Serbia make strong start to EuroVolley campaign in Brno
News
An action-packed Friday gets CEV Trendyol EuroVolley 2026 Women underway in Brno, with three exciting match-ups on the opening day. Serbia made a strong start to the action, defeating Austria in dominant fashion as the Austrians returned to the EuroVolley stage after a 55-year wait. Later today, Bulgaria will face Ukraine before hosts Czechia take on Greece in front of their home crowd.
Austria v Serbia 0-3 (17-25, 9-25, 21-25)
The opening Pool B match in Brno brought together three-time EuroVolley champions Serbia and Austria, who were making their long-awaited return to the European stage after 55 years. With Uzelac on the service line, the team led by coach Zoran Terzić quickly raced to an 8-1 lead. Austria fought hard for every ball, but Serbia kept the pressure on, with Tijana Bošković leading the way with 8 kills at 73% efficiency. Mina Popović and Hena Kurtagić also made their presence felt at the net, contributing 3 and 2 blocks respectively. Austria refused to give up, with Carmen Raab serving an ace and her team saving three set points, but Serbia eventually closed out the opener 25-17.
Serbia showed no signs of slowing down in the second set, quickly pulling away and continuing their confident performance. Maja Ognjenović, who alongside Eda Erdem is celebrating a historic 10th EuroVolley campaign, made full use of the weapons around her as Serbia raced to a 16-4 lead. With her team firmly in control, coach Zoran Terzić used the opportunity to make several changes, including replacing Ognjenović with Sladjana Mirković. Serbia maintained their dominance until the end, closing the set 25-9 after an outstanding 79% success rate in attack.
Coach Terzić continued to rotate his squad, giving almost all of his players an opportunity to step onto the court. The changes gave Austria a chance to close the gap, as they fought their way back to 13-12. Anamarija Galic led the Austrian response, producing 7 points at an impressive 88% success rate, while Branka Tica and Vanja Ivanović took charge for Serbia with 5 and 4 points respectively. However, Serbia remained composed when it mattered most, regaining control in the decisive moments and closing the set 25-21 with a spike from Hena Kurtagić.
Tijana Bošković remained Serbia’s top scorer with 11 points after two sets, followed by Hena Kurtagić and Aleksandra Uzelac with 9 apiece. For Austria, Anamarija Galic also reached 11 points.
Hena Kurtagić“We are so happy that we could start our EuroVolley campaign with such a win and that we started in the best possible way. I’m really happy because the crowd here was amazing. We stayed focused from the beginning until the end. We know we have to give 100% in every game and on every point, so we have to stay focused and handle every point in the best possible way.”
player of Serbia
Dana Schmit“The positive side is that we showed that we can play against a team like Serbia. They are, for sure, a better team than us. It’s not the easiest way to start the tournament, but we also showed that we can compete against the best teams in Europe and that we deserve to be here. I think we did quite well at some moments, so now we need to take all this positive energy into the next games.”
player of Austria