Information and photos courtesy of volleyball.org.au
Super Sunday played host to an exciting day of finals volleyball, with the Canberra sun shining upon the athletes as medals were decided in the second round of the 2024/25 Australian Beach Volleyball Tour.
In the men’s draw, the top four seeds loomed large in Saturday’s quarter finals, all progressing through to Sunday morning’s semi finals.
Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher, alongside Jack Pearse and D’Artagnan Potts showcased their strength, both moving forward to the Gold Medal match in two sets.
But it was the second seeds Jack Pearse and D’Artagnan Potts who came out on top in the three set battle to claim gold.
The gold medal finish saw Potts secure his first Australian Beach Volleyball Tour win, and Pearse lock up his second tour win.
“It’s my second win at an ABVT, but first win as a partnership at an ABVT, so super stoked and happy with how the tournament went,” Pearse said.
“Coming up against Nicolaidis and Carracher in the final, we knew coming in it was going to be a challenge.
“They’ve got some really good weapons and they play some really great volleyball, but I think we managed to play a bit more consistent today and played better when it mattered.”
“It’s my first ABVT win, and we were able to find our rhythm there towards the end of the game,” Potts said.
“I won U21’s here a few years ago which was good fun, and it’s nice to come back and get the ABVT win and I’ve warmed up to being here in Canberra and I really like to compete here.”
In the women’s competition, Georgia Johnson and Lizzie Alchin dominated the women’s draw, not dropping a set in their journey to the final, which saw Lizzie Alchin reach her first Australian Beach Volleyball Tour final.
But securing the win was new pair and top seeds Taliqua Clancy and Jana Milutinovic, who demonstrated their experience as they progressed through to Sunday’s final without a hiccup.
The top of the podium finish is Clancy’s 15th Australian Beach Volleyball Tour win, and Milutinovic’s fourth – which pieces together a fourth straight win from four competition starts for the 23-year-old.
“It was me and Taliqua’s first event together so I was a bit nervous going in,” Milutinovic said.
“Obviously with a new partnership, you never know what it’s going to look like on the court, but it was so awesome and so much fun.
“I’ve never had such a tall partner, so being able to just put it up and see Taliqua bang it was really cool.
“We felt really good about our team throughout the tournament, and we were building on each game and going through the processes and we managed to get the win.
“Getting this win will be my fourth ABVT win back-to-back, which is something I didn’t even realise.
“I am looking forward to getting onto the world tour with Taliqua and seeing what we can achieve together – we’ve got Cobram coming up and then following a few weeks of training we will head to Mexico and Brazil for some Challenger and Elite 16 events, and it’ll be my first Elite 16 event and I’m am excited to see where we can go.”
Earlier in the day, Paul Burnett and Luke Ryan pushed through to defeat Justin Schumann (VIC) and Garang Anyang (VIC) in the men’s clash for bronze, while 2023 Trinbago Commonwealth Youth Games Silver Medalist Cameron Zajer and her partner Ruby Vanloo took down 15th seeds from Queensland Rebecca Ingram and Matisse Conlon to earn a spot on the ABVT podium.
2024/25 AUSTRALIAN BEACH VOLLEYBALL TOUR
Round 2 – Lyneham Beach Volleyball Courts, Canberra
WOMEN’S GOLD MEDAL MATCH
(1) Taliqua Clancy/Jana Milutinovic defeat (3) Georgia Johnson and Lizzie Alchin 2-1 (21-16, 21-13)
MEN’S GOLD MEDAL MATCH
(2) Jack Pearse/D’Artagnan Potts defeat (1) Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher 2-1 (12-21, 21-14, 15-10)
WOMEN’S BRONZE MEDAL MATCH
(5) Cameron Zajer/Ruby Vanloo defeat (15) Rebecca Ingram/Matisse Conlon 2:0 (21-7, 21-17)
MEN’S BRONZE MEDAL MATCH
(3) Paul Burnett/Luke Ryan defeat (4) Justin Schumann/Garang Anyang 2:0 (21-14, 21-13)
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