvians and Americans met on Wednesday in Doha and Cannon and Kraft won in straight sets to even the head-to-head results between the teams, which now shows two triumphs for each side.
Reigning Beach Pro Tour Finals champions Kloth and Nuss topped Pool B with three wins and one loss, earning a direct spot in the semifinals. On Friday, they faced their only defeat so far in Doha, falling to Müller and Tillmann 2-1 (23-25, 22-20, 15-8).
On Saturday, Chinese and Americans will meet for the fourth time in just over a year. Kloth and Nuss won the last two duels, including the one in the pool phase of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
DOHA, Qatar, December 5, 2024.- Terese Cannon & Megan Kraft, Kristen Nuss & Taryn Kloth and Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon were the first teams to book their spots in the Doha Finals playoffs. Whether they will advance straight to the semifinals or move on to the quarterfinals, and who are the other three teams to join them will be decided in the last pool matches on Friday.
On Thursday, eighth-seeded Americans Cannon & Kraft achieved their third victory in Pool A, but this time they were pushed to a tie-breaker by fifth-seeded Xue Chen & Xia Xinyi of China. In an even game and despite an impressive 27-point match high from Xia, the US duo emerged with a 2-1 (21-15, 14-21, 15-12) win. Cannon & Kraft stand on top of the Pool A standings as the only team to have collected three victories so far.
Xue & Xia are second on a 2-1 win-loss record. Earlier on Thursday, the Chinese pair played another three-set match, but this time came out on the winning end, 2-1 (22-20, 15-21, 15-13) against Italian wild cards Valentina Gottardi & Reka Orsi Toth. Each of the four players in the match reached 20+ points, but Gottardi made a solid performance on the block with seven stuffs.
Fourth-seeded Brazilians Agatha Bednarczuk & Rebecca Cavalcanti achieved their first victory in Doha, a 2-0 (21-16, 21-11) shutout of top-seeded Latvians Tina Graudina & Anastasija Samoilova, with a 22-point match high from Rebecca. Later in the day, however, they lost their last pool match to Gottardi & Orsi Toth, also in straight sets, 2-0 (21-15, 21-17) and finished their Pool A campaign on 1-3.
Whether or not this was the last match of Agatha’s glorious professional career as a player will be known on Friday, when Tina & Anastasija and Gottardi & Orsi Toth will be looking for their second wins against Xue & Xia and Cannon & Kraft, respectively.
Pool B
Sixth-seeded Americans Nuss & Kloth and third-seeded Stam & Schoon of the Netherlands mastered two straight-set wins each on Thursday and secured advancement to the playoffs.
The Americans started their day with an emphatic 2-0 (21-11, 21-11) shutout of Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalists Melissa Humana-Paredes & Brandie Wilkerson of Canada, sharing the top scorer honors with 12 points apiece. Then Nuss put away a match-high 19 points towards a 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) victory over Spanish Olympians Daniela Alvarez & Tania Moreno and the American duo stayed undefeated in three matches played so far.
Stam & Schoon finished their pool matches and collected three wins to secure a spot among the top two in the pool. In their first match on Thursday, the Dutch hammered out a 2-0 (21-17, 21-17) win over second-seeded Germans Svenja Muller & Cinja Tillmann. While Schoon impressed with six aces, Stam raised five kill blocks towards a match-high 16 points. Stam & Schoon produced a 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) sweep of their last match in the pool against ninth-seeded Melissa & Brandie, with a 21-point match high from Stam.
Friday’s race for third place in the pool will be decided in the matches between Muller & Tillmann (currently third on 1-2) and Nuss & Kloth, and between Melissa & Brandie (also on 1-2) and winless Alvarez & Moreno.
DOHA, Qatar, December 4, 2024.- Terese Cannon & Megan Kraft made a solid start to the Doha Finals on Wednesday. At this rookie appearance for either of the two American players at a Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Finals, they produced two straight-set victories on opening day and were the only women’s team to do so.
