Germany and Poland outclass Hungary and Slovenia as Pool A action continues in Istanbul

On Tuesday afternoon, Germany cruised to a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Hungary as Pool A action continues at the Sinan Erdem Sports Hall in Istanbul. This was by far the best performance delivered by Germany at the CEV Trendyol EuroVolley 2026 Women so far – a much-needed boost of energy ahead of the key matches with Türkiye and Poland coming up in the days ahead. Later in the afternoon, Poland – who had been struggling to display their best game in their previous matches – swept aside Slovenia in three straight sets in a match that was far more one-sided than many would have expected to record their third win in as many matches. 

Hungary vs. Germany 0-3 (17-25, 21-25, 14-25) 

As they returned to the court only a few hours after their matchup with hosts Türkiye the night before, Hungary – the youngest team in the competition – had an enormous challenge to cope with, which was to regroup physically but especially mentally and emotionally from such an endeavour. Their Italian-born head coach Alessandro Chiappini, who is a well-known figure in Türkiye since he was at the helm of the ‘Sultans of the Net’ from 2007 to 2010, hoped for a miracle, which did eventually not materialise. On the other side of the net, Germany were desperate to show the quality that you would expect from the no. 12 team in the world and on Tuesday they eventually produced a flawless and consistent performance throughout the match. As many as three of their players finished the match in double figures, with Lina Alsmeier leading the way (13 points) followed by Leana Grozer (12, including the rally that sealed the second set) and Emilia Weske (12). Hungary’s rising star Anett Németh confirmed her status of scoring machine as she topped the charts on a personal account of 16 points. 

The 3-0 win is the third in a row for Germany over Hungary in the CEV EuroVolley pool phase since Germany’s reunification following previous successes in 2015 and 2017. The result also improves Germany’s record in Pool A to two wins and one loss, with the team guided by Giulio Bregoli, another popular figure in Istanbul as the current head coach of hometown favourites Eczacibasi. 

Poland vs. Slovenia 3-0 (25-14, 28-26, 25-18) 

The expectations were extremely high for this matchup especially after Slovenia’s mighty performance against Germany and their very solid showing in the game with hosts Türkiye. On the other hand, Poland had not lived up to their status in previous matches, but they seemed to change gear and get back on track right from the start of the opening set, which they claimed at a canter (25-14) in 23 minutes only. Slovenia, silver medal winners in this year’s European League, eventually rose to the occasion in a closely contested second set where they had their fair chances and even a set ball. However, they could not convert it and at this key stage there was a short interruption of the match to look after Maša Pucelj – after she had been hit by a ball on her face. Poland’s star player Magdalena Stysiak for responsible for that ‘heavy blow’ and also for most of the subsequent points whereby the White-and-Reds doubled their lead in the match.

As they failed to draw level, Slovenia’s resistance was somehow broken as they showed many problems in reception and a real lack of consistency compared to their earlier matches in the group. The third set was fairly one-sided with Stysiak scoring point after point (11 in this set alone out of the 24 she tallied up throughout the match). The result was a very convincing 3-0 victory for the no. 5 team from the FIVB World Ranking and a real boost of confidence ahead of their upcoming key matches with Germany and Türkiye. Poland were again missing their libero and captain Aleksandra Szczyglowska due to health issues. 

The result represents the fourth 3-0 victory for Poland over Slovenia in the EuroVolley pool phase after previous such matches contested in the 2015, 2019, and 2023 editions had ended with the same score.