#EuroBeachVolley 2024 Previews: Women’s Pools A-D

The best European beach volleyball teams have just arrived from Paris, where they worked hard to give the continent medals at the 2024 Olympics, but they will also have something big to play for the week after the Games.

With the 2024 CEV EuroBeachVolley heading to the Netherlands from August 13-18, it will be a quick turnaround for the top teams in the continent, who will be ready to fight for continental glory in front of the Dutch fans.

The tournament will begin with eight pools of four teams each and, after the completion of pool play, three duos in each group will move forward – the pool winners advance directly to the Round of 16 while the second and third-placed tandems move to the Round of 24.

As the competition approaches, let’s take a look at the eight pools in each gender, now turning our focus to Pools A, B, C and D in the women’s tournament.

Pool A

Teams: Franziska Friedl/Anja Trailovic (Austria), Ieva Dumbauskaite/Ieva Vasiliauskaite (Lithuania), Barbora Hermannová/Marie-Sára Štochlova (Czechia) and Mila Konink/Desy Poiesz (the Netherlands)

With late withdrawals from defending champions and Paris medalists Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli of Switzerland and Poland's Kinga Wojtasik/Julia Kielak, Pool A is highly unpredictable now.

Arguably the top team in the pool now, Hermannová/Štochlova will likely advance in the first place, but after that, the fight between the three other teams is entirely open as Friedl/Trailovic,  Dumbauskaite/Vasiliauskaite and Konink/Poiesz play at a very similar level.

Aged 18 and 21, the Dutch are easily the least experienced team in the pool and will be making their EuroBeachVolley debut in 2024, but playing in front of their fans and without much pressure, they could find the perfect scenario to get the one victory they need to advance.

Pool B

Teams: Raisa Schoon/Katja Stam (the Netherlands), Margareta Kozuch/Sarah Schneider (Germany), Claudia Scampoli/Margherita Bianchin (Italy) and Maryna Hladun/Tetiana Lazarenko (Ukraine)

Playing at home and coming from their second-straight Olympic appearance, Schoon and Stam will be among the favorites to claim gold at the EuroBeachVolley – the two carry the biggest hopes of the home fans and will try to step at the top of the podium after taking silver in 2021 and bronze in 2022. They were ninth in Paris.

The race for the other two spots in the elimination rounds should be wide open, though. Kozuch is a Tokyo Olympian, but stepped away from the sand to become a mother and just recently returned, joining forces with Schneider.

Scampoli and Bianchin have been having great success at Beach Pro Tour Futures events and continue to improve their level, while Hladun and Lazarenko have been developing quickly in their second year of partnership and could also break pool in the Netherlands.

EuroBeachVolley - Women's Match Schedule

Pool C

Teams: Tina Graudina/Anastasija Samoilova (Latvia), Jagoda Gruszczynska/Aleksandra Wachowicz (Poland), Brecht Piersma/Wies Bekhuis (Latvia) and Lézana Placette/Alexia Richard (France)

Two-time European champions Tina and Anastasija have the experience and the results to be considered not only the favorites to win the pool, but also one of the most likely candidates to win gold in the Netherlands.

Gruszczynska/Wachowicz and Placette/Richard have similar profiles as long-lasting partnerships that had good results over the years, establishing themselves as solid duos at the international level – the French have been in better form lately and recently finished 17th at the Olympics.

Piersma and Bekhuis are excellent picks for dark horses at the EuroBeachVolley as they will not only have the home fans behind them, but are also in excellent form after they helped their country triumph at the CEV Beach Nations Cup Finals with victories against some of the top teams in the continent.

Pool D

Teams: Marta Menegatti/Valentina Gottardi (Italy), Clémence Vieira/Aline Chamereau (France), Reka Orsi Toth/Giada Bianchi (Italy) and Taru Lathi/Niina Athiainen (Finland)

As an established and successful team that will be coming from a ninth-place finish in Paris, Menegatti and Gottardi emerge as the favorites to finish at the top, but the Italians won’t likely have any easy matches in the pool.

Vieira and Chamereau also competed in the Games, finishing 19th, and will be high on energy and confidence heading to the Netherlands while Lathi and Athiainen were alive in the Olympic race until the end and are a team that can deliver against the best.

Orsi Toth and Bianchi will have to pull something out of their sleeves in order to upset their more experienced and cohesive opponents, but are definitely not a team to be disregarded as they have shown potential in Beach Pro Tour Futures events.