Eighth-seeded Cannon & Kraft started their Pool A campaign in the Qatari capital on Wednesday afternoon with an emphatic 2-0 (21-16, 21-10) shutout of fourth-seeded Brazilians Agatha Bednarczuk & Rebecca Cavalcanti. Dominating both in attack and in serving, the two Americans contributed 18 points apiece to the victory. Cannon & Kraft were just as convincing in their second match, when they hammered out a 2-0 (21-18, 21-10) upset of top-seeded Latvians Tina Graudina & Anastasija Samoilova. Cannon added the block as one of the team’s big weapons in this match, raising five stuffs towards a 19-point match high.
Wednesday’s other two Pool A matches were both pushed to tie-breaker resolutions. First, Tina & Anastasija opened their campaign with a 2-1 (19-21, 22-20, 15-11) comeback against 10th-seeded Italians Valentina Gottardi & Reka Orsi Toth. Orsi Toth was on fire in attack with 21 points and from the serving line with five aces. Anastasija also spiked 21 points in offence while Tina produced six kill blocks towards their success, facilitated by abundant Italian errors.
Agatha & Rebecca suffered a second defeat on Wednesday, this time at the hands of fifth-seeded Xue Chen & Xia Xinyi of China. Xue’s impenetrable block produced seven kill blocks and her serve delivered four aces, while Xia’s offensive effort achieved a match-high 25 points towards a 2-1 (18-21, 21-14, 15-12) comeback victory.
Pool B
Four different teams came up with one win each in Pool B on Wednesday.
After a 2-1 (21-16, 18-21, 15-9) battle, third-seeded Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon of the Netherlands got back at the Spaniards for the Paris Olympic eighthfinal defeat. Stam was the best scorer of the match with 22 points.
At the same time on centre court, Paris 2024 silver medalists Melissa Humana-Paredes & Brandie Wilkerson of Canada, seeded ninth, squeezed out a narrow 2-1 (16-21, 21-13, 17-15) comeback against second-seeded Germans Svenja Muller & Cinja Tillmann. Later in the day, the German duo bounced back with a 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) win over seventh-seeded Alvarez & Moreno. In each of the two games, Muller produced a 25-point match high, including four blocks and two aces.
Sixth-seeded Kristen Nuss & Taryn Kloth of the United States started their Doha Finals quest with a 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) shutout of Stam & Schoon. Kloth led the way with 22 points to her name.
Another eight women’s pool-stage matches will be played on Thursday. Action starts at 13:00 local time (10:00 UTC).
December 3, 2024.- It is almost time for the biggest Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour event of the year! The Beach Pro Tour Finals in the Qatari capital Doha will get underway on Wednesday, December 4, and will last through Saturday, December 7.
Among the women’s line-up of 10 top-calibre teams defending Doha Finals champions Kristen Nuss & Taryn Kloth and Terese Cannon & Megan Kraft of the United States, and Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalists Melissa Humana-Paredes & Brandie Wilkerson of Canada.
The 10 teams are split into two single round-robin pools of five. The two pool winners will advance straight to the semifinals, while the teams placed second or third will move to a quarterfinal round. Action will start at 13:00 local time (10:00 UTC) on Wednesday.
Pool A
Current leaders in the FIVB World Ranking, Latvia’s Tina Graudina & Anastasija Samoilova, collected four podiums in the 2024 Beach Pro Tour – gold at the Recife Challenge, silver at the Stare Jablonki Challenge and bronze at the Ostrava Elite16 and the Gstaad Elite16. The Latvian pair competed at their second Olympic Games and reached the quarterfinals at Paris 2024, where they were eliminated by the champions-to-be, Brazil’s Ana Patricia Ramos & Eduarda Santos Lisboa (Duda). During the last months of the year, they topped the World Ranking for the first time in their careers. Tina & Anastasija will lead Pool A in Doha in the company of another four high-level duos.
The Doha Finals will be the last professional tournament for the iconic Agatha Bednarczuk. The 41-year-old Brazilian is set to put an end to her glorious career after playing at two Olympic Games and earning silver at Rio de Janeiro 2016, in addition to claiming the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship title in 2015. This year, Agatha and her partner Rebecca Cavalcanti picked up silver at the Guadalajara Challenge.
