United States and Portugal win the World University Championship Beach Volleyball

The United States and Portugal are the champions of the 2022 FISU World University Championship Beach Volleyball in the female and male categories, respectively. The competition was held at Praia de Pajuçara, in Maceió (Brazil).

The third team of USA, with Julia Scoles and Hailey Harward, climbed to the top of the podium after an amazing performance.

In the final, the American pair did not leave the ghost of a chance to the favorites Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno from Spain, outplaying them in two short sets.

The bronze medal went to the surprising team of Puerto Rico, who beat Germany in two sets.

Things were different in the men’s competition. There were no upset in the early stages, with the eight best teams reaching the quarter finals. From there, most of the matches were very disputed with tight results in the end.

The gold eventually went to the Portugal pair João Pedrosa/Hugo Campos, who defeated Switzerland (Emmanuel Zürcher/Jonathan Jordan) in a superb game, played point by point, ending 15-13 in the tie-break. The second team of Germany won the bronze medal, also in three sets.

“We have no words to describe what we are feeling after this unbelievable final. We managed to turn it around and it’s a feeling of reward, it’s a sign that all the hard work has paid off,” said Hugo Campos after the match.

A total of 122 athletes from twenty-three countries participated in the competition.

The finals at a glance:

Women

First place: USA/3-ESP, 2-0 (21-16, 21-10)

Third place: PUR-GER, 2-0 (21-16, 21-18)

Men

First place: POR-SUI, 2-1 (21-17, 16-21, 15-13)

Third place: GER/2-ESP, 2-1 (21-17, 14-21, 15-9)