Teams from Germany and England took the top honours from a zonal Beach Volleyball 
tournament organised by the Northern Ireland Volleyball Association (NIVA) and CEV Small Countries Division (SCD) at Portrush, a small seaside resort town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Max Betzien and Nils Ehlers from Germany joined the competition upon receiving a wild card and they did not drop a single set in the five matches they contested on Saturday and Sunday on the beach of Portrush. Betzien/Ehlers beat Scotland’s Seain Cook/Robin Miedzybrodzki 21-17, 21-13 in the final to stand on top of the podium and complete their triumphal march in the competition. In a SCD affair, Antonis Liotatis and Antreas Savvidis of Cyprus took the bronze medal after rallying to a hard-fought 21-16, 18-21, 15-13 victory over San Marino’s Lorenzo Benvenuti and Matteo Zonzini.
Wild-card holders were the eventual winners of the women’s competition as well – with England’s Victoria Palmer/Jessica Grimson stamping a 2-1 victory (16-21, 21-15, 15-9) in the ‘home nations’ derby with Scotland’s Lynne Beattie and Melissa Coutts. Miriam Gormally and Marie-Claire Sabogal of Ireland won the bronze medal match after stamping a 21-8, 21-13 victory over their compatriots Roisin Allen and Olivia Molloy.
Teams from the Small Countries Division will have an additional opportunity to compete internationally and to collect valuable FIVB / CEV ranking points later this week via the tournament due to take place in Vaduz, Liechtenstein one week before the traditional CEV Satellite event annually hosted by the alpine Principality.
CEV Small Countries Association 