Another Olympic medalist, China’s Xue Chen, will also compete in Pool A. The experienced Beijing 2008 bronze medalist and four-time Olympian will reunite with two-time Olympian Xia Xinyi for the Finals. Before Paris 2024, they picked up Challenge golds in Saquarema and Stare Jablonke. With a new partner, Xue also claimed gold at the Haikou Challenge last month and an AVC Asian Championship silver. The continental gold went to Xia and her new teammate.
The pool also features USA’s Terese Cannon & Megan Kraft. They did not play at the Paris Olympics, but after that rose to the top 10 in the World Ranking to become the highest placed American team in the chart. They are on a roll with three consecutive Elite16 podiums – Gstaad silver, Vienna bronze and Rio de Janeiro silver.
The last spot in the pool was taken by Italian wild cards Valentina Gottardi & Reka Orsi Toth. Having just turned 22, Gottardi is the youngest player to compete in the Doha tournament. The Paris Olympian, who reached number six in the world and claimed 2024 CEV European Championship silver with experienced Marta Menegatti, joined forces with Orsi Toth ahead of the Rio Elite16, where they reached the quarterfinals. With her previous teammate, Orsi Toth collected four Futures medals on the 2024 Beach Pro Tour.
Pool B
The world’s number three and number four teams – Germany’s Svenja Muller & Cinja Tillmann and Netherlands’ Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon, respectively – highlight the Pool B line-up. The German Olympians triumphed at the Vienna Elite16 and finished runners-up at the Vienna Elite16. They also celebrated as European champions, while two-time Olympians and former World Ranking leaders Stam & Schoon earned a Tepic Elite16 silver and an Espinho Elite16 bronze.
Defending Doha Finals champions Kristen Nuss & Taryn Kloth of the United States, who arrived at Paris 2024 as the number two team in the world, riding the wave of three consecutive Elite16 podiums – silver in Brasilia and gold in Espinho and Gstaad – but were disappointed by their early departure from the Olympics after the eighthfinals, will try to bounce back in Doha, where they will also start their campaign in Pool B. That means a remake of last year’s final with Muller & Tillmann is on the programme for Friday.
Young Spaniards Daniela Alvarez & Tania Moreno, who made headlines at Paris 2024 by beating some big names, including Stam & Schoon in the eighthfinals, arrive in Doha with one 2024 medal to show, a Xiamen Challenge bronze.
On the other hand, the team that knocked out Alvarez & Moreno in the Olympic quarterfinals will also compete in this pool. Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalists Melissa Humana-Paredes & Brandie Wilkerson are the other wild-card team at the Finals. The two-time Canadian Olympians picked up another two silvers in 2024, at the Doha and the Ostrava Elite16 events, peaking to number three in the world right before the Games.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, October 1, 2024 – The 2024 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour Season resumes in October starting in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Playa Los Corales in Punta Cana will host two events, starting with the fifth Stop of the NORCECA Tour from October 1 to 5, followed by the U23 Continental Tour event from October 6 to 10 which is part of the qualification process to the 2025 Junior Pan American Games.
Los Corales beach
The sixth Stop of the NORCECA Tour will take place in Puerto Cortés, Honduras, from October 17 to 21. This marks the first time in the history of the Tour that Honduras will host the event.
The Tour will then move to Bonaire for the seventh Stop, from October 31 to November 4.
Additionally, three more events are scheduled on the NORCECA Tour calendar to close out the 2024 season: El Salvador, from November 7 to 11; Trinidad and Tobago, from November 21 to 25; and Costa Rica, from December 5 to 9.
The official registration of participating teams for each event is confirmed the day before the competition begins. Teams will be seeded according to their position in the most recent event and placed based on their ranking, using the National Federation (NF) classification.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua, June 13, 2024. – The 2024 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Tour returns to the courts at Paseo Xolotlán in Managua for its fourth stop of the year. The event kicks off this Friday at 8:00 a.m. with over 30 matches scheduled.
A total of 30 teams are set to compete in the tournament, which will be played across three courts over three days, culminating in the final on Sunday.
Men’s Competition
In the men’s division, 14 teams are registered, divided into four groups:
Group A Edgar Maldonado/Luis García (GUA), Zendai Richard/Clerique Ward (SKN), and Rubén Mora/Danny López (NCA).
