Beach Pro Tour Futures Bridlington day four round-up - Poland and Germany pairs take first golds 

In what was a first World Tour event to be staged in the UK, much of the watching crowd were hoping that home heroes Enrique Bello and Niko Gleed could cap off a fantastic four days of elite action in the most memorable way possible. 

Instead, the talented Polish duo, who came into the tournament as second seeds, secured their first Beach Pro Tour victory in style, producing a final display that saw them blend power with precision to run out 21-19, 21-14 victors. 

The defeat was absolutely no slight on Bello and Gleed, whose brilliant run to the final was their second inside six days, having also reached the final of the preceding NEVZA Beach England event for Senior athletes. 

But try as they might, they just could not get the better of the Krzeminski/Czachorowski partnership on a consistent basis, with the Poles the only team to remain unbeaten throughout the tournament, having inflicted Bello and Gleed's only other defeat in the pool stages. 

“It feels amazing, especially in England,” said Krzeminski. “We had a huge amount of fans here, so it was amazing to play in Bridlington.  

"It’s actually our first win ever on the Pro Tour, so it’s special – we’ve had third place and second place this year, but never first." 

It was also a maiden Beach Pro Tour title as a pairing for Elea Beutel and Paula Schürholz in the women's competition as they produced a stunning gold medal match performance to outgun Saofé Duval and Marilu Pally of France. 

The Germans have only been together as a pair since May and have only played two Futures events together. 

But they have proved to be hugely successful tournaments, with a third place in Wuhan, China being followed by this top step on the podium on Yorkshire's East Coast. 

Not only that, it proved that defeat in a Pool Play match is no deterrent to overall success. 

Having been defeated in straight sets by Slovakia's Barbora Tokosova and Martina Terenova, they did not drop a set in the knockout stages, coming through the round of 12, quarter-finals and semi-finals prior to their final success, where they were very quickly out of the blocks. 

With some powerful hitting and great court coverage, they took very little time to wrap up the first set where they were always front runners in taking it by a 21-14 margin. 

Sobezalz and Dupin tried hard to respond and, indeed, early on in the second set, built a lead. 

But Beutel and Schürholz refused to let the opportunity pass and surged ahead in the closing stages of the set to close it out 21-16, as the French resolve finally wilted. 

“It’s our first international gold medal for us as a pair,” said Schürholz. “I think it’s really special as it makes a path for the next tournaments to come.  

“What was the key to our success today? I think really good serves and that we pushed for every ball, no matter what the score was, or how we were feeling.” 

Bronze medal matches 

The opening points in the women's bronze medal match were not an accurate guide as to how the match would eventually unfold, where Norway's Hjetlnes and Mol took early control to go 6-1 up. 

But Saofé Duval and Marilu Pally kept their cool and, bit by bit, overturned that deficit to nick a very tight set before running away with things in the second as their strong serve pressure and clinical finishing came to bear (23-21, 21-9).  

It meant a place on the podium for the French duo, while Mol – who had won the NEVZA Senior title in Bridlington last week – and Hjetlnes just missed out, but could nevertheless reflect on a successful run all the way to the final day. 

Meanwhile, in the men's bronze medal contest, there was delight from the home crowd around centre court as Bialokoz and Batrane ensured there would be two English pairs on the podium. 

The talented duo would have no doubt been hugely disappointed to be beaten by compatriots Bello and Gleed in the last four, but they did not show it as they started strongly, forging ahead early on and then keeping Canadian opponents Luke de Greeff and Tynan Gannett at bay to take the set 21-16. 

It looked as if the North Americans would hit back to level as they held a three-point lead for much of the second set, but when it came to the business end, the English pair stepped it up. 

With Bialokoz's second-touch hitting keeping Canada guessing and Batrane making endless pick-ups, they were able to save a set point and then round out a 22-20 success to clinch their podium spot, with big block getting the job done. 

Semi-finals 

The first women's semi-final had seen the German pair of Beutel and  Schürholz produced a near flawless display to end the title hopes of Norwegian qualifiers Mol and Hjeltnes. 

The second seeds took the game by the scruff on the neck early on and never looked back, securing a 21-17, 21-10 victory. 

They soon learned that their final opponents would be Sobezalz and Dupin after they came out on top in an all-French semi-final battle with Duval and Pally. 

The players are well known to each other, meaning for an interesting battle of wits, but, after an early exchange of sideouts, it was Sobezalz and Dupin who gradually eked out a lead to take the first set 21-15. 

And although the second was closer, the momentum was with the team in the ascendency, and they were able to round out a 21-18, aided by a friendly drop off the net tape to seal match point. 

When the men's semi-finals got underway, the watching crowd – with vocal backing for both participating countries – were treated to a three-set thriller. 

Canadians de Greeff and Gannett came flying out of the blocks and made short work of the first set with a combination of strong blocking, excellent defensive coverage and smart finishing. 

But the roles were reversed thereafter as Krzeminski and Czachorowski were able to cut down on the error count and found their groove, first squaring the match and then easing to victory in the deciding tie breaker (11-21, 21-11, 15-10). 

It was an all-England affair in the other semi-final and saw number one seeds Bialokoz and Batrane taking on their national teammates Bello and Gleed. 

The latter who came roaring out of the traps to win the first set convincingly as their opponents racked up the numbers on the error count.   

Bialokoz and Batrane appeared to have found some answers in the second set as they led 4-0 and 9-3, but Bello and Gleed gradually edged their way back into the set then pulling away in the latter stages, sealing a deserved 21-10, 21-18 success as the more consistent pair. 

Images by Simon Clarke, Rosie Williams and Ewan Cameron

Volleyball England would like to thank East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Skyball Beach Volleyball Club for its support in successfully delivering the event, as well as all the officials and volunteers who gave up their time. 

Don't forget, you can watch all matches live back on the Volleyball England YouTube Channel.