Poland qualify for #EuroVolleyU18M Final Round, hosts Latvia claim third place
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On Sunday in Daugavpils, Poland’s U18 national team secured a place in the Final Round of next year’s #EuroVolleyU18M after defeating Ukraine in the decisive match, thereby also celebrating victory in the Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) Championship for this age group. Meanwhile, Latvia topped neighbours Estonia in the battle for third place. Ukraine, Latvia, and Estonia will all contest the second round of qualifiers scheduled for the early spring of 2026.
In the final, where only one ticket to the European Championship Final Round was at stake, Poland’s U18 team beat Ukraine 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-11). Karol Leppert led the winners with 17 points, including four from blocks, while Adam Potempa added 11. For Ukraine, Volodymyr Filipovskyi and Antonii Kravchenko each scored five points.
Jacek Nawrocki“Before the tournament, I expected the teams to be very strong and the matches to be difficult for us. Usually at least Ukraine, Latvia, and Estonia play at a very high level. It seems we fully used our potential and started every match very well, which made it easier to secure the wins.”
Head coach of Poland
In the match for third place, Latvia convincingly defeated Estonia 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-17), thereby finishing third among the six competing teams. The first set was closed with an ace by Tomass Silavs, the second ended with a successful attack by Aksels Marks Džeriņš, and the tournament’s “bronze point” came from Kristers Elksnis with a service ace.
For Latvia, Silavs scored 21 points, four of them from the service line and two from blocks, finishing with a 52% attack efficiency. Džeriņš contributed 15 points, while Ernests Pastars and Pēteris Auniņš each added eight, with Auniņš scoring three from blocks. Estonia’s top scorer was Mark Norman Soome with 12 points.
“We won convincingly today, though we still had a few dips in performance. The boys executed the game plan 100 percent, which is why the result was so decisive. If we had let some easy balls slip, the score might have been different,” said Latvia’s head coach Raimonds Liniņš. “We knew Estonia’s game revolved around two players, with their main threat being the opposite hitter. Together with assistant coach Aivis Kokins, we analysed all his attacking directions and instructed the boys on how to block and defend. They followed the plan perfectly on court. We played as a team – and that includes the coaching staff. That’s the most important thing, and the crowd was truly our seventh player.”
“I evaluate our performance positively. These are also my first official tournament medals with the Latvian U18 team,” Liniņš added. “It’s nice to finish with a win. We only lost to one of the world’s top teams, so there’s nothing to regret. It’s only a pity that the tournament format doesn’t allow every team to play each other. I believe that in such a format we would have finished second, losing only to Poland. But since Poland was in our group, the highest we could fight for was third place.”
Tomass Silavs“We played more confidently today and wanted the win more. I think we played at a higher level and were better than Estonia. The whole team played well, and everyone is happy with the bronze medals. Hopefully in the second qualification round we will meet opponents weaker than Poland. I also played well overall – maybe just would have liked a better performance against Poland.”
Player and top scorer of Latvia
In the match for fifth place, Azerbaijan defeated Georgia 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-19). Zamig Mayilov led Azerbaijan with 14 points, while Georgia’s top scorer was Otari Zabakhidze with six.
The tournament’s best players from each team were: Jakub Przybyłkowicz (Poland), Andrii Nakoskin (Ukraine), Tomass Silavs (Latvia), Mark Norman Soome (Estonia), Ismayil Abbasov (Azerbaijan), and Nikolozi Aburjanidze (Georgia).