Italy and Türkiye to lock horns in #EuroVolleyU22W pool stage

Eight teams will contest later this summer – from July 1-6 – the second edition of #EuroVolleyU22W in Lecce and Taranto, Italy. Qualifiers were played in the summer of 2023 and the Drawing of Lots for the Final Round was held on Thursday morning at the home of European Volleyball in Luxembourg under the supervision of CEV Vice-President and Jury President, Ms Margaret Ann Fleming MBE. 

With hosts Italy and the highest-ranked qualified team, Serbia placed at the top of Pool I and II, respectively, the subsequent draw placed the remaining six participating teams across the two preliminary groups. These were previously divided and grouped into three cups – as per their position in the European ranking of this age group. 

After completion of the Drawing of Lots, the pool composition reads as follows:

Volleyball fans can already look forward to some exciting fixtures right from the pool stage, with hosts and defending European champions Italy drawn together with a highly competitive and ambitious Turkish team. The top two teams from each pool will progress to crossed semi-finals, which will be followed by the medal matches. The championship is due to take place in the region of Apulia and will be used by the organising Italian Volleyball Federation as a test event for the Volleyball competition of the Mediterranean Games, which the city of Taranto will be hosting in 2026. 

It is only the second edition of this age-group European Championship following the event held in 2022 (open to U21 players), which helps the rising stars of the sport complete a more seamless transition from the junior to the senior ranks. Watch out for some of tomorrow’s elite players to take centre stage and blossom when they take to the court later this summer in Lecce and Taranto! 

A detailed match schedule for the pool phase of the competition will follow in due course.