The teams that made sensational campaigns in 2024

The Netherlands hosted a spectacular edition of the CEV EuroBeachVolley last week and, as it happens every year, the tournament that came to an end on Sunday in The Hague had teams defying the odds to deliver surprising results.

While some of the favorites were able to confirm their conditions and secure a spot among the top teams in the tournament, other duos that entered the event with lower outside expectations managed to do the same, sending a strong message about their potential and their ability to compete with the best in the continent.

Here are some of the teams that exceeded expectations at the 2024 EuroBeachVolley:

Plavins/Fokerots

Sensational probably doesn’t do justice to what the Latvians accomplished in the Netherlands as they went from being on the reserve list four days before the opening matches to winning gold on Sunday. Combining the experience and the technical skills of Plavins, one of the most accomplished Latvian players ever, and the dynamism and intensity of Fokerots, the country’s most promising young player in quite some time, was a recipe for success, but the two took their game to another level to beat the top teams in the continent and secure the title in the Netherlands.

Böbner/Vergé-Dépré

Considering the excellent 2024 season they are having, which included qualifying for Paris 2024 and finishing fifth in the Games, the Swiss weren’t exactly dark horses coming to the EuroBeachVolley, but seeing them continue in great form after competing at the Olympics spoke volumes about the level of play they reached. Böbner and Vergé-Dépré took bronze, giving Switzerland a medal for a fifth-straight time, and they scored one of the biggest victories of the tournament in the quarterfinals, knocking out home favorites Raisa Schoon and Katja Stam.

Luini/Varenhorst

Not many people would expect Luini and Varenhost to be the second-best Dutch team in the event, but here we are as they ranked fifth, only below bronze medalists and Paris Olympians Matthew Immers and Steven van de Velde. The two started their campaign with a two-set victory over last year’s bronze medalists Sergiy Popov and Eduard Reznik of Ukraine and secured three more wins before they ran into red-hot Plavins and Fokerots in the quarterfinals. Two tall and physical players, they made the most of their skills to play simple, yet efficient volleyball against some of the top teams in the continent.

Paulikiene/Raupelyte

We had the Lithuanians as one of the sensations of last year’s EuroBeachVolley, but they went above and beyond in 2024 and deserve another mention on the list. Just one week after becoming the first team in their country to compete at the Olympics, Paulikiene and Raupelyte were in top form in the Netherlands, winning their pool and topping fellow Olympians Barbora Hermannová and Marie-Sára Štochlová in the quarterfinals. They lost twice at the end and had to settle for fourth, but had undoubtedly a remarkable run in the event.

Sepka/Sedlak

The young Czechs showed what they were capable of right in their first match, when they upset Dutch veterans, former world champions and Olympic medalists Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen in pool play. Three wins later, Sepka and Sedlak were in the quarterfinals, where they were stopped by Immers and van de Velde just one match away from getting into the battle for medals. With stars Ondrej Perusic and David Schweiner out, the two represented Czechia very well and took their country to finish fifth.

Orsi Toth/Bianchi

The Italians were very successful in converting the excellent game they showed earlier this season on Beach Pro Tour Futures events into competitive play at the EuroBeachVolley and had a solid ninth-place finish. Orsi Toth and Bianchi started the tournament on fire, beating Paris Olympians Aline Chamereau and Cleménce Vieira of France and compatriots and eventual silver medalists Marta Menegatti and Valentina Gottardi in pool play and were only stopped by Swiss Olympic medalists Joana Mäder and Anouk Vergé-Dépré in a three-set battle in the Round of 16.