Estonia got their first win in Pool C, Serbia claim another five-set triumph

In the second match of Day 6 in Tampere, Estonia cruised over The Netherlands 3-1 (27-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23) to claim their first three points at CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 Men. Earlier in the afternoon, Denmark got their ticket to the knockout phase in Turin, but eventually lost the match against Serbia 2-3 (25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 14-16). 

The Netherlands vs Estonia 1-3 (25-27, 22-25, 25-18, 23-25)

The Lange Mannen went up 9-5, then 14-11 to settle the first set in one bright direction. But then it was Estonia who decided to close up to 16-16 and then 20-20 to bring it to 24-24. And in that moment the killer instinct of Renee Teppan showed that Estonia didn’t come just for fun: they came back 27-25 to close the set in their favour. The second set was a battle of nerves between the two teams: at 10-10 a red card for both teams brought a moment of tension after an altercation between two players, but luckily it was temporary and then the set was just a little more spicy for the over 1,000 fans watching from the stands at the Nokia Arena. In a point by point struggle, again it was Estonia who at the end edged ahead (23-20) to even get the second set 25-22 with a tremendous block from their captain Andri Aganits. 

Not discouraged from this setback, the Lange Mannen found the right way to make it through their opponents’ block and Bennie Tuinstra (six points in the set), together with Youri Ebbelaar (five) set the path for their team. Estonian coach Alar Rikberg tried to change something and called back to the court Timo Lohmus, but the Orange were already too far ahead (20-12) to be stopped and the set finished easily 25-18. The fourth set was a thrilling one, with both teams willing to win, and until 18-18 it was just a point by point race. At 22-22 Lohmus placed two aces in a row that built a wall for the final (and first at CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 Men) win for Estonia.

Denmark vs Serbia 2-3 (25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 14-16)

The last match for Denmark, the match from where they needed at least two sets to be sure of the qualification to the knockout phase, and that's what they did. The Danish team started strong with a solid gap of five and then seven points against Serbia who entered the court a little too soft. Mads Kyed Jensen was the best scorer of his team with nine points (75% attack) but it was a real team work, together with Tobias Hougs Kjaer who was always ready in defence and attack. They took their team to 22-16 and finally to the first win at 25-19. In the second set was Serbia at the beginning to take the lead (5-3, 13-11) but Denmark came back to tie at 13-13 and from that moment on they pushed more and more with Oskar Kjerstein Madsen, who scored three points despite of a big patch on his head after a clash he had during the game, to take the crucial point that means a ticket to Turin. 

Maybe in the third set the Danish lost a bit of energy since “the hard part was done” and it was point by point. Then it was the Serbians who took an advantage at 21-19 that let Veljko Masulovic and his fellas to their first point. Serbia changed the attitude in the fourth, they started strong 4-1 and 10-6 but at 13-13 it seemed as if Denmark were ready for the final siege: Jensen was still the best of the team, but on the other side of the net Ivovic and Masulovic said "not now" and they led the action to the tie-break. The final set was a short summary of the whole match: first Denmark, then Serbia ahead, then again tied at 14-14, but the final word was from the Serbians for their second win in five sets since the start of the competition in Tampere.