Group B Daniel Dyner/Julian Araya (CRC), Jesario Ebanks/Stephen Watson (CAY), Timothy Brewster/Kyle Friend (USA), and Denis Lopez/Alexander Meneses (NCA).
Group C David Vargas/Gabriel Vargas (SLV), Braedon Cooke/Connor Somerville (BER), Rouzbeh Rahnavard/Tynan Gannett (CAN), and Diego Perez/Ryan Lerna (USA).
-Group D Kendall Ratter/Marc Lomeli (ISV), William Rivera/Arnaldo Torres (PUR), and Darnel Eudoxie/Rio Jaden Victor (LCA).
USA
Women’s Competition:
In the women’s division, 16 teams will vie for the top spot on the podium. The groups are as follows:
Group A Maryn McCoombs/Heater Thompson (CAY), Megan Hands/Kayley Hamilton (BER), Socorro López/Lolette Rodríguez (NCA), and Katherine Quesada/Eugenia Ramírez (CRC).
Group B Dana Funes/Keiry Guzman (ESA), Martiza Zuniga/Danna Aguilar (GUA), Molly Shaw/Chloe Loreen (USA), and Yulimar Alvarado/Ella Resau (NCA).
Group C Ximena Núñez/Kianny Quesada (CRC), Nicole Reinking/Heather Friesen (USA), Marie-Alex Bélanger/Lea Monkhouse (CAN), and Valeska Hernández/Nahima Silva (NCA).
Group D Sarah Penner/Melanie Valenciana (ISV), Myriam Robitaille/Darby Dunn (CAN), Maria Orellana/Paola Alvarado (GUA), and Kianny Araya/Aliza Aguilar (CRC).
Puerto Rico
Men’s Morning Schedule
Maldonado/Garcia (GUA) vs Zendai/Clerique (SKN) Cancha 2 08:00 a.m.
Mora/Lopez (NCA) Bye
D. Dyner/Araya (CRC) vs Jesario/Watson (CAY) 3 08:00
Brewster/Friend (USA) vs Lopez/MENESES (NCA) 2 08:45
Pepe/Vargas (ESA) vs Cooke/Somerville (BER) 3 08:45
Rahnavard/Gannett (CAN) vs Perez/lerna (USA) 2 09:30
Rivera/Torres (PUR) vs Darnell/Rio (LCA) 2 10:15
Mora/Lopez (NCA) vs Zendai/Clerique (SKN) 3 10:15
Maldonado/Garcia (GUA) Bye
Brewster/Friend (USA) vs Jesario/Watson (CAY) 2 11:00
D. Dyner/Araya (CRC) vs Lopez/MENESES (NCA) 3 11:00
Rahnavard/Gannett (CAN) vs Cooke/Somerville (BER) 2 11:45
Pepe/Vargas (ESA) vs Perez/lerna (USA) 3 11:45
Ratter/Lomeli (ISV) vs Darnell/Rio (LCA) 3 12:30
Men’s Morning Schedule on central court
McCoombs/H. Thompson (CAY) vs Hands/Hamilton (BER) 08:00
Lopez/Lolette (NCA) vs Quesada/Ramírez (CRC) 08:45
Funes/GUZMAN (ESA) Zuñiga/Aguilar (GUA) 09:30
Shaw/Loreen (USA) vs Alvarado/RESAU (NCA) 10:15
Núñez/Quesada (CRC) vs Reinking/Friesen (USA) 11:00
Bélanger/Monkhouse (CAN) vs Valeska/SILVA (NCA) 11:45
Penner/Valenciana (ISV) vs Robitaille/Dunn (CAN) 12:30
June 9, 2024.- Reigning world champions Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes of the United States won the Ostrava Elite 16 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour title on Sunday in Czechia.
The women’s tournament in Ostrava saw the return of world champions Cheng and Hughes to the top of the podium for the first time since their victory at last year’s FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship, last October. To do that, the Americans downed Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson 2-1 (21-13, 21-23, 15-12) in the gold medal match.
