Ehlers and Wickler upset Mol and Sørum for a spot in the quarterfinals
Germans Stun Norwegian Superstars
Repeating what they did just under a year ago in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics, Germans Nils Ehlers and Clemens Wickler shocked Norwegian stars Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, beating the FIVB World Ranking leaders in the Round of 12 of this week’s Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite event held in Gstaad on Friday.
The German Olympic medalists are among the eight teams that continue alive in the race for the title in the Swiss Alps, which will see both the quarterfinal and the semifinal rounds take place on Saturday. The medal matches are scheduled for Sunday.
The Upset
While Ehlers and Wickler had lost their first pool play match in Gstaad on Wednesday before securing back-to-back victories in the tournament, Mol and Sorum had claimed a pair of sweeps before Friday’s encounter. When the match started, however, the Germans called the shots and won 2-0 (23-21, 21-16).
It was just the second victory of the Germans over the Tokyo Olympic champions in nine matches held since 2022. Between the triumph in Paris and the one in Gstaad, Mol and Sorum took a win at last year’s Beach Pro Tour Finals, in Doha.
Best Result of 2025 Season
With their Round of 12 victory, Ehlers and Wickler, who had defeated another Norwegian team in Hendrik Mol and Mathias Berntsen in two sets (21-16, 21-13) in the Round of 18 earlier on Friday, guaranteed their best result in the 2025 season as they will leave Gstaad with at least a fifth-place finish.
In the quarterfinals, the German Olympic medalists will face Dutch Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot, who eliminated Swiss Adrian Heidrich and Jonathan Jordan with a three-set (22-20, 16-21, 15-12) victory in the Round of 12.
Norwegians Advance as Lucky Losers
Despite the Round of 12 defeat, Mol and Sorum still made it to the quarterfinals in Gstaad as one of the top two teams to lose their matches. The Beach Volley Vikings will now play Brazilian Olympians Andre Loyola and George Wanderley, who topped Australians Thomas Hodges and Zachery Schubert in two sets (21-19, 21-9) in the Round of 18 and prevailed over Qatari Olympic medalists Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan also in straight sets (21-15, 21-19) in the Round of 12.
Young Swedish Keep Progressing
Like the Brazilians, young Swedish Jacob Holting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson also reached the quarterfinals after starting the tournament in the qualifier on Wednesday. With that, the reigning U22 European champions, who won two Challenge events in 2024, secured their best finish in a Beach Pro Tour Elite tournament as partners.
The 20-year-old Holting Nilsson and the 19-year-old Andersson secured a pair of big victories in Gstaad on Friday:
- Swept (21-14, 21-19) reigning European champions Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots of Latvia in the Round of 18
- Overcame the home team of Marco Krattiger and Leo Dillier in two sets (21-16, 23-21) in the Round of 12
The Swedish will now face Brazilians Evandro Goncalves and Arthur Lanci, who won two matches on Friday in Gstaad – they defeated Americans Andy Benesh and Miles Partain 2-1 (11-21, 21-19, 15-8) in the Round of 18 and got a two-set (21-17, 21-17) victory against Dutch Matthew Immers and Leon Luini in the Round of 12.
Quarterfinal Matchups
The fourth and last quarterfinal duel on Saturday will reunite Dutch Alexander Brouwer and Steven van de Velde, who advanced with a straight-set (26-24, 21-16) win over Cubans Jorge Alayo and Noslen Diaz, and Cherif and Ahmed, who progressed despite their defeat to Andre and George.
Photo credit: volleyballworld.com
