Faroe Islands win the SCA Men’s Volleyball Championship in Craigavon, Northern Ireland; Final: beat San Marino 3-1
Faroes, San Marino and Scotland earn zonal medals with FIVB Empowerment – FIVB
Photo: Faroe Islands’ Filip Ilic in action (source: Northern Ireland Volleyball)
Faroe Islands, San Marino and Scotland, all benefitting from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment funding, lined up with gold, silver and bronze, respectively, at the zonal SCA Men’s Volleyball Championship held last week in Craigavon, Northern Ireland.
The Faroe Islands’ national federation has so far benefitted from USD 126,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their men’s national teams, taking advantage of Serbian coach Boban Ilic’s expertise, in addition to USD 41,000 in volleyball equipment and another USD 6,000 for a national volleyball team coach development knowledge transfer program. San Marino’s Federazione Sammarinese Pallavolo has been allocated a total of USD 147,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national volleyball teams, in addition to another USD 51,500 in volleyball equipment. Their men’s national teams have been working under the guidance of Italian coach Roberto Pascucci. The Scottish Volleyball Association has so far been funded with USD 232,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national volleyball teams, in addition to USD 113,500 in volleyball equipment and another USD 6,000 for a national volleyball team coach development knowledge transfer program.
At the SCA Men’s Volleyball Championship in Craigavon, Faroe Islands topped their pool after defeating both Ireland and hosts Northern Ireland. In the semifinals, they achieved a hard-fought 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 25-23, 20-25, 15-12) victory over Scotland, and in Sunday’s gold medal showdown, the Faroes produced a 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-19) win over San Marino to triumph as zonal champions of Europe’s Small Countries Association.
San Marino also reached the final undefeated, after pool wins over Liechtenstein and Scotland, and a 3-1 (25-17, 25-27, 25-18, 25-20) semifinal victory over the home team.
Scotland took the bronze after a 3-0 (27-25, 25-19, 25-18) sweep of the third-place playoff against Northern Ireland. In the fifth-place match, Liechtenstein put together a 3-2 (18-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18, 15-7) win over Ireland.
The Dream Team of the championship was composed of setter Thorvald Danielsen (Faroe Islands), opposite Nicolo Conti (San Marino), outside hitters Lorenzo Benvenuti (San Marino) and Peter Stewart (Northern Ireland), middle blockers David Mexson (Scotland) and Matteo Bernardi (San Marino), and libero Silas Poulsen (Faroe Islands).
SCA Men’s Volleyball Championship: results and standings
CAVB African Nations Championship Zone V qualifiers
Kenya’s men’s team and Uganda’s women’s team won the CAVB African Nations Championship Zone V qualifiers held in Kampala from May 31 to June 6. The zonal competition served as a qualifier for the 2026 CAVB African Nations Championships with the Democratic Republic of Congo set to host the men’s edition from September 7 to 21, while Kenya will stage the women’s tournament from August 23 to September 5.
Five countries took part in the Zone V qualifiers, namely hosts Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, South Sudan and Tanzania. The top placed country in each gender category qualified directly for the CAVB African Nations Championships.
The men’s competition was played in single league format. Kenya won all their four matches in straight sets to emerge champions with 12 points. The Wafalme Stars started their campaign with a 3-0 (25-20, 28-26, 25-17) drubbing of Tanzania before stunning hosts Uganda by a similar margin, 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-22). Kenya continued their perfect run with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-23) sweep of South Sudan and confirmed top spot with a convincing 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-15) victory over Burundi.
Kenya will now join two other Zone V countries, Egypt and Rwanda, who had qualified automatically through ranking, in the continental competition set to be held in Kinshasa.
Kenya dominated the men’s Dream Team with three players, namely Nicholas Matui (Most Valuable Player), Levis Ogutu (Best Middle Blocker) and Brian Melly (Best Setter). Uganda’s Willington Talemwa and Mohammed Iga emerged Best Server and Best Opposite, respectively. Burundi’s Engambe Igiraneza was named Best Libero, while Tanzania’s Hassan Omary emerged the Best Outside Hitter.
The women’s competition, which was also played in single league format, had three countries, namely Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan.
The hosts capitalized on home advantage to register straight-set wins over Burundi, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-5), and over South Sudan, 3-0 (25-13, 25-11, 25-11), and seal top spot. Uganda will now represent Zone V in the continental competition set to be held in Nairobi, alongside Egypt and Kenya, who had qualified automatically through ranking.
Uganda’s Joan Tushemereirwe was crowned the Most Valuable Player and Best Opposite. She was joined in the women’s Dream Team by her teammates Katreena Odermatt (Best Setter), Scovia Alungat (Best Middle Blocker) and Shamira Kalanzi (Best Libero). South Sudan’s Ceclia Abak Agor emerged the Best Outside Hitter, while Burundi’s Emmanuelle Ndayikengurukye got the Best Server award.
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