Raupelyte helping Lithuanian beach volleyball stand taller
EuroBeachVolley
One of the new faces on the 2023 A1 CEV EuroBeachVolley, Lithuanian blocker Aine Raupelyte has become a popular name in international beach volleyball in the months leading up to the event.
Born in a basketball family, Raupelyte played the sport for several years, until she was 17, when she spotted people playing beach volleyball near her home in Lithuania and decided to give the sport a try.
Now 23, she fell in love with it and made her international debut in 2022. Her results weren’t great at first, but she did enough to draw attention from one of her country’s most accomplished players, 28-year-old Monika Paulikiene.
Together, the two had a promising first day on the EuroBeachVolley, defeating Spanish Liliana Fernández and Paula Soria 2-1 (21-19, 15-21, 17-15) and falling to German World Championship medalists Cinja Tillmann in the tie-breaker (21-16, 17-21, 13-15) to advance to the elimination rounds, which begin on Thursday.
Aine Raupelyte“It’s crazy. This is really the first year that I’m playing professionally and to already be able to compete at the EuroBeachVolley, it’s amazing. It’s hard to set a goal for this event with it being my first time. I’m trying to not have very high expectations, but to finish in the top ten would be incredible.”
Lithuanian Beach Volleyball Player
Raupelyte and Paulikiene had immediate success on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, making it to the podium in their first event together, last December’s Futures tournament held in The Hague, the Netherlands.
After a lot of work in the offseason, the Lithuanians were able to improve their game and became real contenders at a higher level, getting top-ten finishes in four of the five Challenge tournaments they competed at, also making a semifinal appearance in Saquarema, Brazil, in April.
Aine Raupelyte“I certainly didn’t expect things would change so quickly. I was confident I’d be able to get better results with Monika because she’s a great player and much more experienced, but I finished last in almost every tournament I played in 2022 and we’re now in this position. I think having a more experienced partner has made a lot of difference.”
Lithuanian Beach Volleyball Player
Besides her results, Raupelyte also stands out for her height. Standing at 1.97m, she’s not only the tallest player to compete on the EuroBeachVolley, but also the tallest woman to appear on the Beach Pro Tour in 2023.
As the game evolves, a player of her stature has the ability to heavily influence the success of her team on the court.
Aine Raupelyte“My height helps me a lot and everyone makes comments about. I’m not a very technical player, so I rely a lot on my height to play.”
Lithuanian Beach Volleyball Player
Raupelyte and Paulikiene aren’t however, the only signs of progress shown by Lithuanian beach volleyball recently. The country’s men’s team of Audrius Knasas and Patrikas Stankevicius, which will compete in Vienna this week as well, has also appeared on Beach Pro Tour Elite16 events and secured top-ten finishes on Challenge tournaments.
And it looks like there’s more to come after 21-year-old Daniele Kvedaraite and 20-year-old Ariana Rudkovskaja, with whom Raupelyte played Age Group European Championships in 2019 and 2021, won this year’s U22 EuroBeachVolley last weekend.
Aine Raupelyte“I think beach volleyball is becoming a lot more popular in Lithuania. In the past, we didn’t have indoor courts and it was very hard for us to practice in the winter. Several indoor facilities were built in the last few years and now I see a lot more people playing, be it professionally or just for fun. I think beach volleyball is going to consistently continue to improve in Lithuania.”
Lithuanian Beach Volleyball Player