Latvia fall short of sensational win on #EuroLeagueW opening night

The League Round of the revamped CEV Volleyball European League 2026 Women started on Friday night with eight matches and a series of interesting fixtures. Latvia were close to springing a sensation on home soil but the hosts failed to capitalise on a 2-0 lead before they eventually lost at the tiebreak to the top seed of the competition, Team Romania. 

Team Romania, the highest-ranked side among the 24 participating teams, came back from a two-set deficit to edge hosts Latvia 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-20, 16-14) in Riga. The first two sets were claimed by the Latvian team, which attacked in a diverse and precise manner. Anna Rita and Karmena Struka finished the first two sets with a block. In the third and fourth sets, the Romanian players increased their tempo, served much more aggressively and took the initiative. The Latvian team cancelled as many as six set balls, but lost the third set (18-25) and in the fourth set, the deficit for the home side was too big to mount a comeback. At the beginning of the decisive set, the Romanians had a four-point lead, but the home team managed to even the score, and eventually got a two-point lead (12-10). The last word belonged to the opponents though, who scored three points in a row and won a hard-fought tiebreak in Riga. Adelina Budai-Ungureanu scored 27 points for the winners, while Sorina Miclaus added 16. Marta Kamelija Levinska led the Latvians with 20 points, while Paula Neciporuka and Karmena Struka each scored 12 points.

“It was difficult to get the rhythm of the game and at the beginning the team looked disoriented, so the game turned out to be very challenging. This is no excuse, but yesterday we flew into Riga very late, so we did not have time to practice. Perhaps it was a distraction, but I am happy that we managed to win such a difficult game,” said the head coach of the Romanian national team, Guillermo Naranjo Hernandez. “The Latvians served very well and did not allow us to play our own game. The opponents also worked well with their block, but we managed to speed up our attacking game with some changes. We also served better in the third and fourth sets.”

Anna Rita stood out for the Latvian team with five blocks. “I felt very good at the net. It is always cool to put a block and help the defence. Overall, it’s a sweet and sour aftertaste, because it hurts to lose after a two-set lead, but it’s nice to see how much we have grown as a team and what level we showed today. I think we played on equal terms with a very strong team,” said Rita.

On Saturday, June 6, at 3 pm, the Romanians will play against Israel, and on Sunday, June 7, at 7:30 pm, Latvia will complete their duties against the Israelis. 

Elsewhere, Team Austria were outmatched in their opening CEV European League match against Slovakia at the Multiversum Schwechat, suffering a clear 0-3 defeat (22-25, 20-25, 15-25). In their first competitive matchup of the season, the start of each set followed a similar pattern. The Austrian team, which has qualified for the CEV EuroVolley coming up in the late summer, consistently found themselves trailing early. However, a draw against the favoured visitors would have been possible, especially in the first set. Subsequently, the team coached by Roland Schwab struggled increasingly with their reception, and after 94 minutes, the defeat was sealed. Anamarija Galić, who plays in Italy during the club season, was the top scorer for Austria with 14 points. The hosts will return to the court on Sunday afternoon to play Iceland. 

Roland Schwab, head coach of Austria: “We had chances to equalise in the crucial moments of the first set. Perhaps we were too passive then. If the opening set had gone our way, we would have been in a completely different situation. Now we need to analyse the match and go for the win on Sunday.” 

Austrian middle blocker Nina Nesimović: “We played aggressively at the beginning and showed that we can compete with Slovakia. After that, we were not able to convert as many points as we would have hoped. Of course, we are disappointed, but it was our first match with this lineup. I am sure we will win the next one.” 

Sweden, Slovenia, and Spain all recorded comprehensive 3-0 wins in their respective matches with Azerbaijan, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Greece dropped one set but emerged as the dominant force in their away matchup with Croatia in Osijek – whereas Finland had to fight for more than two hours to edge Switzerland at the tiebreak in a matchup where Switzerland’s Julie Lengweiler scored as many as 32 points. 

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