Beach Volleyball Kicks Off the 2026 Tertiary Challenge Series

The 2026 Tertiary Challenge Series is officially underway, with Beach Volleyball opening the calendar on the golden sands of Mount Maunganui on 16 January. Bathed in sunshine and accompanied by light winds, conditions were ideal for a full day of high-quality competition.

Bringing together student-athletes from across the motu, the event created an inclusive environment for both competitive and social players alike. A total of 15 teams took to the sand, with six women’s teams and nine men’s teams competing to kick off the series.

The action on the sand delivered a strong start to the year, with impressive performances across both men’s and women’s competition. On the men’s side, the University of Auckland pairing of Davi Pacheco and Juraj Krajci lived up to their top seeding to claim the title, but not after a come-from-behind victory over Kyle Smith and Liam Smith from the University of Canterbury in the final.

The Smith pairing showed composure early on to claim the first set 22-20, before Pacheco and Krajci flipped the script to win the second set with the same scoreline. The top seeds then showed their strength and experience, winning the deciding third set 15-8. In the 3^rd place playoff it was the University of Waikato pairing of Benjami de Goeij and Saven Tillard who claimed bronze, defeating Flynn Schrider and Gus Wogan from Victoria University of Wellington.

The women’s competition provided an exciting shake-up, with the second-seeded Kendall McKane and Lani Rawle from AUT rising to the occasion to defeat the top-seeded University of Auckland team of Amy Bickers and Anouk Van Dijk in the semi-final round. Their hot streak continued in the final as they took down another AUT pairing of Chloe Kemble and Jayd Hunia to take home the gold. Bickers and Van Dijk rebounded in the 3^rd place playoff to defeat Adrienne Tock and Kacey Bennett to claim bronze and round out the podium.

With a mix of high-level competition and social participation on display, Beach Volleyball once again highlighted the spirit of the Challenge Series, where accessibility, connection, and involvement are just as important as results.

As the first event of the year, it sets the tone for what promises to be another exciting and inclusive 2026 series, with more sports and opportunities still to come.