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Empowered Mozambique pursues place among beach volleyball’s best – FIVB

Mozambique’s beach volleyball teams are pushing toward the sport’s highest stage, building on continental triumphs and back-to-back World Championship appearances. Podium finishes at the CAVB Zone VI Beach Volleyball Tour and the chance to test themselves against the world’s best have changed the outlook for the programme. With FIVB Empowerment propelling their progress, they are […]

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1 month ago

May 8, 2025

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For a programme built on raw talent and ambition, the journey to this point has not been easy. Mahomed Afzal Vala, President of the Mozambique Volleyball Federation, knows what it takes to compete in Africa and the challenges that come with staying at the top.

“Mozambique is fortunate to have athletes with great potential, and most of them with dreams,” Vala said. “We have won several regional and continental trophies since 2013, when the federation was led by the former president Khalid Cassam and I was his Vice President, and together we started revolutionising volleyball in Mozambique, across the U19, U21 and senior categories. We need to maintain the African podium, which was not, and continues not to be, an easy task.”

However, dreams alone are not enough to win matches. Limited resources and the everyday realities faced by the athletes, including balancing studies, work and training, have shaped their path.

“The first challenge is the country’s financial situation, which has not allowed us to play with the best in the world by taking part in Beach Pro Tour events to improve the performance of our athletes,” he said. “The second is that our athletes are not yet professionals, and many of them make a huge effort to play and be at the highest level while they study and work.”

In 2021, Mozambique’s beach volleyball journey gained new direction with FIVB Empowerment stepping in. The arrival of Brazilian coach Alexandre Pontel, a product of a country that lives and breathes beach volleyball, brought the experience and perspective Mozambique needed.

“Brazil lives for beach volleyball, and this experience helped us realise that we must make more of an effort to achieve macro objectives,” Vala said. “Without regular training, it will be difficult to achieve the objectives set. Our athletes have improved in several aspects, but they must dedicate themselves more because they have potential.”

FIVB Empowerment support totals CHF 390,500 and has funded training camps, international tournaments, and equipment. The support has allowed Mozambique’s teams to compete in events and environments they had limited access to before.

Jose Alberto Mondlane at Beach Pro Tour Futures Messina, gaining key international experience for Mozambique.

By competing in Italy and other events, our athletes were able to see the best and play against them, which made them believe that with hard work, it is possible,” he said. “But we need more of this type of support and partnerships with stronger National Federations that host events regularly. Only by playing with the strongest can we grow more.

Among the international tournaments Mozambique has attended, one stands out for its impact. The team’s participation at the Beach Pro Tour Futures Messina offered a valuable chance to compete against higher-ranked opponents and gain experience at the international level. It was the kind of exposure that reshaped expectations within the programme.

“Our presence at the Messina Futures of the Beach Pro Tour in Italy showed that with this type of strategy, we can improve a lot,” Vala said.

However, the changes have not been limited to the senior teams. After focusing heavily on Olympic qualification in 2021, the national federation has renewed its efforts at the grassroots level.

Team Mozambique guided by Brazilian coach Alexandre Pontel.

“We managed to maintain the level, but we had enormous difficulties since Alexandre, in 2021, focused more on Olympic qualification and we did not have coaches working on training as it should be,” Vala said. “But now things have changed. We have support for national coaches, backed by the international coach, and we are reorganising and working more effectively with a view to guaranteeing a future in the sport.”

This effort spans age groups and regional centres, offering young players a path forward. “This year we are better organised and working from U19s, U21s and seniors. We have regional centres prepared to expand the sport and feed the senior teams. At the moment we have young athletes with room to go until 2032 or 2036, so the future is guaranteed,” Vala said.

Continental competitions play a key role in Mozambique’s approach. Events like the CAVB Zone VI Beach Volleyball Tour provide ranking points and regular match experience at a time when travel beyond Africa remains limited.

“The events in Zone VI were the icing on the cake, since without the resources to travel around the world, we managed to get points and be in a position that allows us to go to the World Championship,” Vala said. “In Africa, we have few events, but enough since the teams pay all the expenses. There is no regular support, and the cost of transportation in Africa is very expensive. We are privileged to host several stages in the zone because this allows us to have many athletes participating in the event.”

