Lubos Nemec & Adrian Petruf from FIVB Volleyball Empowerment supported Slovakia triumphed on top of the zonal podium (pictured in the main photo; source: mevza.org) at the men’s event on the MEVZA Beach Volleyball Tour held last week in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg. Martin Pihera & Martin Melmuka of Czechia earned silver, while Steve Weber & Colin Hilbert delighted the Luxembourgish fans with bronze.
The Slovak Volleyball Federation’s beach volleyball department has been funded with USD 126,000 in FIVB Volleyball Empowerment coach support for their national beach volleyball teams. Slovakia’s men’s pairs train under the guidance of coach Martin Suja.
Lubos Nemec & Adrian Petruf lived up to their status as the top-seeded team in Esch and cruised through the double-elimination tournament without dropping a set. They mastered a 2-0 (21-16, 21-15) sweep of their semifinal against Luxembourg’s Steve Weber & Colin Hilbert and a 2-0 (23-21, 21-14) victory over second-seeded Czechs Martin Pihera & Martin Melmuka in the gold medal showdown.
Pihera & Melmuka won the all-Czech semifinal against qualifiers Jakub Vala & Jiri Dostal by a hard-fought 2-0 (21-12, 27-25).
The home team also beat Vala & Dostal in a hard-fought straight-setter, 2-0 (23-21, 21-17), to get on the podium with bronze.
17 duos from Austria, Czechia, Israel, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Slovenia took part in the MEVZA tournament in Esch-sur-Alzette.
All results and standings