Queens of Vienna Brunner and Hüberli win EuroBeachVolley gold
News
Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli completed another successful business trip to Vienna on Saturday, when the Swiss stars won the 2023 A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley, and will return home from the Austrian capital with the gold medals around their necks for a third-straight year.
The Tokyo Olympians were dominant in the gold medal match, controlling Spanish up-and-comers Tania Moreno and Daniela Álvarez to secure a straight-set (21-12, 21-13) victory in a packed Red Bull Beach Arena at the Danube Island. Germans Laura Ludwig and Louisa Lippmann were third in this year’s European continental championship.
Nina Brunner“Finals are always hard. We knew the Spanish would come to this match with everything they had. They’re a very talented young team and did a great job in the EuroBeachVolley. We had played them before and knew it was going to be tough and I’m happy we managed to win here in Vienna. This victory here felt special because we did here at the Danube Island, but the atmosphere is always incredible and Vienna is always special for us, no matter where the tournament is.”
Swiss Beach Volleyball Player
Brunner, 27, and Hüberli, 30, won their first EuroBeachVolley title in 2021, when the tournament was also held in Vienna. The two returned to the Austrian capital in 2022 and helped Switzerland triumph in the inaugural edition of the CEV BeachVolley Nations Cup, which gives them continental titles in three straight seasons in the city – the first two won at the Heumarkt location and this one at the Danube Island.
It was also the fourth medal won by the Swiss in the last six editions of the EuroBeachVolley as they took silver in 2018 and 2022.
Tanja Hüberli“Right now it’s hard to put into words what I’m feeling. Of course we came here thinking about winning in Vienna again, but the last few tournaments let us a bit unsure. I felt that after this week we found our rhythm again. Playing here is always special and winning here, even more. The atmosphere is always amazing and we love to play here. I don’t think we could have had a better ending than this one.”
Swiss Beach Volleyball Player
Moreno and Álvarez’s second-place finish took Spain to the podium for the first time since 2019, when Elsa Baquerizo and Liliana Fernández took bronze. The two also improved two spots from their second-place finish in 2022, when they first appeared in the tournament.
Tania Moreno“We wouldn’t have made it to the final if we hadn’t played so well here during every match, so it was a great tournament for us. We have a little bit of mixed feelings now because we couldn’t win gold, but we definitely leave the EuroBeachVolley very satisfied with how far we made it, yet also wanting more.”
Spanish Beach Volleyball Player
In the bronze medal match, Ludwig and Lippmann defeated the 2020 European champions and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalists Joana Mäder and Anouk Vergé-Dépré of Switzerland in the tie-breaker (21-14, 18-21, 15-11) to finish third.
While this was a record tenth EuroBeachVolley medal won by Ludwig, who now has four golds, two silver and four bronzes, it was the first overall podium appearance earned by Lippmann, who started her beach career in 2022 after spending the previous eight years playing for the German volleyball national team.
Louisa Lippmann“This bronze definitely shines like gold to me. I’m just so, so happy. We just kept fighting for more. This result shows how much we improved from the last few months and that hard work pays off. We made a big step on the Beach Pro Tour in Canada two weeks ago and now this is an even bigger one for us. I’m really happy and proud of us.”
German Beach Volleyball Player
