Romania, Slovenia and Ukraine get off to flawless starts in the CEV Volleyball European Golden League 2025 Women

Romania and Slovenia are the only two sides to provide two flawless wins in the first two matches of the CEV Volleyball European Golden League 2025 Women, as Ukraine were the third team to finish the first weekend with two wins in two matches.

The current format, introduced in 2024, provides all participating teams with the opportunity to host a tournament on home soil – and to play two matches on the very same weekend at home against two quality opponents, with the first four tournaments taking place in Örebro, Sweden, Podgorica, Montenegro, Baku, Azerbaijan and Kozani, Greece, between 30 May and 1 June.

In Örebro, Sweden, two of the last season’s Final Four participants, Romania and Sweden locked horns, with both winning their matches against Portugal. Boosted by the MVP of the Final Four of the CEV Champions League Women this season, Isabelle Haak, Sweden took a 3:1 (23:25; 25:20; 26:24; 25:19) win over Portugal, while Romania took a 3:0 (25:17; 25:17; 25:10) win over Portugal.

In the battle between the two favourites in this tournament, Romania thoroughly outplayed Sweden, taking a clear 3:0 win (25:18; 25:17; 25:18), despite Haak dominating with 22 points, followed by Romania’s Adelina Budai-Ungureanu and Rodica Buterez, who had 20 and 15 points respectively.

In Baku, Slovenia did not concede a set against Hungary (25:17, 25:14; 25:17) and Azerbaijan (25:16; 25:19; 25:23), as Mija Šiftar was the top scorer in both matches, lifting Slovenia to the second place in the standings, having conceded more points than Romania so far. Hungary also beat hosts Azerbaijan in straight sets.

The third team to secure two wins in the first tournament was Ukraine, but each of their wins came after dropping a set in Podgorica, Montenegro. Spain dispatched of Montenegro in the first match, 3:0 (25:20; 25:16; 25:17), but could only compete for a set against Ukraine in the second match.

As Anna Artyshuk scored 17 points and Yuliia Dimar and Diana Meliushkyna added 14 points each, Ukraine took a 3:1 win against Spain (25:16; 20:25; 25:16 and 25:15), following up with another clear win over Montenegro (25:20; 21:25; 25:18; 25:12), where Artyshuk scored 20 more points.

In Kozani, Greece, the hosts, Slovakia and Croatia shared the spoils, each securing one win, with Croatia taking a 3:1 (23:25; 25:19; 25:23; 25:21) win over Greece, but conceding a 1:3 loss (22:25; 21:25; 25:20; 17:25) against Slovakia.

Hosts Greece took a clear 3:0 win (25:20; 25:21; 25:19) win over Slovakia to finish off on a high and boost their chances for a Final Four spot.

The second week of the CEV Volleyball European Golden League 2025 Women will take place in Vila do Conde, Portugal, in Blaj, Romania, in Alicante, Spain and in Bratislava, Slovakia, with Ukraine and Slovenia facing off in Portugal, in a battle between two of the unbeaten teams so far.

The CEV Volleyball European Silver League 2025 Women also had its first week played, as Switzerland and Latvia secured two wins in their first two matches. Austria, Israel, Georgia, North Macedonia and Iceland each won one match and lost one match, while the Faroe Islands and Luxembourg conceded two losses in their first two matches.