Four teams keep perfect record following European League second round

After completion of the second weekend of competitive action, three teams – the Netherlands in the men’s competition plus Sweden and Slovenia in the women’s division – still have an immaculate record of four wins in as many matches without dropping a single set in the CEV Volleyball European League 2026. The race for a spot among the top four of the League Round is slowly but surely taking shape – and these teams will not only progress to the semis but also secure their participation in the CEV EuroVolley 2028. Therefore, there is still very much at stake with another weekend of action coming up soon to complete the League Round. 

In the women’s competition, Sweden and Slovenia are yet to drop a single set. Sweden delighted their home fans in Ängelholm where they beat both Lithuania and Bosnia and Herzegovina in straight sets. Isabelle Haak is the top-scoring player of the competition with 104 points across four matches and a mind-boggling 8.67 points per set! Slovenia capitalised on the home-court advantage as well as they beat both Iceland and Latvia in Ljubljana without losing a single set too. However, the race for a top four finish remains very close – with another four teams, namely Slovakia, Hungary, Spain and Greece also boasting an impressive record of four wins in as many matches they have contested this far. 

Greece dropped a point to Portugal, but remained undefeated in the home round they contested this weekend in Larissa. The hosts quickly dispatched Kosovo 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-16), applying pressure from the service line and on the back of high scoring by Martha Anthouli (15 points) and Elpida Tikmanidou (14). Greece’s second match was not quite as straightforward, as Portugal twice came from behind to draw level before the home side dominated the fifth set for a 3-2 (25-15, 24-26, 25-14, 21-25, 15-8) win. Greece dominated all skills, as Anthouli once again emerged top scorer of the game on 25 points. A total of nine players across both teams scored in double digits.

Still, coach Apostolos Oikonomou was quite happy. “Our goal was to secure two wins before our home crowd, and we achieved it. Our next goal is two make it six from six, though we need to take each game one at a time. Right now we need to rest and then we will travel to Estonia and try to get two wins there and keep our hopes alive for a spot in the semi-finals.” 

Portugal, meanwhile, had Julia Kavalenka score a match high of 19 points as they shut out Kosovo 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-12) for their second win of the competition overall. “Overall, it was a good weekend and I believe that with a little luck we could have beaten Greece,” said Portugal coach Hugo Silva. “We are still a very young team and we need time. The most important thing is to keep improving and I am happy that we gave it our all in both games.” 

Kosovo remain winless in the European League after four matches, but head coach Lorik Ilazi also departed Greece satisfied. “We are happy because we know that we are still newcomers at this level,” he said. “Against Portugal we were not that good, but against Greece we played really great. We need to work harder, but our goal is to become competitive at this level.” 

Click here for full and detailed standings. 

The Netherlands are the only team with four wins and no sets lost at all in the men’s competition. They added another two wins to their record as they stormed past Georgia and Slovakia in Doetinchem. There are another four sides with four wins too – Estonia, Finland, Denmark, and Israel. Israel has the two top-scoring players of the league this far – with Shay Mayo Liberman (83 points) followed closely by teammate Mark Rura (82). Latvia, the surprise leaders after the first weekend, had a round to forget as they lost to both Montenegro and Portugal in Matosinhos to plummet to 13th place. 

After losing to hosts Sweden last week in Lund, Greece provided a redemption of sorts with back-to-back wins over Iceland and North Macedonia as the men’s competition continued over the weekend in Glyfada, a seaside suburb of Athens. North Macedonia shut out Iceland in the other match of the three-day event.
Greece was coming off an almost unbelievable shock defeat (from 2-0 and 24-20 up) to Sweden on the opening weekend, but bounced back with solid home wins on the back of high scoring (14 points) across two sets from Dimitrios Mouchlias against Iceland for a compelling 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-12) shutout. Greece served 11 aces, as head coach Konstantinos Christofidelis brought on all of his subs to start (and finish) set 3.
North Macedonia also scored a decisive win 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-19) over the Nordic side, with 24 points coming from Nikola Gjorgiev.
But Greece was a bit too much for North Macedonia, as Alexandros Raptis on a match high of 13 points (plus another 12 each by Lampros Pitakoudis and Mouchlias) led the home side to a crushing 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-23) win. Greece dominated on the net with 14 blocks (to three by North Macedonia) and a 58% attacking efficiency (to 42%). North Macedonia put up some resistance in the third set, but any aspirations they may have had were dashed rather unceremoniously on an unforced error at match point.

“We have potential as a team, but we need to believe in ourselves more, play with greater confidence, and maintain a consistent level of performance throughout the match,” said Christofidelis. “We have one day to rest and then we travel to Luxembourg aiming for maximum points and victories. A big thank you to the fans who came to the arena and supported us with their voice.”

North Macedonia head coach Joshko Milenkoski was happy to have been in Greece. “It was a valuable tournament for us and we learnt a lot, both from the match against Iceland which we won, and from the match against Greece which we lost,” he said. “I am always happy to come to Greece and I wish the Greek team the best of luck for the rest of the competition. As for us, we will continue to do our best and strive for the best possible results.”

Despite the straight-set defeats that left Iceland still searching for their first set in the competition, head coach Borja Gonzalez Vicente was also grateful for the participation. “For us it was another great opportunity to compete in two high-level games and gain experience as a group,” he said just before his team departed Greece for the very long trip home across the other side of Europe. “We are working hard to raise the level in Iceland and the European League is a great way to do it. We will keep fighting until the end of the competition.”

Such statements clearly show how competitive the revamped CEV Volleyball European League is – and fans can already look forward to drama-filled matches when the League Round concludes this coming weekend with another nine men’s and eight women’s tournaments!  

Click here for full and detailed standings.