Beach Pro Tour News And Updates | Volleyball World

Germany’s Maximilian Just in attack during the Krakow Futures final (source: cev.eu)

Germany’s Maximilian Just in attack during the Krakow Futures final (source: cev.eu)

Germany’s Robin Sowa & Maximilian Just claimed their first medal on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. They topped the podium at the men’s Krakow Futures in Poland on Sunday. Polish teenagers Jakub Krzeminski & Szymon Pietraszek took silver, while Belgium’s Louis Vandecaveye & Gilles Vandecaveye completed the podium with bronze.

25-year-old Sowa and 21-year-old Just, seeded seventh in the main draw, started off with a three-set loss to Austrian qualifiers Felix Friedl & Alexander Huber in their first pool match, but then got on the winning track and achieved five consecutive victories on the way to the gold, dropping only a set in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, the Germans mastered a 2-0 (21-15, 21-18) shutout of 13th-seeded Italian qualifiers Manuel Alfieri & Tiziano Andreatta and, in the final, they hammered out a 2-0 (21-8, 21-13) win over 15th-seeded Krzeminski & Pietraszek. It was Sowa & Just’s fourth appearance on the Beach Pro Tour since they teamed up for the ongoing season, and they made it beyond the quarterfinals for the first time.

Polish teens Krzeminski & Pietraszek celebrate their qualification to the Krakow Futures final (source: cev.eu)

Polish teens Krzeminski & Pietraszek celebrate their qualification to the Krakow Futures final (source: cev.eu)

17-year-old Krzeminski & Pietraszek had a memorable Beach Pro Tour debut. They also reached the Krakow final after losing only one game along the way - to Friedl & Huber as well - in their second pool match. The Polish teenagers managed to upset all of the three highest seeded teams, including number one Jedrzej Brozyniak & Piotr Janiak of Poland in the quarterfinals and number three Vandecaveye & Vandecaveye in the semis. A tight 2-1 (21-18, 15-21, 19-17) victory over the Belgians secured Krzeminski & Pietraszek a spot on the podium.

Vandecaveye & Vandecaveye settled for bronze after a 2-1 (21-19, 19-21, 15-11) win over Alfieri & Andreatta in the third place match. It was the Belgian team’s third Beach Pro Tour medal.

The men’s Krakow Futures 2024 podium (source: cev.eu)

The men’s Krakow Futures 2024 podium (source: cev.eu)

28 teams from 19 different countries took part in the men’s Krakow Futures. The Polish city will host a women’s event as well. It will take place this week, from June 13 to 16.