Anders Mol: who is the beach volleyball star coming to Italy to play for Verona?

Anders Mol is a Norwegian beach volleyball player: Olympic champion in Tokyo, world champion in 2022 and for years rated as the best block on the international circuit. From the 2026/27 season he plays indoor volleyball in Italy with Verona, with the idea of going back to the sand afterwards for the road to Los Angeles 2028.

If you follow beach volleyball, you already know the name. If you have only just started hearing about him, the reason is simple: an athlete who dominated the world circuit for a decade is moving to an Italian league, and that does not happen often.

Here you will find who he is, what he has won, how he plays and — above all — what you can take from the way he trains, even if you play in the third division or at the summer tournament down the road.

Who Anders Mol is

Anders Berntsen Mol was born on 2 July 1997 in Norway. He comes from a volleyball family: his father Kåre coached him for most of his career, his mother Merita was a player herself, and his brother Hendrik also plays beach volleyball at a high level.

With his compatriot Christian Sørum he built one of the most successful pairs in recent history. Everyone knows them as the “Beach Volley Vikings”, and the nickname describes their game well: aggressive, physical, very hard to read.

Why Anders Mol is so good

In modern beach volleyball the block decides matches. Mol took that skill to another level, and not just because of a few centimetres.

His main qualities

• Timing at the net: he leaves late and still gets there, which makes it very hard for the hitter to find the free hand.
• Reading the hitter: he knows where the ball is going before the arm even starts.
• Lateral speed: for a player his size, the way he moves on sand is not normal.
• Repeatable explosiveness: he does not jump high once, he jumps high all match long.
• Serve: he puts constant pressure on and creates the conditions to block.

That last point is the one amateur players underrate the most. Your best jump when you are fresh does not count for much: what counts is what you can still do in the third set, with your legs full of sand.

Anders Mol's honours

The Mol–Sørum trophy cabinet is one of the fullest in European beach volleyball:

• Olympic gold in Tokyo (the 2020 Games, played in 2021)
• Olympic bronze in Paris 2024
• World title in 2022
• A long run of back-to-back European titles
• Plenty of stops won on the FIVB World Tour and the Beach Pro Tour
• Several years as world number one

Very few pairs have stayed at the top that long, in a sport where formats, surfaces and opponents change every season.

The pair with Christian Sørum

Every great block needs a great defender behind it. In Mol's case that defender is Christian Sørum.

The split is clear: Mol takes the space at the net and shuts down the angles, Sørum covers the court and turns digs into counter-attacks. The result is a pair that:

• keeps the pressure on from the serve;
• blocks extremely aggressively;
• digs balls that look gone;
• makes very few unforced errors.

From the sand to indoor volleyball

This is the part Italian fans care about most. For the 2026/27 season Mol takes on the Italian indoor league, with the stated goal of returning to the beach circuit for the Olympic qualification run.

It is not a shot in the dark: like many Scandinavian beach players he played indoors as a kid, before moving fully to the sand.

Why a beach champion switches to indoor

There are three likely reasons, and they apply to you too on your own scale:

• A new stimulus. After ten years on the same circuit, changing surface and rhythm is a way to stay switched on.
• A different training load. Indoor means a lot of gym strength work and technical reps, things you do less of on the sand.
• A high level all year round. Better a hard season than a maintenance season.

What position he will play

On the beach he is the classic blocker. Indoors, the role that fits him best is opposite: height, power in attack, the ability to jump a lot and a real presence at the net. The real question mark is adapting to indoor rhythms, which are much faster and involve many more technical touches back to back.

How high does Anders Mol jump?

There is no public official data on his vertical jump, and making a number up would be pointless. What you see in matches, though, is clear: high elevation, very short takeoff times and — the detail that matters most — the ability to repeat that jump dozens of times in a match.

On sand that counts double. A soft surface eats part of your push and forces you to produce more force for the same takeoff. Someone who jumps well on sand almost always jumps well anywhere.

The right question is not “how high does he jump”

It is how high you jump, today, in centimetres. Until you have that number, any training programme is a bet: you do not know where you started and you will not know if you are improving.

With the JHP jump test you upload a 2-second video and get your height in centimetres, calculated from flight time. It is free and the video never leaves your device. The principle is always the same: measure first, then train, then measure again.

How to train your jump if you play on sand

You do not need to copy an Olympic champion's typical week. You need a programme with progression, and then a new measurement to see if it worked. These are the JHP paths that fit beach volleyball best:

• Beach Volley Pre-Season — 4 weeks, 12 sessions built around work on sand. €45.
• Jump Higher Program — 10 weeks of bodyweight jump work, no equipment needed. €60.
• JHP Gym Edition — 16 weeks in the gym on maximal strength and power, for anyone with access to a barbell. €60.
• Volley Powershot — arm power in attack, bodyweight only. €40.

If you would rather not pick a single programme, the JHP membership gives you access to 13 programmes with WhatsApp support for €99/year, cancel whenever you want.

What you can learn from Anders Mol

His best qualities are not only physical. They are how he reads the game, how fast he decides, his blocking technique and his consistency over the years. The body is the support, not the explanation.

In practice, for you: training your jump helps, but it helps inside a context. An athlete who jumps 5 cm higher and reads the hitter badly blocks less than one who jumps the same and reads well. Work on both.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Anders Mol?

A Norwegian beach volleyball player, Olympic champion and world champion, rated as one of the best blockers in the recent history of the sport.

How old is Anders Mol?

He was born on 2 July 1997.

Who does Anders Mol play with?

His long-standing partner is Christian Sørum, in one of the most successful pairs European beach volleyball has ever had.

Will Anders Mol play in Italy?

Yes: for the 2026/27 season he is set to move to Italian indoor volleyball with Verona, before returning to the international beach volleyball circuit.

How do I find out how high I jump?

With the free JHP test: you upload a 2-second video and get your height in centimetres, calculated from flight time.

In short

Mol left his mark on beach volleyball with a mix of physique, blocking technique and head. His move to Italian indoor volleyball is good news for anyone who wants to see him live, and a good reminder for everyone else: the difference is built with years of specific work, not a week of random jumps.

You might also like: How high does Valentina Gottardi jump? · Jumping on sand like in the gym: the tricks you did not know