Vala continues to set goals for the programme.

“Being on the podium in the African U19 and U21 events, qualifying for the Youth Olympic Games and fighting for the third time and having our athletes at the LA28 Olympic Games,” he said.

FIVB Empowerment remains central to Mozambique’s progress.

“Without this support, it would be much more difficult to maintain this work and continue to build on this small success,” Vala said. “But we still hope that with the good relationship the FIVB has with the federation, we will have support to participate in world events, since it may be easier to cover air tickets and have logistical support on site. That would be the green over the blue.”

Jose Alberto Mondlane dives for the ball during competition at the Beach Pro Tour, showcasing Mozambique’s growing presence in international events.

The results of FIVB Empowerment are not only seen in competitions but felt by the players themselves. Jose Alberto Mondlane, who reached the final of the continental qualifying phase for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, described how the programme shaped his journey.

“The support given by the FIVB through the Empowerment Programme was very good for us during the last Olympic cycle. I really enjoyed working with coach Alexandre Pontel. He brought a new vision to beach volleyball in Mozambique. Being his athlete helped me see volleyball in a different (better) way than I had seen it before, with the training he gave, the tips, the knowledge, etc. It made me believe even more in my potential as a player,” Mondlane said.

“We had many moments of overcoming because we had already worked on almost everything, so it was just a matter of remembering and executing, which most of the time worked out very well. This allowed us to achieve excellent results, good performance, more respect, etc. I believe we had more happy moments than sad ones. I hope that Mozambique continues to have support from the FIVB because it needs it, and we need it to continue to evolve.”

Mozambique’s beach volleyball teams continue to grow their programme, narrowing the gap with every tournament and keeping their pursuit of a place among the sport’s best firmly in sight.

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Photos: WIAA state track and field championships June 6-7 |

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June 9, 2025

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Christian Teresi, Nate Toth lead Marist boys volleyball to another state title

When Christian Teresi and Nate Toth walked into Marist as freshmen, RedHawks boys volleyball coach Jordan Vidovic knew they were special. “I saw how crazy talented they were,” he said. “I’ve known Christian since he came to a camp in second or third grade, and I’ve seen him grow. Plus, Nate, I can’t tell you […]

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2 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

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When Christian Teresi and Nate Toth walked into Marist as freshmen, RedHawks boys volleyball coach Jordan Vidovic knew they were special.

“I saw how crazy talented they were,” he said. “I’ve known Christian since he came to a camp in second or third grade, and I’ve seen him grow. Plus, Nate, I can’t tell you what he’s meant.

“They are two different kids, but there’s a bond they’ve created. We expected a lot out of them, like we did from all these seniors.”

Led by the T&T combo, the RedHawks and their seniors are leaving with back-to-back state championships.

Teresi had 14 kills, 15 assists and seven digs from his right side/setter position. Toth totaled 11 kills from the outside as Marist captured its second straight title with a 25-20, 25-20 victory over Glenbard West on June 7 at Hoffman Estates.

It’s the fifth overall state championship for the RedHawks (40-2).

“We won it last year, and we had a target on our backs,” Toth said. “But we wanted championship No. 2, what more motivation do you need than that? This one is better.

“We came here to finish the job. There’s no one I’d rather do it with than Christian.”

Seniors Jacob Finley (18 assists, six digs), Devlin Biggs (five kills), Matt Rahn (four kills), Griffin McElroy (three kills, two blocks), Tommy Doherty (two kills, block), and Rorey Donnelly (11 digs, three assists) were also big for the RedHawks, who graduate 10 players.

The opening set was some high-impact action as there were 13 ties and four lead changes through 14-14. Then Teresi capped off a 6-1 run with a trio of kills. The Hilltoppers crept back within 22-20, but Biggs banged a kill, and two Glenbard West errors ended it.

There were eight ties in the second set, but the Hilltoppers never led. The last tie was 16-16, and once again the RedHawks had a 6-1 burst. Glenbard West never got closer than four the rest of the way. A Biggs kill ended it.

