Latvia hold their nerve to spoil Romania’s home opener in Cluj

Latvia made the perfect start to their CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 Men campaign on Wednesday evening, overcoming hosts Romania 3-1 (26-24, 18-25, 25-21, 26-24) in the opening match of Pool D in Cluj-Napoca.
The two teams knew each other well before taking the court at BT Arena. They had already met at the beginning of the summer in the European League, when Latvia claimed a straight-set victory. This time, however, Romania arrived with a different line-up, the backing of the home crowd and the emotion of opening a European Championship on home soil.
The result was a much tighter battle.

Romania appeared ready to take control of the opening set when they moved ahead 21-19, but Latvia stayed composed when the pressure increased. Uģis Krastiņš’s side erased the deficit and eventually edged the hosts 26-24 to take the early lead.

The response from Romania was immediate. With their attack beginning to find rhythm and the home crowd growing louder, Sergiu Stancu’s team raced ahead in the second set and never allowed Latvia back into contention. Four blocks and 14 successful attacks helped the hosts level the match with a convincing 25-18 win.

However, Latvia regained their composure in the third. After Romania held an 8-7 advantage, the visitors gradually turned the momentum in their favour, moving 16-13 ahead before protecting their lead through the closing stages to take the set 25-21.

That left Romania needing another response, and for a while it looked as though the match could be heading towards a tie-break.

Latvia led 16-13 in the fourth before Romania produced one of their strongest stretches of the evening, turning the score around to 21-19. Yet once again the visitors proved more clinical when the set reached its decisive moments. Romania had their chances, but Latvia stayed patient and eventually closed another dramatic 26-24 set to secure all three points.

Kristaps Šmits led Latvia with 14 points, while Jānis Eduards Medenis added 12 and Gustavs Freimanis contributed 10. Latvia also produced 13 blocks and six aces, compared with Romania’s 10 blocks and four aces. 

Romania could nevertheless take positives from an attacking performance led by Alexandru Rață, who finished as the match’s top scorer with 21 points, while Cristian-Daniel Chițigoi contributed another 17.

For opposite Renārs Pauls Jansons, the difference from the teams’ meeting earlier in the summer was clear.

“Of course, home advantage is always important and their fans were helping them,” Jansons said. “They also had a different roster compared with the European League, so they brought more firepower and we had to adapt to that.”

But the Latvian opposite pointed above all to the collective approach that carried his team through the difficult moments.

“We went into the match with all our emotions. We left our ego at the hotel and just played as a team. We tried to do what we had been doing in practice, and this is the result.”

For Romania, the defeat was particularly difficult after twice finding themselves within touching distance of changing the course of the match.

Rață acknowledged the disappointment but insisted there was little time for the hosts to dwell on their opening result.

“This game had different emotions because it is the European Championship and it is important,” he said. “I think everybody gave everything they had and their maximum for our Volleyball. Of course I am very sad, but we have to move past this moment very quickly because more matches are coming and we have to focus on them.”

The Romanian opposite also identified consistency as one of the areas the hosts will need to improve as the pool progresses.

“At this level, we cannot afford so many ups and downs if we want to win. Hopefully, after this first match, those things will disappear and we can be more consistent.”

Adrian Aciobăniței, meanwhile, preferred to look at how far Romania had already come since their previous meeting with Latvia.

“I am happy that our team played better than we did at the beginning of the summer and that we are starting to feel better and play better as a team,” he said.

Aciobăniței had not been available for that European League encounter as he was returning from shoulder surgery, but he believes the emotion surrounding Romania’s long-awaited opportunity to play a European Championship at home also played a role on Wednesday night.

“Maybe because of the injuries, and also the emotions of starting the European Championship in our country after such a long time, it was difficult for our team to handle everything today.”

Still, his message after the defeat was straightforward.

“It doesn’t matter how difficult the situation feels today. We need to stay positive. Our job is to come back every day, give our best and take the opportunities that come in the next matches.”

Latvia will have little time to celebrate their opening victory, with Germany awaiting them on Friday, while Romania return to the court later that evening against Switzerland.

For both sides, Wednesday provided an early indication of just how fine the margins in Pool D may prove to be. Latvia left Cluj’s opening night with the points; Romania were left with the frustration of knowing that, twice, only two points had separated them from a very different story.