Saint Kitts & Nevis, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Guatemala duos medal at ECVA in Cul-de-Sac Beach, Saint Lucia; Mozambique duos qualify for Continental Senior Championship.
Empowerment supported duos from Saint Kitts, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Guatemala medal at zonal events – FIVB
Duos representing the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment supported federations of Saint Kitts & Nevis, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Guatemala made the podiums at various zonal beach volleyball events last week.
ECVA Beach Volleyball Championships in Cul-de-Sac Beach (Saint Lucia)
Julian Bristol & Elkreen Morton of Saint Kitts & Nevis(pictured in the main photo; source: ECVA – Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association), benefitting from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment support, won the men’s trophy at the ECVA Beach Volleyball Championships in Cul-de-Sac Beach, Saint Lucia. Jacob Streefkerk & Rajheem Meulens of Sint Maarten and Yahn Florent & Mervin Mingo of Dominica completed the podium, while Grenada’s Thornia Mitchell & Renisha Stafford, Saint Lucia’s Clio Phillip & Tenayestlgni Joseph and Dominica’s Joeanne Pascal & Adicia Burton picked up gold, silver and bronze in the women’s competition.
The Saint Kitts Amateur Volleyball Association has so far been granted a total of USD 262,500 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national teams in volleyball and beach volleyball. Their beach volleyball department has also been allocated USD 46,000 in beach volleyball equipment and USD 24,000 in national team coach development knowledge transfer programs. The country’s beach pairs are coached by American instructor Rick Swan.
In the men’s zonal final in Saint Lucia, Julian Bristol & Elkreen Morton of Saint Kitts & Nevis mastered a 2-0 (21-17, 21-9) shutout of Sint Maarten’s Jacob Streefkerk & Rajheem Meulens to triumph as Eastern Caribbean champions. Before that, Bristol & Morton put together a hard-fought 2-1 (21-19, 17-21, 15-9) semifinal victory over Dominica’s Yahn Florent & Mervin Mingo, while Jacob & Rajheem outlasted home favorites Joseph Clercent & Sheldon Descartes in a 2-1 (25-23, 13-21, 15-12) saga.
Grenada’s Thornia Mitchell & Renisha Stafford grabbed the women’s title after a 2-1 (21-18, 19-21, 15-10) victory over Saint Lucia’s Clio Phillip & Tenayestlgni Joseph. Dominica’s Joeanne Pascal & Adicia Burton also took three sets to overcome another Saint Lucian pair – Denila Prospere & Amalia Louis – in the bronze medal game, 2-1 (15-21, 22-20, 15-8).
In the semifinals, Thornia & Stafford produced a 2-0 (21-10, 21-14) shutout of Pascal & Burton, while Philip & Joseph won the clash with fellow Saint Lucians Denila & Louis by 2-1 (14-21, 21-10, 15-10).
13 men’s and 12 women’s pairs from nine different federations took part in the zonal event in Cul-de-Sac Beach.
CAVB Zone 6 Beach Volleyball Championships in Maputo (Mozambique)
Volleyball Empowerment supported pairs from Mozambique shone brightly at the 2026 CAVB Zone VI Beach Volleyball Championship held at the Costa Do Sol beach in Maputo City from 29 April to 2 May.
Mozambique’s Nadia Bango & Veronica Roque claimed gold in the women’s competition while their compatriots Vanessa Muianga & Angela Tembe settled for bronze. Lesotho’s Moroesi Tolofi & Neo Chapole claimed silver to join the Mozambican teams in qualifying for the CAVB Beach Volleyball Continental Senior Championship.
The top two teams in each gender category qualified for the CAVB Beach Volleyball Continental Senior Championship set for September.
Dutch coach Han Abbing is in charge of both Mozambique’s senior men and women national teams under the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme in a Coach Support project worth 84,000 USD.
Nadia & Veronica won all the five matches they played in the entire competition including a shock 2-1 (21-16, 14-21, 15-13) victory over top seeds and compatriots Vanessa & Angela in the semifinals, which was the only set they dropped.
A 2-0 (21-17, 21-08) sweep of Lesotho’s Tolofi & Chapole in the final handed Nadia & Veronica the gold medal. Tolofi & Chapole had defeated South Africa’s Tatiana Simopoulos & Christin Decalme by 2-1 (15-21, 21-12, 15-10) to qualify for the final.
Vanessa & Angela beat Tatiana & Decalme in straight sets (21-10, 21-15) in the third-place playoff to settle for bronze.
In the men’s competition, Volleyball Empowerment team Jose Alberto Mondlane & Osvaldo Mungoi of Mozambique emerged champions following a 2-0 (23-21, 21-16) sweep of Angola’s Carlos Muondo & Eduardo Helio Albano Afonso in the final.
Mondlane & Mungoi won the gold medal without dropping a set in the five matches they played in the entire tournament including a straight-sets (21-13, 21-19) win over the Krafft brothers, Jura and Max, from Namibia in the semifinals.