“I love hitting, it’s more exciting than setting,” Teresi said. “I was telling Jacob to keep setting me. The guys look to me, and Jacob is the quarterback of the team until I get in the back row.

“Nate and I came in together, and we really built it in the last two years, and the connection is there. I feel like we forgot about last year, and this one was more earned.”

The RedHawks’ only two losses were to out-of-state teams. They only dropped one set to an in-state team all season. That was in a 17-25, 25-14, 25-21 win over Lake Park on June 6 in a quarterfinal match.

“We weren’t playing Marist volleyball,” Toth said of the Lake Park match. “We had to regroup.”

Teresi, who had 15 kills and 13 assists, agreed.

“I felt it was a good thing for us,” he said. “We were too comfortable in the first set.”

Marist toppled Lane, which placed third, 25-15, 25-19 in the semifinals. The RedHawks are the 11th team in state history to have 40 or more wins in a season. Their only losses were to Mira Costa, Calif., which they also beat, and Indianapolis Roncalli. Those two teams finished the season ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in the Nation on MaxPreps.

“There is no doubt in my mind because we went out and did it,” Vidovic said of his team being among the best. “We went out and played the best of the best. We went toe-to-toe with the most stacked high-school volleyball teams, probably ever.

“I’ve been around some great Illinois teams as a player, as a spectator, as a sibling, as a coach, and I’ve seen some phenomenal teams, but the way the game is played right now, the speed and the way the ball is travelling, there was nothing like that back then.”

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2025 VolleyballMag & KPs Boys Fab 50 & Rising Stars of ’26, ’27, ’28

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10 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

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2025 Boys’ High School season is finally over, and we are so excited to present this year’s list of top boys’ players across the United States. We have to thank all of the club directors, high school and college coaches that helped us come up with this list. We really appreciate it and we understand that this list is not exhaustive and as the game grows it is going to get increasingly difficult to create it. We think this is a great problem to have and hopefully it leads to more opportunities for all the boys out there! If you feel we are missing something or someone, please send us any feedback you have!

The Boys Fab 50 list continues to be the longest-running junior boys’ awards program in the country; we look forward to running it for many years to come as we help grow the game!

Please join us in congratulating all of these amazing young men who are some of the best in the country at this beautiful sport.

Fab 50

This year, 13 states were represented in Fab 50. California is leading the way with 26 entries, comprising nearly half the list. Illinois is second with 5 players and Florida close 3rd with 4.

Only 4 high schools have more than 1 player on the list with Mira Costa leading with 4 players and Marist (Illinois champions for 2nd straight year), El Segundo and Carlsbad with 2 spots.

25 clubs are represented with California teams leading the pack: Coast, Bay to Bay and MB Surf all have 5 entries on the list. Top non-California teams are Adversity with 3, AZ Fear, HVA, WPVC, GSL and C2 each having 2 entries.