It was the sixth international and ninth overall victory of the two since they joined forces for the second time in their careers, at the end of 2022. It was also the second title of the 28-year-old Cheng in Ostrava, where she had won in 2021 with former partner Sarah Sponcil.
“Kelly and I just wanted to play together,” Hughes explained. “We just focused on our side of the net because they’re an incredible team. We knew we just had to do what it took to put the ball away and we did that. The fans here in Ostrava are among the best we ever played for, so I’d just like to thank them too.”
Men Podium
In the men’s field, Americans Andy Benesh and Miles Partain secured their best result of the season so far in Ostrava, beating Olympic champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway, who were returning to international competition after three months of absence, 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) in the bronze medal match.
The next two weeks in international beach volleyball will be dedicated to the Continental Olympic Qualifiers, with each of the five continental Confederations holding their events.
The Beach Pro Tour will have its next Elite16 event in Gstaad, Switzerland, from July 3-7.
STARE JABLONKI, Poland June 2, 2024.- Cubans Jorge Alayo and Noslen Díaz won the silver medal on Sunday, at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Stare Jablonki Challenge in Poland, which put them in Olympic Qualification Zone.
World champions Czech Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner beat Cuban sensations Jorge Alayo and Noslen Diaz 2-1 (21-17, 17-21, 15-11) to secure the title.
Alayo and Diaz also went to three sets but won 2-1 (18-21, 21-19, 15-10) to Caprogosso siblings of Argentina.
The results of the Stare Jablonki Challenge caused significant changes in the FIVB Olympic Rankings with just one tournament left in the qualification period, involving teams that were just outside the qualification zone and also ones who are battling other duos from their own countries for a spot in the Paris Games.
Selfie
Men’s silver medalists Alayo and Diaz started the event outside the qualification zone but are now well inside it with the 760 points they collected, getting to 7,800. With that, Chilean cousins Marco and Esteban Grimalt, who have 7,260, were pushed down the list and are now looking from the outside.
The same movement happened among the women, in which Canadians Sarah Pavan and Molly McBain, who fell in semifinals to 0-2 (11-21, 18-21) to Latvia’s Tina/Anastasija, were the last team inside the zone, also added points, but got only to 6,660 and are now outside.
The Olympic qualification period comes to an end next week, after the conclusion of the Ostrava Elite16, which will go from Wednesday to Sunday in Czechia.
ESPINHO, Portugal, May 26, 2024.- Medal contenders for the upcoming Paris Olympics, USA’s Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss secured an important victory just two months before the start of the event, taking gold at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Espinho Elite16 on Sunday.
The tournament held at the Praia da Baía was the fourth of seven Elite16 events set to happen before the start of the Games and had one of the strongest fields of the season, with almost all the top teams of international beach volleyball making the trip to Portugal.
USA Gold Medal
Kloth, 27, and Nuss, 26, got to celebrate their sixth gold on the Beach Pro Tour and their first in 2024 after taking silver earlier this month in Brasília with a dramatic 2-1 (17-21, 28-26, 15-10) victory over Swiss Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli in a match in which they had to avoid six match points from their opponents in the second set before triumphing in the tie-breaker.
“This is absolutely unreal,” Nuss told Volleyball World. “It was such a battle. I think we go to three every single time against that Swiss team, they’re phenomenal athletes. It was pretty fun to just battle in this wind. The stadium was packed for the finals and for us, athletes, it means a lot to play in this atmosphere.”
From Espinho, the Beach Pro Tour heads to the Polish city of Stare Jablonki, which will host the second-to-last event in the Olympic qualification period, from May 30-June 2. The Challenge event will mark the return of international beach volleyball to the city for the first time since 2014.
The last event of the Olympic qualification period will be held in Ostrava, Czechia, from June 5-9, and will be an Elite16 tournament.
BRASILIA, Brazil, May 6, 2024- USA’s Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss won the silver medal from the Elite 16 Beach Volleyball Pro Tour in Brasilia over the weekend.
Kloth and Nuss, currently No.2 in the world, lost to No.1 Ana Patricia/Duda of Brazil 0-2 (17-21, 14-21) in the gold medal match.
