Swiss hopefuls Bossart and Kernen enjoying their last U21 World Champs
Switzerland Muriel Bossart and Leona Kernen are in the middle of their 2025 FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championship campaign in Puebla. They are really enjoying the atmosphere of their last junior world champs together and, of course, hoping to go as far as possible in the tournament. Meanwhile, Kernen is also looking forward to her first senior World Championship next month in Adelaide, along with star partner Tanja Huberli.
The Swiss duo have already won some and lost some at the event in Mexico, but are now qualified for the eighthfinals and still on track in their journey to the tournament most important matches.
Player Quotes
We have just won the round of 24, we will play the round of 16 against Canada, we will give it our all again hoping to win as many games as possible and we will see how far we can go, 20-year-old defender Leona Kernen told FIVB.com. It a great tournament here in Mexico! The venues are crazy and the organization is top! We were really looking forward to playing here together at our last U21 World Championships.
It just awesome to be here, having fun on the court, enjoying everything – the vibe, the emotions and the energy together, confirmed 19-year-old Muriel Bossart, who has taken up the blocker role in this tandem.
Bossart and Kernen swept their first two matches in Pool G, but when it came to the crucial match for the first place in the pool, they faced a strong Brazilian team – Carolina Sallaberry and Julhia Perandre – and a mighty three-set battle unfolded. Each of the sets was decided by the narrowest of margins and the tie-breaker was pushed deep into overtime before the South Americans could squeeze out a 2-1 (21-19, 19-21, 19-17) victory, leaving the Swiss as pool runners-up and one more game to play in the knockouts.
I think it was a very tough game. The Brazilians played very well, commented Bossart. We had some ups and downs, but also some very, very good things and I think we just take everything forward with us. It fired us up even more for the next rounds.
Bouncing back from that loss on Friday was not a problem for Bossart and Kernen, and on Saturday morning, they cruised through their sixteenthfinal match against Costa Rica Aliza Aguilar and Laura Molina to achieve a swift 2-0 (21-12, 21-7) win.
Partnership with Tanja Huberli
After last year Olympic Games in Paris, Swiss bronze medalist Nina Brunner decided to take a break from competitive beach volleyball and her partner Tanja Huberli picked Leona Kernen to replace Brunner in the team. On the 2025 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, Huberli and Kernen won a Spiez Futures gold and a Yucatan Challenge silver, and also reached the semifinals of the iconic Gstaad Elite tournament.
Of course, it nice to play with Tanja. It a great opportunity to learn from her, how she is doing things on the court and off the court. It a big learning session, said Kernen. I will give it all again and try to win as many games as possible against the best of the world. It a big thing to compete there. And also Australia! I think it crazy far away for me and I am really looking forward to playing there.
Credit: volleyballworld.com
