The MEVZA U16 Beach Volleyball Championship officially got underway in Portorož on Wednesday, with the region's youngest talents opening three days of competition. The opening day featured the first two rounds of pool play, with plenty of exciting matches and several closely contested encounters across both the men's and women's tournaments.
In the men's competition, Pool A opened with Austria's Heiland/Schmid defeating Hungary's Buday/Gyetvan 2-0, while Czech pair Kozler/Prokeš also claimed a straight-set victory over Slovakia's Kalma/Hružík. The afternoon brought a turnaround as Kalma/Hružík responded with a 2-0 win over Heiland/Schmid, while Kozler/Prokeš remained unbeaten after overcoming Buday/Gyetvan in straight sets.
Pool B saw Czech duo Votava/Marel open their campaign with a 2-0 victory against Slovenia's Strcaj/Markač, while Hungary's Kiss/Vince edged Austria's Grossegger/Trummer in a dramatic three-set battle. Later in the day, Kiss/Vince continued their winning run by defeating Votava/Marel 2-1, while Grossegger/Trummer bounced back with a straight-set victory over Strcaj/Markač.
In Pool C, Czech pair Herget/Yapparov recovered from losing the opening set to defeat Slovakia's Sekera/Zábava 2-1, while Slovenia's Modic/Kovač overcame Croatia's Rukovanjski/Cvijančević in straight sets. The evening session saw Sekera/Zábava respond with a 2-0 victory over the Croatian team, while Herget/Yapparov secured another hard-fought three-set win, this time against Modic/Kovač.
Pool D featured two Austrian victories, with Lorenz/Galler defeating Hungary's Tari/Ghazal and Slovenia's Perko/Pavasović overcoming Croatia's Dugandžić/Fuzul in three sets. Later, Perko/Pavasović remained unbeaten after defeating Tari/Ghazal 2-0, while Lorenz/Galler completed a perfect day with another straight-set victory over Dugandžić/Fuzul.
The women's tournament also produced a series of impressive performances. In Pool A, Austria's Angerer/Innocenti opened with a straight-set win over Slovenia's Menard/Novak, while Czech pair Naskosová/Řechtáčková defeated Hungary's Szalay/Pándi. The Czech duo then maintained their unbeaten record by defeating Angerer/Innocenti in three sets, while Szalay/Pándi earned their first victory with a 2-0 win over Menard/Novak.
Pool B featured two three-set encounters in the morning, as Hungary's Komondi/Vargha defeated Czech pair Frkalová/Svobodová, while Slovakia's Matusová/Kmeťová edged Austria's Schönegger/Gülasik. In the afternoon, Komondi/Vargha claimed another straight-set victory over Matusová/Kmeťová, while Frkalová/Svobodová bounced back with a three-set win against Schönegger/Gülasik.
Pool C belonged to Czech pair Mastníková/Štepanková, who recorded two convincing straight-set victories over Hungary's Tábor/Gertler and Croatia's Perhat/Lisjak. Slovenia's Stopar/Dremelj also enjoyed a successful opening day, defeating both Perhat/Lisjak and Tábor/Gertler without dropping a set.
Pool D delivered some of the day's most exciting volleyball. Slovakia's Bucová/Dzechová defeated Austria's Thamer/Grumeth in straight sets before adding a hard-fought three-set victory over Slovenia's Ficko/Pahor. Croatia's Raguž/Guina recovered from a three-set defeat against Ficko/Pahor by finishing the day with a convincing straight-set win over Thamer/Grumeth.
The pool stage continues on Thursday, when the remaining group matches will determine the quarterfinal line-up ahead of the decisive final day of the championship.