Earlier in semifinals, the Americans recovered from losing the first set to Swiss Esmée/Zoe to advance to the title match 2-1 (16-21, 21-19, 15-12).
TEPIC, Mexico, April 21, 2024.- Cuba’s Noslen Diaz & Jorge Alayo continued their fabulous season by snatching bronze at their first Elite16 main draw appearance after beating Germany’s Clemens Wickler & Nils Ehlers on Sunday in Tepic, Mexico.
13th-seeded Diaz & Alayo, who started the tournament from the qualifiers, delivered a 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) upset of fifth-seeded Wickler & Ehlers. Alayo contributed six kill blocks towards the victory to finish with 21 points, while Ehlers was the best scorer of the match with 23. It was the fourth consecutive final four finish on the Beach Pro Tour for the Cuban duo. In the previous three Challenge events, they collected two silvers and a fourth place. The Tepic tournament was the first time they played in an Elite16 main draw, and the bronze earned will help them a lot in their quest to climb up the provisional Olympic ranking and qualify for Paris.
In their semifinal match, Diaz & Alayo took the first set, but Brazil’s Andre Stein & George Wanderley mounted a 2-1 (19-21, 21-15, 15-12) comeback.
Swedish David Ahman & Jonatan Hellvig defended the Tepic trophy edging Brazil’s Andre & George in three sets 2-1 (21-17, 19-21, 15-10) to celebrate their seventh Beach Pro Tour gold.
In the women’s field, Switzerland’s Nina Brunner & Tanja Huberli celebrated their first-ever Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour gold after defeating Netherlands’ Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon 2-1 (21-14, 19-21, 19-17) victory. Brazil’s Barbara Seixas & Carol Solberg squeezed out a bronze victory over Italy’s Marta Menegatti & Valentina Gottardi 2-1 (22-20, 21-23, 25-23).
GUADALAJARA, Mexico, April 14, 2024.- USA’s Trevor Crabb & Theodore Brunner gained an important edge in the race towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France by snatching the men’s gold while Canada’s Heather Bansley & Sophie Bukovec took the women’s bronze at the Beach Pro Tour Challenge event in Guadalajara.
15th-seeded Trevor Crabb & Theodore Brunner advanced to the Guadalajara knockouts as Pool C runners-up and won their next four games (all four of them in tiebreakers!) to snatch their second Beach Pro Tour gold, after topping the podium at the Espinho Challenge last summer. They also have the Haikou Challenge silver from November in their collection.
In their last two matches, the Americans had to come back from a set down but persevered on the way to a 2-1 (18-21, 21-18, 15-13) semifinal win over third-seeded Cubans Noslen Diaz & Jorge Alayo and a 2-1 (12-21, 21-19, 15-12) victory in the final against eighth-seeded Pfretzschner & Winter of Germany.
In the women’s field, Bansley & Bukovec, who launched their participation in the tournament from Thursday’s qualifiers, but then also started the main draw with a defeat, bounced back from their narrow semifinal loss with a 2-0 (21-18, 21-14) victory over German’s Borger & Ittlinger to get the bronze, their third Beach Pro Tour medal, after the Halifax Futures gold in September and the Recife Challenge silver in March.
In their semifinal game, Bansley & Bukovec fell 1-2 (18-21, 21-18, 18-21) to Switzerland’s Esmee Bobner & Zoe Verge-Depre who later won the gold medal.
The Beach Pro Tour will stay in Mexico for this week’s Tepic Elite16 event from April 17 to 21. The next Challenge event is in Xiamen, China from April 25 to 28.
SAQUAREMA, Brazil, April 1, 2024. – The Cuban duo of Noslen Díaz and Jorge Luis Alayo secured the silver medal at the Challenge Beach Pro Tour World Beach Volleyball event held last weekend in Saquarema, Brazil, marking their second consecutive silver at this level.
The Cubans fought hard against hosts George Souto and Andre Loyola, who needed three sets (21-18, 17-21, 19-17) in the gold medal match.
Díaz and Alayo amassed five victories against two defeats, matching their outstanding performance from the previous week in Recife, where they also claimed a silver medal after losing in the final to a Brazilian pair (Evandro and Arthur).
