Merel Else Mooren (born 22 September 1982) is a Dutch professional beach volleyball and indoor

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player born in Haarlem. In indoor volleyball Mooren started her career in 1989 at Allides Haarlem where she was part of the youth teams. The Dutch youth team called her up in 1996 and she was part of the team until 2000, winning a silver medal at the European Youth Championships. From 1997 until 2002 she played for

Martinus Amstelveen Martinus may refer to: * Martin (magister militum per Armeniam), 6th-century Byzantine/East Roman general * Martinus (son of Heraclius), 7th-century Byzantine/East Roman co-emperor * Martinus of Arles, doctor of theology, priest, and author on dem ...

in the highest Dutch league. Then she decided to switch sports to beach volleyball. She started her international beach volleyball career in 2002, teaming up with

Mered de Vries Mered de Vries (born 25 September 1977) is a retired Dutch professional beach volleyball and indoor volleyball player born in the small village of Harich in Friesland. De Vries played seven seasons at Dutch highest league participants AMVJ be ...

. The talented team did not last long and in the following year Mooren had a new partner called Sanne Keizer. They quickly became one of the best teams in The Netherlands. They even became Dutch champions by breaking the run set by

Rebekka Kadijk Rebekka de Kogel-Kadijk (born 16 June 1979) is a Dutch professional beach volleyball and indoor volleyball player born in Werkendam. In indoor volleyball Kadijk started her career in 1992 at Foranto Werkendam. Other teams she played for were S ...

who was teaming up with Marrit Leenstra at that time. In 2004 they finished second behind this team, but they won the FIVB Satellite tournament in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...

. After the 2004 Summer Olympics Kadijk/Leenstra decided to split up. Mooren was Kadijk's next partner, while Leenstra continued with Sanne Keizer. The combination Kadijk/Mooren was nearly unbeatable in their own country. In 2005 and 2006 they became Dutch national champions. In both 2005 (

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

) and 2006 (

Scheveningen Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is ...

) they reached the final of the European Championships. In both occasions the final was lost and they won the silver medals twice. In 2007 they won their first European Tour Tournament, prevailing in the final of the German Masters in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

External links

Official site
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mooren, Merel 1982 births Living people Dutch women's volleyball players Dutch women's beach volleyball players Beach volleyball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic beach volleyball players for the Netherlands Sportspeople from Haarlem 20th-century Dutch women 21st-century Dutch women