Match Preview

Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour
US$250,000 BPT Challenge Tlaxcala
Thursday, March 19, 2026

Match #3: Pool B

(2) Lea Kunst/Melanie Paul, Germany
vs.
(31, Q12) Maria Castillo/Katie Lindstrom, United States

Lea Sophie Kunst
Germany

Photo: FIVB

Personal Info

Birth Date:

Dec 18, 2001 (24 yrs old)

Home Town:

Varel

Height:

185 cm (6'1")

Weight:

75 kg (165 lb)

Seasons:

Tournaments:

Career Wins:

1 (FIVB Ios 2024)

Career Winnings:

US$29,693.50

Melanie Paul
Germany

Photo: FIVB

Personal Info

Birth Date:

Oct 27, 2000 (25 yrs old)

Home Town:

Buenos Aires

Height:

177 cm (5'10")

Seasons:

Tournaments:

Career Wins:

1 (FIVB Lille 2023)

Career Winnings:

US$19,015.15

Team Career Summary

Tour	Played	1	2	3	4	5	7	9	13	17	25	33	Money
FIVB	8	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	2	1	US$32,450.00

Previous Tlaxcala Results Neither player has played in this venue before

Recent Results

Tour	Date	Tournament	Seed	Finish	Points	Money
FIVB	3/11-15/2026	BPT Elite Joao Pessoa	12	9th	600	US$6,200.00
FIVB	11/14-23/2025	2025 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships	36	9th	800	US$11,000.00
FIVB	7/2-6/2025	BPT Elite Gstaad	Q10	25th	300	US$0.00
FIVB	6/25-29/2025	BPT Challenge Warmia Mazury	18	9th	460	US$3,250.00
FIVB	6/11-15/2025	BPT Challenge Alanya	Q1	33rd	180	US$0.00
FIVB	5/14-18/2025	BPT Challenge Xiamen	28, Q5	3rd	720	US$9,000.00
FIVB	3/19-23/2025	BPT Challenge Yucatan	29, Q15	25th	220	US$1,500.00

BPT Challenge Tlaxcala Matches

Date	Bracket	Opponent	Score	Time
Thu, 3/19/2026	Pool B	Maria Castillo / Katie Lindstrom, United States (31, Q12)

Team Finishes By Tournament Type

Tournament Type	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-6th	7-8th	9-12th	13-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)
World Championships	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	$11,000.00
Elite/Major Series/Five Star/Grand Slam	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	$6,200.00
Challenge/Four Star/Open	5	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	$15,250.00
Total	8	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	2	0	$32,450.00

Individual Finishes by Tournament Type

Lea Kunst												Melanie Paul
Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)	Tournament Type	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)
1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	$5,500.00	World Championships	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	$5,500.00
7	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	1	0	$6,850.00	Elite/Major Series/Five Star/Grand Slam	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	1	0	$3,100.00
18	0	0	1	0	2	3	5	4	0	$15,875.00	Challenge/Four Star/Open	6	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	$7,625.00
8	1	0	1	1	0	1	4	0	0	$1,000.00	Futures/Three Star/Two Star/One Star	12	1	1	0	3	1	4	2	0	0	$1,900.00
1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	$0.00	U18/19 World Championships
35	1	0	2	1	2	8	13	5	0	$29,225.00	Total	23	1	1	1	3	1	7	4	2	0	$18,125.00

Team Finishes by Season

			Results												Matches
Season	Assoc	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-6th	7-8th	9-12th	13-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)	Won	Lost	Pct
2025	FIVB	6	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	1	$24,750.00	14	8	63.6 %
2026	FIVB	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	$6,200.00	3	1	75.0 %
Total	FIVB	7	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	2	1	$30,950.00	17	9	65.4 %

Individual Finishes by Season

Lea Kunst													Melanie Paul
Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)	Season	Association	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)
1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	$0.00	2018	FIVB Age Group WC
3	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	$250.00	2021	FIVB
6	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	1	0	$3,125.00	2022	FIVB	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	$500.00
5	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	1	$1,000.00	2023	FIVB	4	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	$950.00
10	1	0	0	1	1	2	4	1	0	$3,750.00	2024	FIVB	7	0	0	0	1	0	3	2	0	1	$450.00
8	0	0	1	0	0	3	1	2	1	$17,250.00	2025	FIVB	6	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	2	1	$12,375.00
1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	$3,100.00	2026	FIVB	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	$3,100.00
34	1	0	2	1	2	8	13	5	2	$28,475.00	Total	Total	22	1	1	1	3	1	7	4	2	2	$17,375.00

