Aussie women win gold at U19 Asian Beach Volleyball Championships
Australian juniors Stefanie Fejes and Alisha Stevens have won gold overnight at the U19 Asian Beach Volleyball Championships in Thailand.
The pair made their way through the pool games undefeated, and with three wins under their belt faced fellow Aussies Jasmine Fleming and Jesse Mann in the semi finals.
The strength of the Fejes/Stevens pairing shone, taking the semi final win in a thrilling three set match.
In the gold medal final, Thailand came out strong, winning the first set 21-19. But Fejes/Stevens never looked like giving up, mounting an impressive comeback to win the game in three sets.
Stevens said she couldn’t have done it without Fejes, and the teamwork within the pairing was what got them over the line.
“It feels so surreal that we’ve just won the U19 Asian Beach Volleyball Championships,” Stevens said.
“We went through pretty much in lockdown, and only allowed to play a bit of volleyball, so it’s been super challenging and the odds were definitely against us.
“But we pulled through with our own energy and determination, and we did it! We are the U19 champions,” she said.
Coach Anne Meijnderts was impressed with Fejes/Stevens performance, adding they’d put in the hard work to get to that point.
“Alisha and Stefanie did an amazing job out there today, and showed a lot of grit and resilience under pressure,” Meijnderts said.
“It has been a privilege to work with them so far and I look forward to seeing how we can take this week’s experiences into next week’s U21 Championships,” she said.
With the U19 tournament now wrapped up, attention will turn to the U21 tournament where Australia will be represented by four teams.
U21-Men
- Lucas Josefsen / Ben Booth
- Ruben Gale / Connor O’Neil
U21-Women
- Stefanie Fejes / Alisha Stevens
- Jesse Mann / Jasmine Fleming