Player	College	Club	High School	State	Position
Layton Bluth	BYU	Bay to Bay	Casteel	Arizona	Libero
Carter King	Orange Coast College	AZ FEAR	O’Connor	Arizona	Outside
Caden Ledbetter	Queens	AZ FEAR	Perry	Arizona	Middle
Noah Douphner	CSUN	Legacy	West Ranch	California	Outside
Matt Fisher	CUI	SMBC	Adolfo Camarillo	California	Setter
Oliver Doty	Harvard	Coast	Carlsbad	California	Setter
Kai Gan	Harvard	Rockstar	Huntington Beach	California	Setter
Roman Payne	Hawaii	Coast	Carlsbad	California	Middle
Thatcher Fahlbusch	Hawaii	Rockstar	Mira Costa	California	Outside
Jackson Cryst	LBSU	Pinnacle	Sage Hill	California	Middle
Brett Novak	Lindenwood	SoCal Legends	Paraclete	California	Setter
Hudson Whitehead	McKendree	Coast	Woodrow Wilson	Texas	Outside
Peter Chriss	Penn State	Bay to Bay	Menlo Atherton	California	Setter
Dylan Gallagher	Pepperdine	Balboa Bay	Mater Dei	California	Middle
Daniel Devine	Pepperdine	MVVC	St. Francis	California	Opposite
Luke Morrison	Stanford	Balboa Bay	Beckman	California	Opposite
Jack Loper	Stanford	Balboa Bay	San Clemente	California	Outside
Brogan Glenn	UCLA	Balboa Bay	Corona Del Mar	California	Libero
Grayson Bradford	UCLA	MB Surf	Mira Costa	California	Opposite
Merek Turner	UCLA	Team Rockstar	Woodrow Wilson	California	Outside
Dylan Pilkvist	UCSB	MB Surf	El Segundo	California	Middle
Ryan Pilkvist	UCSB	MB Surf	El Segundo	California	Middle
Marcelo Molina	UCSB	Bay to Bay	Moreau Catholic	California	Middle
Lathan Fry	UCSD	Coast	Granite Hills	California	Outside
Will Bartelt	UCSD	Coast	Del Norte	California	Outside
Beckett Shewey	Uncommitted	Bay to Bay	Redwood	California	Middle
Cooper Keane	USC	MB Surf	Mira Costa	California	Opposite
Kale Cochran	USC	MVVC	Whitney	California	Outside
Nicholas Waldron	USC	SoCal Legends	Garden Valley	California	Outside/Middle
Andrew Chapin	USC	MB Surf	Mira Costa	California	Setter
Rafael Urbina	UCLA	Bay to Bay	Legacy	Colorado	Setter
Tyler Windt	Ball State	Winter Park	Lake Howell	Florida	Outside
Dante Cayaban	Ball State	WPVC	St. Cloud	Florida	Outside/Middle
Tyler Johnson	BYU	Miami United	Cypress	Florida	Setter/Opposite
Jacob Little-Phillips	Stanford	WPVC	Winter Park	Florida	Setter
Benjamin Boron	Lewis	Adversity	Grayslake	Illinois	Outside/Opposite
Wyatt Jones	Lewis	Sky High	Lake Zurich	Illinois	Setter/Opposite
Nathan Toth	MIT	Adversity	Marist	Illinois	Outside
Leo Trespeces-Wink	Northern Kentucky	Pipeline	Maine South	Illinois	Outside
Christian Teresi	Ohio State	Adversity	Marist	Illinois	Setter
Nick Whitley	Northern Kentucky	Academy	Cathedral	Indiana	Setter
Alex Griffon	McKendree	HPSTL	Lafayette	Missouri	Middle
Ayden Deslauriers	Loyola	Academy Sports Long Island	Eastport South Manor	New York	Outside
Finn Rubin	Loyola	C2 Attack	Thomas Worthington	Ohio	Middle
Tristan Hassell	Penn State	Pakmen	Emily Carr	Ontario	Opposite
George Stevens	LMU	C2 Attack	Greenhill	Tennessee	Outside
Miles Jordan	LBSU	HVA	Ridge Point	Texas	Outside
Kyle Chapman	Lewis	HVA	Stephen	Texas	Outside/Opposite
Trey Thornton	BYU	GSL	Maple Mountain	Utah	Opposite
Corbin Batista	Lewis	GSL	Snow Canyon	Utah	Outside/Opposite

Rising Stars

We did not forget the underclassmen either as we assembled a list of 102 Rising Stars across ’26, ’27 and ’28 graduation years. They are coming from 22 states and these are some of the best players in the country at their positions and age groups. Look for amazing things from these players in future years.

