Belgium, Ukraine and Czechia throw off 2024 CEV Women's European Golden League with flawless displays

The 12 teams which lined up at the start of the 2024 CEV Women's European Golden League enjoyed their first week on the court and only three sides – Belgium, Czechia and Ukraine – delivered two wins in their first two matches, getting a head start towards a ticket to the Final Four, due to be played in Czechia on 15 and 16 June.

Ukraine did not find it easy in Rakvere, Estonia, where they went head-to-toe with Slovenia in their first match, losing two of the first three sets. Nevertheless, a strong performance from Oleksandra Milenko, who had 18 points, helped Ukraine seal a 3:2 win, with a 15:11 win in the fifth set.

One day later, hosts Estonia were no match for the strong Ukraine side, which dropped only 38 points on their way to a clear 3:0 (25:11; 25:14; 25:13) win, confirming their good form and flawless start.

With superstar Isabelle Haak in fantastic form, scoring 33 points against Spain, Sweden snatched a 3:2 win in their opener in Lund, but conceded their home advantage against Belgium, dropping all three sets, 17:25, 19:25 and 14:25 on their way to a 0:3 loss.

Belgium dropped only the first set in the tournament in Lund, against Spain, 28:30, but bounced back in superb fashion to take the next three and lead the standings with the best point difference in the 2024 CEV Women's European Golden League after one week, +48.

lose behind are Czechia, which also dropped a set, in their second match of the tournament which took place in Teplice, on their home court. After a clear 3:0 win against Austria, where they dropped only 38 points, 19 of which came in the third set, Czechia dominated Romania, for a 3:1 win (25:18, 22:25, 25:23, 25:23), which came harder than anticipated.

Gabriela Orvosova had 23 points for the Czech side in the match against Romania and 10 points against Austria, being her team’s top scorer in each of the two matches, which put Czechia on track for a Final Four ticket.

In the other tournament, played in Osijek, Croatia, the hosts, Azerbaijan and Slovakia each secured one win and shared the spoils, staying in the hunt for a place in the Final Four, with only Spain, Estonia and Austria dropping both matches so far and starting with a handicap in their quest for glory.

Three flawless teams also in the 2024 Women's European Silver League

The 2024 CEV Women's European Silver League also threw off, with nine teams at the start, after Bosnia Herzegovina retired prior to the throw off. The nine sides featured last week in three tournaments, one in Kopavogur, Iceland, one in Tampere, Finland and the last one in Podgorica, Montenegro.

Two of the hosts, Montenegro and Finland, swept their opponents, but each conceded a set in the first matches. After a 3:0 win against Luxembourg (25:7, 25:19, 25:9), Finland lost the first set against Portugal, 15:25, but went on to deliver an excellent performance, taking the next three sets in fashion, 28:26, 25:14 and 25:20.

Montenegro delivered a strong 3:0 win against the Faroe Islands and almost clinched another flawless win, as they won three sets against Georgia, 25:13, 25:14, 25:16. A blip on the radar came in the second set, where they could not control the match and conceded a 23:25 loss, but they are still the leaders in the quest for a ticket to the finals.

Hungary are the third team with two wins, 3:0 against Iceland (25:20, 25:15 and 25:15) and against Latvia, 3:1 (25:21, 28:30, 25:9 and 25:18), aiming to make a push for the tickets to the final.

Both the Golden and the Silver Leagues will continue at the end of this week, between 24 and 26 May, with another round, with each team playing two matches.