The Cuban team began their journey to the final in elimination group B. They lost to hosts Vinicus Freitas and Frank Heitor (18-21, 14-21), but stayed alive by defeating Ukrainians Sergiy Popov and Eduard Reznik (19-21, 21-17, 15-12).
With a record of 1-1, they advanced to the round of 18 and defeated brothers Javier and Joaquín Bello, who represent Great Britain, in a 2-1 sets victory (21-18, 22-20).
In the round of 16, they won 2-1 (22-20, 19-21, 16-14) against renowned Brazilians Pedro Solberg and Gustavo Carvalhaes, advancing to the quarterfinals where they defeated Austrians Julian Hört and Alexander Horst 2-0 (21-14, 21-17).
RECIFE, Brazil, March 25, 2024.- Cuba’s Jorge Alayo and Noslen Díaz and Canada’s Heather Bansley and Sophie Bukovec earned a silver medal on Sunday at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Recife Challenge tournament in Brazil.
Brazilians Evandro Gonçalves and Arthur Lanci took full advantage of their first home event in Recife, with a 2-0 (21-15, 21-18) win over Alayo and Díaz in front of a packed center court.
Alayo and Díaz earned their way to the finals winning 2-0 over Argentina’s Capogrosso/Capogrosso in the Round of 16, 2-0 against Canada’s Schachter/Dearing in quarterfinals and 2-0 over Bello/Bello from England in semifinals.
While in the women’s field, Latvia’s Anastasija Samoilova and Tina Graudina won the gold-medal match 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) over the Canadians tandem.
Canada came up from the qualifying round to have an almost perfect tournament, including a 2-0 win in semifinals over Ittlinger/Borger of Germany.
Many of the teams competing in Brazil are earning important points towards Paris 2024 Olympic berths. In each gender, 17 spots will be obtained through the Olympic ranking until the June 9 deadline and high-level Beach Pro Tour events offer points towards that ranking.
The battle to qualify for this summer’s Olympics is set to have another chapter in Brazil as the country will host another Beach Pro Tour Challenge event next week, with teams heading south to Saquarema, where they will compete from Thursday to Sunday.
DOHA, Qatar, March 9, 2024.- Canada’s Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson take home a silver medal from the first Elite 16 of the year at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour stop in Doha, and Sara Hughes alongside Kelly Cheng of the United States take the bronze.
Melissa & Brandie knocked out two powerful Brazilian pairs on the way to the final but stopped short of beating a third one Bárbara Seixas and Carol Salgado in the gold medal showdown. Seventh-seeded Barbara & Carol showed a solid performance against the fourth-seeded Canadians and mastered a 2-0 (21-18, 21-18) shutout to lift the trophy in the Qatari capital.
“It was a hard-fought week of great competition. It feels great to be back on tour playing against the best,” said Humana-Paredes. “We had a tough pre-season preparing for this, so we’re happy to see the things we worked on in action. A big team effort! Would have loved a better showing in the finals but the positive is we have a lot of good to take back home and work on.”
Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson
The field in Doha, Qatar, was packed with top-ranking teams. Canada is currently ranked fourth in the world.
Canada defeated number-one ranked Eduarda Santos Lisboa (Duda) & Ana Patricia Ramos of Brazil in the quarterfinals and then in the semis, Melissa/Brandie beat Anastasija Samoilova and Tina Graudina of Latvia 2-1 to advance.
Hughes/Cheng of USA, reigning world champions who are already qualified for Paris 2024, won the bronze-medal match over Latvia’s Anastasija Samoilova & Tina Graudina on the way to a 2-0 (21-15, 21-18) sweep. For the reigning world champions, the Doha bronze was the pair’s first ever on the Beach Pro Tour. They also have five golds and a silver on their record.
Sara Hughes alongside Kelly Cheng of the United States
The race for spots at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will highlight the first half of the year.
After two successful seasons in 2022 and 2023, the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour is soon to get its third one underway. As in the previous editions, the three levels of the Beach Pro Tour will spread beach volleyball fever all over the world, with plenty of opportunities for top-calibre players and aspiring athletes alike to join in on the action and test themselves against their opponents.
