Dutch beach volleyball players Lisa Luini and Desy Poiesz secured the women`s bronze medal at the Leuven Futures Beach Pro Tour. Their achievement was bolstered by coaching support provided through the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program. The women`s tournament saw Austrian rising stars Lia Berger and Lilli Hohenauer claim gold, with local Belgian duo Youna Coens and Sarah Cools earning silver. In the men`s competition, an all-Belgian final ended with Louis Vandecaveye and Gilles Vandecaveye defeating Kyan Vercauteren and Joppe Van Langendonck. The men`s podium was completed by Polish pair Piotr Kantor and Artem Besarab, who took home the bronze.
The Netherlands Volleyball Federation (Nevobo) has received significant backing from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, totaling USD 217,600, specifically allocated for national beach volleyball team coaching. This funding supports their women`s teams, who train under the expert direction of Cypriot coach Antreas Savvidis and his team.
The third-seeded Dutch duo, 22-year-old Lisa Luini and Desy Poiesz, added another Beach Pro Tour medal to their collection, their third overall. This follows their silver medal in Leuven and bronze in Castellon de la Plana last year. After an initial setback in a tie-breaker overtime during their opening match, they demonstrated resilience, securing three consecutive victories to reach the semifinals. Although they faced another defeat there, they regrouped once more to win the bronze medal match, defeating Belgium’s Britt Ruysschaert and Isabel Van den Broeck 2-0 (21-15, 21-18).
Austrian teenagers Lia Berger (17) and Lilli Hohenauer (18) celebrated their first-ever Beach Pro Tour gold medal. While Berger had previously won a bronze at the Balikesir Futures with a different partner, this was a maiden gold for the pair. The reigning U18 European champions had only one loss in Leuven, which occurred in their pool final against top-seeded Peruvian team Lisbeth Allcca and Claudia Gaona. They rebounded impressively, embarking on a four-game winning streak that culminated in a decisive 2-0 (21-17, 21-19) victory over Belgium’s Youna Coens and Sarah Cools in the gold medal match.
In the semifinals, the eighth-seeded Austrian team delivered a commanding 2-0 (21-15, 21-15) win against Ruysschaert and Van den Broeck. Concurrently, the fourth-seeded Belgian pair, Coens and Cools, achieved a 2-0 (21-15, 21-18) victory over Luini and Poiesz, thereby securing a podium spot in their debut Beach Pro Tour appearance as a team.
In the men`s event, top-seeded Louis Vandecaveye and Gilles Vandecaveye lived up to expectations by clinching the gold medal in Leuven. This marks their second consecutive victory, following their triumph at the Ios Futures, bringing their total Beach Pro Tour medal count to five. They thrilled the Belgian home crowd with an impressive five-match winning streak, culminating in a 2-1 (19-21, 21-16, 15-12) comeback victory against fellow Belgians and current U21 world champions, Kyan Vercauteren and Joppe Van Langendonck, in the final.
Third-seeded Vercauteren and Van Langendonck also had an undefeated run to the final. They fought back from a set down to secure a 2-1 (19-21, 21-19, 15-11) semifinal win against Polish qualifiers Piotr Kantor and Artem Besarab, ensuring their third Beach Pro Tour podium finish. Meanwhile, in the other semifinal, the Vandecaveyes secured a close 2-0 (21-19, 21-19) victory over the fourth-seeded Czech pair, Adam Waber and Matyas Jezek.
Two-time Olympian Kantor and 19-year-old Besarab marked their first Beach Pro Tour appearance as a team with a bronze medal, achieved through a 2-0 (21-17, 23-21) victory over Waber and Jezek in the third-place playoff.
The Leuven Futures tournament featured a diverse field of 27 women`s teams and 28 men`s teams, representing 24 countries across all five continental confederations. Future Futures events are scheduled for Tallinn, Estonia (August 13-16), and Busan Gwangalli, Korea (August 14-17).
