Fireball and Hybrid Beach Volleyball will represent England in the CEV Beach Volley European Cup preliminary phase on 26 and 27 September, with the men’s team travelling to Île de Ré in France and the women’s squad competing in Beinasco, Italy.
The joint club entry has qualified through the UKBT Club Championships. Fireball and Hybrid won the men’s competition, while their women’s side finished second behind the University of Nottingham. Volleyball England said Nottingham subsequently withdrew from the European Cup, allowing the Fireball-Hybrid partnership to take England’s place in both events.
According to Fireball head coach Sam Dunbavin, this is the third consecutive year that Fireball has reached the European Cup preliminary round, but the first in partnership with Hybrid. He said the clubs had worked together during the year through a performance-training programme at Fireball Kidbrooke, run by Mark and Hybrid Vacations to support leading UK athletes.
The preliminary phase gives the collaboration a European test across two separate competitions. The rankings and pool draws point to different immediate tasks: the men arrive with a stated ambition of reaching the finals in Turkey in November, while the women are approaching their first European campaign with an emphasis on adapting to the format and delivering their strongest level in every match.
Men face top-seeded French opposition
England are seeded 14th among 22 teams in the men’s preliminary event. Their pool contains Cardiff BVC of Wales, listed as unranked, Portrush BVC of Northern Ireland, ranked 20th, and France’s RE Beach Club, the top seeds.
Stuart Perry, Theo Plaza and Lewis Bunton form the core of the team after featuring in Fireball-Hybrid’s UKBT Club Championship-winning side. Volleyball England said all three competed at age-group European Championships in Madrid and Battipaglia during the summer.
Freddie Bialokoz and Niko Gleed complete the five-player group. The pair have previously won medals at the Beach Pro Tour event in Bridlington, according to Volleyball England.
Dunbavin said he was proud that five home-grown English players would represent the partnership on the European stage. He said the men’s target was qualification for November’s finals in Turkey. The pool includes the competition’s number one-ranked club, RE Beach Club, although England’s seeding places them above Portrush in the published rankings. Cardiff’s unranked status means the available ranking information does not provide a direct comparison with England.
Women begin first European campaign
The women’s squad comprises Lorena Tussis, Gerda Berstautaite, Kirsty Star and Katie Keefe. Tussis and Berstautaite are UKBT multi-medallists, while Star and Keefe won silver medals at NEVZA Beach Bridlington, Volleyball England reported.
England are ranked 19th of 20 in the women’s competition and have been drawn with ASD Beach Volley of Italy, ranked eighth, and Norway’s Kristiansand Sand VC, ranked 17th.
Dunbavin said this was the women’s first year at the Europeans and that the group’s focus was on becoming accustomed to the tournament format while putting together its best performance in each game. He added that Star and Keefe had trained with him through the summer as part of the England programme, while Tussis and Berstautaite had represented Fireball on the UKBT for the previous three years and had been coached by Mark during the summer.
The European Cup appearance is the first joint preliminary-round entry for Fireball and Hybrid. Dunbavin said the clubs’ collaboration had included a performance-training programme at Fireball Kidbrooke intended to support leading UK athletes. He said both teams were competitive and technically proficient, while describing the opportunity to compete internationally for Fireball and Hybrid as a step up for the two squads. For both squads, the weekend provides a direct measure of that domestic preparation against European club opposition, with the men carrying the clearer qualification objective and the women concentrating on their first experience of the competition.