Class of ‘2026

Player	College	Club	High School	State	Position
Logan Gray	Uncommitted	AZ Fear	Perry	Arizona	Outside
Malakai Tuakoi	CSUN	Team Rockstar	Da Vinci	California	Setter
Matt Kelly	Loyola	MB Surf	Loyola	California	Libero
Lucas Posell	Princeton	MB Surf	Santa Monica	California	Middle
Declan Flanagan	Stanford	Coast	Torrey Pines	California	Outside
Elan Taylor	UCLA	MVVC	Valley Christian	California	Outside
Giles Beamer	Uncommitted	Coast	The Bishops	California	Opposite
Cash Essert	Uncommitted	MB Surf	Redondo Union	California	Outside
Breckenridge Bray	Uncommitted	SAVBC	Camarillo	California	Outside
Carter Mirabal	Uncommitted	Team Rockstar	Redondo Union	California	Outside
Drake Foley	Uncommitted	Balboa Bay	Corona Del Mar	California	Setter
Kei Martin	Uncommitted	Front Range	Arvada West	California	Setter
Blake Fahlbusch	USC	MB Surf	Loyola	California	Outside
Luke Vigil	Uncommitted	Elevation	Chaparral	Colorado	Opposite
Reed Fisk	Uncommitted	Elevation	Valor Christian	Colorado	Outside
Trevor Whittemore	Penn State	C2 Attack	North Forsyth	Georgia	Outside
Will Niethammer	UCSB	Spike & Serve	Punahou	Hawaii	Libero
Nathan Knight	Ball State	Adversity VBC	Libertyville	Illinois	Middle
Aldis Kins	Uncommitted	MOD	Loyola Academy	Illinois	Libero
Aidan Syswerda	Uncommitted	630 Volleyball	Wheaton North	Illinois	Outside
Simon Bratt	Uncommitted	Sports Performance	Wheaton Warrenville South	Illinois	Outside
Greyson Covay	USC	Sports Performance	Oswego	Illinois	Setter
Derby Gilkerson	Uncommitted	Academy	Monrovia	Indiana	Outside
Turner Allen	Uncommitted	K2	Greenwood	Kentucky	Libero
Isiah Powell	Penn State	St. James VBC	Springbrook	Maryland	Middle
Peter Debiec	Stanford	St. James VBC	Churchill	Maryland	Middle
Cian Tenney	USC	St. James VBC	Churchill	Maryland	Outside
Luke Reiser	Uncommitted	HPSTL	Ladue	Missouri	Opposite
Cole Esparza	Uncommitted	HPSTL	De Smet Jesuit	Missouri	Outside
Arkaidiy Rivkin	Uncommitted	Sportime	Syosset	New York	Outside
Noah Meabon	USC	Pace Bootlegger	Fariport	New York	Outside
Joe Taggart	Ohio State	Cincinnati Attack	St Xavier	Ohio	Opposite
Christopher Jones	Uncommitted	Vanguard	Hilliar Darby	Ohio	Opposite
Evan Halleran	Uncommitted	HVA	Casady	Oklahoma	Outside
Luc Soerensen	Penn State	C2 Attack	Meadville	Pennsylvania	Middle
Brodie Heshler	Uncommitted	Yorktowne	Central Dauphin	Pennsylvania	Middle
Lucas Helle	Long Beach	Stars VBC	Dorman	South Carolina	Setter
Brock Harvick	Uncommitted	C2 Attack	Allen	Tennessee	Outside
Ben Bayer	Long Beach	Milwaukee Sting	Hamilton	Wisconsin	Outside
Lincoln Myers	Stanford	Milwaukee Sting	Madison Memorial	Wisconsin	Opposite
Aleksey Mikhailenko	Stanford	MVC	Homestead	Wisconsin	Outside

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SEC. V TRACK AND FIELD: 49 GLOW region athletes qualifiy for state championships | Sports

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20 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

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Conard Beats Crosstown Rival Hall in CIAC Class L Volleyball Quarterfinal – We-Ha

No. 1 seed Conard had to get by its crosstown West Hartford rival, No. 9 Hall, to reach the semifinals of the CIAC Class L volleyball tournament. Conard vs. Hall boys volleyball. CIAC Class L quarterfinal. June 6, 2025. Photo credit: Craig Rosenberg By Bridget Dawson and Kayleigh Martin. Photos by Craig Rosenberg In a […]

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21 minutes ago

June 9, 2025

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No. 1 seed Conard had to get by its crosstown West Hartford rival, No. 9 Hall, to reach the semifinals of the CIAC Class L volleyball tournament.