Just like the full 2023 season, the first half of the 2024 season, until 10 June, will continue to offer valuable points towards the race for Olympic tickets to Paris 2024, and just like in 2021, a tournament in Ostrava, Czechia, this time an Elite16 event, will be the last one to count towards the Olympic rankings. At the end of this, the 17 teams per gender to qualify for the Olympic Games in France via the FIVB Olympic Rankings will be known. For information on the full qualification process for the Olympic Games beach volleyball competition, please click here.
The unique venue in Czechia’s third largest city also hosted the 4-star tournament in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in 2021, which saw a dramatic turn of events in the fight for places at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Kerri Walsh Jennings and her partner Brooke Sweat lost their qualification match to the then new and relatively unknown Dutch pairing of Katja Stam and Raisa Schoon. That allowed another up-and-coming team, Sarah Sponcil and Kelly Cheng (then Claes), to book a last-minute ticket to Tokyo 2020 as the second qualified American pair, instead of Walsh and Sweat. That sensational win over Walsh and Sweat also set the beginning of Stam and Schoon’s incredible story that also led them to the Games in Tokyo.
While the full 2024 Beach Pro Tour calendar is being adapted to optimise the number of events and their geographical distribution, it is already clear that there will be at least eight Elite16 and eight Challenger tournaments.
The Finals will be held in Doha, Qatar again from 5 to 8 December, 2024. Doha will also host an Elite16 event in early March, keeping alive the tradition of hosting two events per season, which started with a Challenge tournament and the Finals in 2022, and an Elite16 stop and the Finals in 2023.
Later in March, Brazil will welcome two Challenge events. The Beach Pro Tour will pay a first visit to Recife, its first world-level competition since 1996, and will then return to Saquarema, which hosted the Beach Pro Tour in 2023 as well.
Celebrations during the Saquarema Challenge 2023 award ceremony
April’s calendar includes two stops in Mexico and one in China – the Tour will visit Guadalajara for the first time for a Challenge stop before returning to Tepic for an Elite16 tournament, the second in the western Mexican town, after 2023. In late April, the Chinese city of Xiamen will host a Challenge tournament, its first Beach Pro Tour event, after hosting regular high-level World Tour stops from 2013 to 2019.
A European leg of one Challenge and five Elite16 tournaments will take place from late May till late August, before and after the Olympic Games in Paris. It will start in Portugal, with the Elite16 event from 22-26 May.
The Beach Pro Tour will then hold its first event, a Challenge tournament, in the iconic Polish village of Stare Jablonki, which hosted several World Tour Grand Slam and Open stops from 2004 to 2014, as well as the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in 2013.
2013 world champion Xue Chen of China is likely to compete in Stare Jablonki again 10 years later
After Ostrava in June, the Beach Pro Tour will visit two more iconic European venues in July before the start of the Games in Paris. One is Gstaad in Switzerland, which has been a regular host of world-level events since 2000, including the 2007 World Championships. The other host city is Vienna in neighbouring Austria, which set the stage for the 2017 World Championships, 5-star tournaments in 2018 and 2019, and the CEV European Championships in 2021 and 2023.
After Paris 2024, the Beach Pro Tour will stay in Europe for one more Elite16 stop in Hamburg, a hub of beach volleyball in Germany. The city hosted the European Championships back in 2008, one of the Majors on the FIVB World Tour in 2016, the World Tour Finals in both 2017 and 2018, the World Championships in 2019 and two Elite16 events in 2022 and 2023 (pictured in the main photo).
The last Elite16 stop of the year is set to be at the end of August in Montreal, Canada. The Canadian city organised numerous World Tour Open events during the first decade of the century and returned to the world beach volleyball stage with its first Elite16 tournament in 2023.
Packed stands in Montreal during the Elite16 tournament in 2023
In October, the Beach Pro Tour will once again visit Brazil for a Challenge stop in Joao Pessoa, which hosted the last Elite16 tournament in 2023.
Finally, in late November and early December, before the Finals in Doha, Challenge tournaments will take place in India, and in the Philippines, which will host its second high-level event again in Nuvali, where the last Challenge stop of 2023 also took place.
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