Poland edge hosts to claim top spot in Pool A and record first EuroVolley win over Türkiye since 2003
News
On Friday afternoon, the last day of Pool A action in Istanbul, Slovenia completed their journey in the group stage of the CEV Trendyol EuroVolley 2026 Women with an emphatic 3-0 shutout of Hungary, thus securing third place in the final standings. With the match full under control of his side, their head coach Alessandro Orefice provided his sub-in players with an opportunity to feel the rhythm of the game and to have a better understanding of what EuroVolley feels like. Later in the day, in a rollercoaster of a match where first place in the pool was at stake, Poland beat home favourites Türkiye 3-2 to secure their first victory over the ‘Sultans of the Net’ since the 2003 gold medal match and interrupt a streak of four straight wins in EuroVolley fixtures for Türkiye. The competition in Istanbul will resume on Monday with the 8th Finals – with the Netherlands playing Slovenia at 16:00 local time followed by the matchup between Pool A winners versus Portugal. On September 1, Belgium will play Germany and later in the evening Türkiye will take on EuroVolley co-hosts Azerbaijan.
Slovenia vs. Hungary 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-16)
Slovenia completed their Pool A journey in style as they secured third place in the group after a 3-0 victory over Hungary. This is a repeat of the result they had achieved back in 2023 when these teams – albeit with very different rosters – had locked horns in the EuroVolley pool stage as well. While back in 2023, that was Slovenia’s only victory in the tournament, their team has developed so much that they have become a real force to reckon with and have now progressed to the knockout stage for the first time since the 2019 edition.
Hungary, no more in contention for a spot in the next phase of the competition, did use this match as an opportunity to test some of their younger players – including twins Anna and Eszter Zsombok, born in 2009, and bronze medal winners from this year’s #EuroVolleyU18W. Slovenia’s head coach Alessandro Orefice used his sub-in players as well, with Pia Cvijic – who is playing with the senior national team for the first time in Istanbul – scoring the final point that sealed their 3-0 victory. With many substitutions on both sides of the net, only two players – Anett Németh (13) and Nika Milosic (11) – chipped in with double-digit figures.
Eva Pavlović Mori“It was important to finish the group stage with a victory. We have achieved our first goal – to finish third in the pool. We still do not know who we will be playing next – but we take many positives from today’s win and the group stage overall. Some of our substitute players got to play today – they have been cheering us on since the start and they deserved this opportunity. Women’s Volleyball in Slovenia is on the rise, with more players competing in foreign leagues and everyone is pushing hard.”
Setter of Team Slovenia
Türkiye vs. Poland 2-3 (25-15, 21-25, 22-25, 25-16, 10-15)
The start of this eagerly anticipated match where first place in Pool A was at stake was preceded by a special ceremony whereby the Turkish Volleyball Federation paid tribute to the members of the national team that won a historic silver medal for Türkiye in 2003 – when the continental championship was organised in Türkiye as well. The players composing that legendary team paraded before the crowd and received a bouquet of flowers from the President of the Turkish Volleyball Federation, Mehmet Akif Üstündag, in recognition of their achievement and of their role in paving the way for the many successes that subsequent generations of ‘Sultans of the Net’ have claimed on the international stage ever since.
The match in itself was a real rollercoaster, with Türkiye looking truly dominant in the first set, much to the delight of an almost sell-out crowd of 15,814 people. Melissa Vargas and Hande Baladin powered Türkiye to a comprehensive 25-15 win, but the course of the match changed in the second and third sets where Poland stepped up and delivered a flawless performance via an ideal mix of powerful attacks, solid defence and impressive blocking. With their back against the wall, Türkiye fought back in the fourth set, again with Vargas and Baladin playing a leading role for the home side. Poland, however, looked undeterred as they rushed to a massive 9-2 lead in the tiebreaker and even though the fans continued to push the local favourites, some unforced errors by the time Türkiye were about to close in paved the way for Poland’s victory.
Julia Szczurowska, who struggled with cramps at the end of the match, delivered a massive haul of 26 points including two aces and one block and was the real match winner for the White-and-Reds. Vargas (21), Baladin (15) and Zehra Günes (15) registered the most points for the home side, but Vargas especially had many ups and downs and was even substituted a couple of times during the match. Curiously, the silver medal winners from 2003 celebrated just before the match had lost the final back then to a glorious Polish team coached by the late Andrzej Niemczyk.
Magdalena Jurczyk“We are obviously delighted to have secured such an important victory before this crowd. We will now have a couple of days to reset and recover before we embark on the next stage of the competition. We know we have a strong team and it is certainly our wish to revive those glorious days from 2003 when Poland stood at the top of the European podium here in Türkiye.”
Player of Poland