Two-time Olympians Katja Stam & Raisa Schoon of the Netherlands, currently number five in the FIVB World Ranking, celebrated their first European champions’ title after winning all six of their matches in Poland this week. It was the fourth time the women’s continental crown went to a Dutch duo and the first time since 2018. Previously, Stam & Schoon had two EuroBeachVolley podiums, with silver in 2021 and bronze in 2022.
In the women’s gold medal match on Sunday, the second-seeded Dutch team put together an emphatic 2-0 (21-13, 21-11) shutout of 17th-seeded Spaniards Sofia Izuzquiza & Tania Moreno and grabbed the qualification ticket to LA 2028.
“When I think of where I was a year ago, with a lot of pain and barely standing upright, this success truly feels unbelievable,” Stam told cev.eu. “What matters the most is that we did stick together, not only the two of us, but the whole team, through those challenges and now we are here to celebrate our first European Championship title. Of course, it is still a long way to go, but I think we are on the right track, and I cannot wait to be able to compete in Southern California in two years’ time.”
The women’s EuroBeachVolley bronze went to reigning world champions Tina Graudina & Anastasija Samoilova of Latvia. The bracket leaders produced a hard-fought 2-1 (20-22, 21-16, 15-12) victory over French Paris 2024 Olympians Clemence Vieira & Aline Chamereau, seeded 15th, in the third-place playoff earlier on Sunday. Both semifinals on Saturday were also resolved after three-set duels. Stam & Schoon battled it out for a 2-1 (19-21, 21-14, 15-12) comeback victory over Vieira & Chamereau, while Izuzquiza & Moreno delivered a 2-1 (13-21, 21-14, 15-10) upset of Tina & Anastasija.