Team Match Records

	Won 1st Set								Lost 1st Set								2 Set Matches		3 Set Matches		By Forfeit		All Matches
Season	Won 2-0		Won 2-1		Lost 2-1		Overall		Won 2-1		Lost 2-1		Lost 2-0		Overall		Overall		Overall		Won	Lost	Overall
Overall	11	68.8%	3	18.8%	2	12.5%	14-2	87.5%	3	30.0%	3	30.0%	4	40.0%	3-7	30.0%	11-4	73.3%	6-5	54.5%	0	0	17-9	65.4%
2025-2026	11	68.8%	3	18.8%	2	12.5%	14-2	87.5%	3	30.0%	3	30.0%	4	40.0%	3-7	30.0%	11-4	73.3%	6-5	54.5%	0	0	17-9	65.4%
Against the Field	2	66.7%	1	33.3%	0	0.0%	3-0	100.0%	1	100.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	1-0	100.0%	4-0	100.0%	4-0	100.0%	0	0	4-0	100.0%

Team Match Records by Round

	Country Quota		Qualifier		Pool Play		Lucky Loser		Elimination Rounds		Semi-Finals		Bronze Medal		Gold Medal		Overall
Tournament Type	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost
World Championships	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
Elite/Major Series/Five Star/Grand Slam	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	2
Challenge/Four Star/Open	0	0	3	1	3	3	0	0	3	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	10	6
Total	0	0	3	2	9	3	0	0	4	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	17	9

Maria Belen Castillo
United States

Photo not available

Personal Info

Birth Date:

Jan 22, 1998 (28 yrs old)

Home Town:

Argentina

Height:

192 cm (6'4")

Weight:

72 kg (158 lb)

Seasons:

Tournaments:

Career Best:

First event

Career Winnings:

US$750.00

Katie Lindstrom
United States

Photo: NORCECA

Personal Info

Birth Date:

Jul 21, 1992 (33 yrs old)

Home Town:

Daytona Beach, FL

Height:

163 cm (5'4")

Seasons:

Tournaments:

Career Best:

2nd (FIVB Miguel Pereira 2023)

Career Winnings:

US$2,537.40

Team Career Summary

Tour	Played	1	2	3	4	5	7	9	13	17	25	Money
FIVB	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	US$1,500.00

Previous Tlaxcala Results Neither player has played in this venue before

Recent Results 1st Tournament

BPT Challenge Tlaxcala Matches

Date	Bracket	Opponent	Score	Time
Wed, 3/18/2026	Qualifier 2	Marine Kinna / Alex Merle, France (Q5)	Won 21-19, 21-14	0:38
Thu, 3/19/2026	Pool B	Lea Kunst / Melanie Paul, Germany (2)

Team Finishes By Tournament Type

Tournament Type	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-6th	7-8th	9-12th	13-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)
Challenge/Four Star/Open	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$1,500.00
Total	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$1,500.00

Individual Finishes by Tournament Type

Maria Castillo												Katie Lindstrom
Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)	Tournament Type	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)
1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$750.00	Challenge/Four Star/Open	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	$750.00
											Futures/Three Star/Two Star/One Star	13	0	1	1	0	1	9	1	0	0	$1,600.00
1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$750.00	Total	16	0	1	1	0	1	9	1	1	1	$2,350.00

Team Finishes by Season

Results

Matches

Season

Assoc

Played

Gold

Silver

Bronze

4th

5-6th

7-8th

9-12th

13-16th

17-24th

25th

Lower

Winnings (US$)

Won

Lost

Pct

Individual Finishes by Season

Maria Castillo													Katie Lindstrom
Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)	Season	Association	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)
											2023	FIVB	3	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	$400.00
											2024	FIVB	6	0	0	0	0	1	4	0	1	0	$600.00
											2025	FIVB	6	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	0	1	$600.00
											Total	Total	15	0	1	1	0	1	9	1	1	1	$1,600.00

Team Match Records

	Won 1st Set								Lost 1st Set				2 Set Matches		3 Set Matches	By Forfeit		All Matches
Season	Won 2-0		Won 2-1		Lost 2-1		Overall		Won 2-1	Lost 2-1	Lost 2-0	Overall	Overall		Overall	Won	Lost	Overall
Overall	1	100.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	1-0	100.0%	0	0	0	0-0	1-0	100.0%	0-0	0	0	1-0	100.0%
2025-2026	1	100.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	1-0	100.0%	0	0	0	0-0	1-0	100.0%	0-0	0	0	1-0	100.0%
Against the Field	1	100.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	1-0	100.0%	0	0	0	0-0	2-0	100.0%	0-0	0	0	1-0	100.0%

Team Match Records by Round

	Country Quota		Qualifier		Pool Play		Lucky Loser		Elimination Rounds		Semi-Finals		Bronze Medal		Gold Medal		Overall
Tournament Type	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost
Challenge/Four Star/Open	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Total	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0

Head to Head Results
First meeting between the two teams

Date	Tour	Tournament	Round	Winning Team	Seed	Losing Team	Seed	Score	Time
3/19/26	FIVB	BPT Challenge Tlaxcala	Pool B