NEVZA Beach England day one round-up – defending men's champions through to quarters 

12 months ago, the pair lit up Belvedere Beach with some tremendous displays that carried them all the way to the title, beating Norway's Håvard Solheim and Oscar Majak in the final. 

And they underlined their strong desire to repeat the feat once more on the East Yorkshire Coast by having relatively few problems in sealing their route out of Pool B. 

First, they took on fellow host nation pairing Lewis Bunton and Bailey Harsum – who have only recently been reunited after the latter has been out for a year with injury – and pulled away in the second set after being pushed hard by the teenagers in the first (23-21, 21-13). 

Their second game proved to be more comfortable as they were 21-5, 21-15 victors over Joakim Engelbrecht and Villads Napier – the latter a winner in the Youth section of this event last summer. 

The Danish pair also advanced to the Round of 12, though, after their earlier win over England's Lucas Rijvers and James Ingham (21-11, 21-10), who were also beaten by Bunton and Harsum (21-5, 21-10), the latter advancing at their opponents' expense. 

The number one seeds were in Pool A and saw brothers Jonas and Sebastian Kjemperud, of Norway, also make smooth progress, having claimed a bronze medal on Bridlington's sands in this event 12 months ago. 

The recent Beach Pro Tour Futures Wuhan winners showed they were once again in great form as they first overcame compatriots Jørn Gamlemoen and Svein Solhaug (21-12, 21-12) and then Wales' Conor Robins and Matthew Pollock (21-14, 21-17). 

The most interesting match of the pool proved to be between Robins and Pollock and Lewis Fenech and Sam Reid of England, with the former guaranteeing their Last 12 spot with a three-set success (21-15, 18-21, 15-9). 

That meant a straight shoot-out between Jørn Gamlemoen and Svein Solhaug and Fenech and Reid for the remaining spot, which the Norwegians claimed with a 21-15, 21-14 victory. 

In Pool C, Norwegians Marius Pande and Magnus Helregud were the top performers – just. 

They followed up 21-10, 21-19 success over Harry Jones and Peter Soczewka – where the latter was shown a red card – with a nail-biting, comeback success over Swedes Martin Appelgren and Valdemar Jacobsson Orrbeck (20-22, 21-18, 15-10). 

Jones and Soczewka bounced back from disappointment in their first match to beat fellow England pair Zak Maghur and Tom Lycett with a degree of comfort (21-6, 21-9) to ensure their progression to the Last 12. 

There was local Yorkshire interest in Pool D, where Maks Makowski and Josh Cosgove – who gained experience for England in the recent Nations Cup in Alanya, Turkey – joined the action. 

Although they came unstuck against Emil Øfstaas and Lars-August Johnson of Norway (21-17, 21-17) in their competitive first outing, they were not to be denied a Last 12 place, clinching it with a 21-18, 23-21 win over Norway's Torp Torjussen and Pavle Cetkovic, saving set points in the second set. 

The pool winners were Finland's Pennanen brothers, Arttur and Valtter, who edged out Øfstaas and Johnson  by a 24-22, 21-19 margin to decide who would go straight through to the quarter-finals and who would face a Last 12 clash. 

Women's matches 

Norwegian second seeds Tale Fosseli and Solveig Sunde have enjoyed plenty of success at Bridlington in the past, but did not get their latest NEVZA Beach England campaign off to the best of starts. 

The pair won the U20 competition in East Yorkshire two years ago, while Fosseli won again with Sofia Mol last year and Sunde reached the final of the Senior event in 2025. 

But they were defeated in their only match of a three-team Pool B by their fellow countrywomen, as Mol this time teamed up with Julia Thelle to prevail 21-14, 21-13. 

Mol and Thelle had already beaten Lina and Sofia Russo of Sweden (21-10, 21-19), giving themselves a shot at clinching a straight quarter-final spot, which they duly did. 

England's number one seeds, Kirsty Star and Katie Keefe, were placed in Pool A and also knew they would advance to at least the Last 12, with only three teams contesting it. 

But they gave themselves an extra game's rest after getting the better of Norway's Vilde Hobøl and Oda Skaug (22-20, 21-18), who had earlier edged out Martha Bullen and Ella Watson (21-19, 21-19). 

Pool C saw confident progression from England's number three seeds, Alice Jagielska and Isabelle Tucker, who are both back from playing in the US to pull on the red and white for their country. 

After easing into the tournament with a 21-13, 21-14 success over Finland's Anna Laaksonen and Nelli Waldén, they then took care of business against Alexis Crusey and Lynne Beattie of Scotland (21-12, 21-15). 

But despite missing out on a straight quarter-final spot, the pair from north of the border could still be satisfied with their day's work, having already made the Last 12 by beating Eeva Johansson and Sonja Snellman of Finland in a three-set thriller (21-16, 11-21, 15-12). 

In the battle of the Finns for the remaining available spot, Johansson and Sonja Snellman cruised through 21-13, 21-14 against Laaksonen and Waldén. 

There was a showdown between two English pairs in the final match of Pool D to decide who would take the remaining Last 12 place – and it provided an absorbing contest. 

Experience and youth in Millie Constable, 30, and Molly Quinn, 17, won the day as they got the better of 20-somethings Beth Morgan and Alice Brand in three sets (21-17, 14-21, 15-12) in a match where the momentum switched one way and then the other. 

Earlier, Finland's Sara Sinisalo and Maisa Kyröläinen had finished on top on the pool with straight sets wins against first Constable and Quinn (21-11, 21-13) and then against Swedes Juste Derkintyte and Ellen Lindqvist (21-18, 21-13), the latter having already booked a Last 12 berth with a 21-13, 21-11 triumph over Morgan and Brand. 

Images by Simon Clarke and Ewan Cameron

Don't forget you can watch all the quarter-final action for FREE by coming down to Belvedere Beach in Bridlington from 9am, or alternatively you can catch the action live on the Volleyball England YouTube Channel.