Ruban and Rahimova power Azerbaijan to hard-fought opening win over Portugal
Match report
In the first match of CEV Trendyol EuroVolley 2026 that was pushed beyond three sets, Azerbaijan delighted the home fans in Baku with a four-set victory over Portugal to get Pool C action underway.
The first set was very competitive. The lead changed hands several times until 10-10. With outside hitter Yelizaveta Ruban on fire, Azerbaijan edged slightly ahead and stayed in front through the rest of the first set. A successful kill block by Ruban ended it at 25-22. Stepping up their effort in all scoring elements, Portugal took control of the scoreboard in the second set and opened a gap as wide as five points. After 20-16, however, with brilliant Ruban unstoppable in offense, the home team scored seven in a row to jump to a 23-20 lead. The visitors reacted swiftly with a five-point run, crowned with two consecutive monster blocks from outside Alice Clemente to bring in set point, and an ace by middle blocker Mariana Garcez to convert it to a 25-23 win.
Inspired by the fantastic crowd in the stands at the National Gymnastics Arena, Azerbaijan stormed set three on an 11-1 run, but even that breakaway did not pre-decide the set, as Portugal battled their way back to level up at 17-17. A fierce nip-and-tuck race unfolded through the rest of the set to push it to overtime, with both sides wasting set points before a successful block by star outside Polina Rahimova put an end to it all at 27-25. Rahimova led her team in the fourth set, in which Portugal took the first point, but were never allowed to take the lead again. The home team had the initiative throughout the set. Finally, a monster block by opposite Margarita Stepanenko brought in match point at 24-19, which was then converted by setter Kristina Besman with a kill on two for 25-20.
Yelizaveta Ruban was the best scorer of the match with a total of 25 points, including three kill blocks and an ace. Polina Rahimova contributed another 22 points, also including three stuffs. Margarita Stepanenko put away three kill blocks and an ace to finish with 14 points. Outside hitter Margarida Maia was Portugal’s most prolific player with 16 points.
Ayshan Abdulazimova“First of all, it was very exciting to play in front of our home crowd. I would like to thank all our fans for their incredible support. Our goal was to win. Of course, we made some mistakes during the game, but we will work hard to minimize them and play with fewer errors in our upcoming matches. We are very happy with this result and will continue to give our best in the next games.”
Team captain of Azerbaijan
Ana Figueiras“I think it was a good game on our side, but we missed some details at the end of the sets and we entered the third set very badly. We managed to recover, but it was all about the details at the end of the set.”
Team captain of Portugal
Saturday’s second competition day in Pool C in Baku will feature Belgium against Spain at 15:30 local time, and Romania against the Netherlands at 18:30.