Botswana’s Sekao Boifang Jack & George Simata Chiswaniso claimed the bronze medal after edging out the Krafft brothers by 2-1 (17-21, 22-20, 15-13) in the third-place playoff. Jack & Chiswaniso had lost by a similar margin (21-18, 18-21, 11-15) to Carlos & Afonso in the semifinals.
13 men’s duos and 12 women’s pairs from Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini, Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa and Zambia participated in the CAVB Zone VI Beach Volleyball Championship held in Maputo.
AFECAVOL U17 and U19 Beach Volleyball Central American Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador
Eight of the 12 medals at the AFECAVOL U17 and U19 Beach Volleyball Central American Championships in San Salvador went to teams representing the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment supported federations of Nicaragua and Guatemala. The rest of the podium spots were claimed by duos from the host nation El Salvador and from Honduras.
The national volleyball federation of Nicaragua has been allocated USD 31,500 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national beach volleyball teams, currently guided by Cuban instructor Eduardo Palomo Zayas. The Guatemalan federation has been funded with a total of USD 105,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national duos, working under the guidance of French coach Yannick Bole.
After a four-team single round-robin stage, Guatemala’s Manuel Estrada & Robin Oliva achieved a 2-0 (21-17, 22-20) victory over Nicaragua’s Edgar Holman & Domingo Murillo in the final of the AFECAVOL U19 Men’s Central American Championship. In the third-place game, Diego Barrera & Jacob Menjivar of El Salvador took a 2-0 (21-17, 22-20) win over Jairo Galvez & Isaac Mendez of Honduras.
In the women’s U19 showdown, Nicaragua’s Yulimar Alvarado & Ella Resau beat El Salvador’s Ashley Rauda & Maria Castaneda by 2-0 (21-16, 21-19), while Guatemala’s Monica Cano & Marisabel Gonzalez settled for bronze after a 2-0 (21-10, 21-9) sweep of the third-place playoff against Honduras’s Eymy Baires & Ruth Villegas.
U19 men’s and women’s results and standings
Justin Barrios & Matthew Kempf of Nicaragua emerged as U17 men’s Central American champions. In their final, they put together a 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) victory over Guatemala’s Joseph Godoy & Josue Rodriguez, who brought home silver. The bronze went to Osman Garcia & Jonathan Ortega of Honduras, who delivered a 2-0 (21-11, 21-12) sweep of the third-place game against El Salvador’s Abdiel Anzora & Mario Baires.
El Salvador’s Fatima Rendon & Devora Medina delighted the home fans with the U17 women’s zonal title. They earned a 2-0 (21-14, 21-10) victory over Guatemala’s Daniela Campos & Fatima Reina in the gold medal showdown. In the battle for bronze, Abdi Narvaez & Kimberly Silva secured a spot on the podium after a hard-fought 2-0 (21-18, 23-21) win over Miley Rodriguez & Valeria Acosta of Honduras.
U17 men’s and women’s results and standings
A total of 16 duos, four each from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, took part in the AFECAVOL U17 and U19 Beach Volleyball Central American Championships in San Salvador.
CAVB Zone 6 Beach Volleyball Tour Third Leg in Maputo (Mozambique)
Volleyball Empowerment supported pairs from Mozambique dominated the podium at the third leg of the 2026 CAVB Zone VI Beach Volleyball Tour held at the Costa Do Sol beach in Maputo City from 2 to 6 May.
While Mozambique swept the podium in the men’s competition, their women’s teams claimed gold and bronze in the women’s tournament.
Denilson Sergio Sitoe & Jorge Monjane beat compatriots Rafael Munguambe Junior & Ainadino Martinho by 2-0 (21-14, 21-19) in the men’s final to claim gold.
The champions, who were seeded second, only dropped two sets in the six matches that they played in the entire competition. In the semifinals, they overcame the Krafft brothers, Max and Jura, of Namibia in straight sets (21-17, 21-12).
After forfeiting their semifinal match against Rafael & Ainadino Martinho, top seeds José Alberto Mondlane & Osvaldo Mungoi ensured Mozambique clean sweep with a straight sets (21-15, 21-16) victory over the Krafft brothers in the third place playoff to clinch the bronze medal.
In the women’s competition, Mozambique’s home advantage also proved decisive as 13th seeds Natalia Intego & Ana Sinaportar emerged champions following a 2-0 (21-16, 21-15) sweep of Lesotho’s Moroesi Tolofi & Neo Chapole in the final.
Natalia & Sinaportar had strung together a four-match flawless run to the semifinals where they dropped their first and only set of the competition in the 2-1 (21-18, 21-23, 15-09) win over compatriots and second seeds Nadia Julio Bango & Veronica Carlos Roque.
To qualify for the final, Tolofi & Chapole had defeated Palesa Mapota & Relebohile Ndaga, also from Lesotho, by 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) in the semifinals.
It’s Nadia & Veronica who picked themselves up in the third place playoff with a 2-0 (21-11, 21-08) win over Palesa & Ndaga to ensure the bronze medal went to Mozambique.
16 men’s duos and 14 women’s pairs from Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini, Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Zambia participated in the third leg of the CAVB Zone VI Beach Volleyball Tour held in Maputo.
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