Top seeds in contention for honours at EEVZA under-age Beach Volleyball championships

All top 16-seeded teams at the U18 and U16 Beach Volleyball Championships organised by the Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) have reached the quarterfinals at the O-Sands courts in Riga and will continue to fight for the medals on Wednesday. The 16 teams include as many as 10 from the host country – Latvia. Quarterfinals, semi-finals, and medal matches are all scheduled for Wednesday. Players from six countries are competing in Riga, with athletes from Azerbaijan, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine all taking to the courts in Latvia’s capital. 

In the U18 men’s competition, duos from Latvia and Poland were the standout performers. Kārlis Jaundžeikars/Matīss Šalkovskis and Oskars Kilks/Markus Maculēvičs of Latvia were among those to win their pool and to reach the next stage of the competition.

In the U18 women’s tournament featuring a total of 14 teams, two of the top four seeds suffered defeats in the group stage but celebrated convincing victories in the first knockout round. This, however, will provide them with challenging matches in the quarterfinals. Paulina Labuz and Julia Radelczuk from Poland (#2) will play against twin sisters Liisa and Anni Põldma (#4) from Estonia, while Ukrainians Sofiia Shchutska and Kateryna Biliak (#3) will play against the hot favourites from Latvia – another pair of twin sisters, Katrina and Karmena Struka.

Some 13 teams have been contesting the U16 men’s tournament with all top four seeds making it to the quarterfinals. Lithuania’s Tomas Poplavskij and Danielius Šumeika had to play one game more than some of their opponents after they had to concede defeat to the home team Niks Ameļkovičs and Arturs Ikaunieks in the fight for first place in their pool. After securing a victory in the first round of the playoffs, the duo from Lithuania reached the last eight, where they are due to play the top-seed from the competition, Latvia’s Tomass Blekte and Bruno Liepiņš.

Three of the top four seeds won their pool in the U16 girls’ competition. Lithuania’s Mėja Gurčiūtė and Rusnė Andruškevičiūtė (#4) suffered one loss in in their pool but after reaching the knockout phase, they beat their compatriots Austėja Vyšniauskaitė and Rusnė Lukauskaitė 2-0 (21-16, 21-13). In the quarterfinals, they will meet home favourites Monika Mamaja and Denēva Šauberga Lēpe, the no. 1 seeded team in the event.

Click here for further information on the U18 tournaments.

Click here for further information on the U16 competitions.