Tough battles see three teams with perfect record in the Golden League after two weeks

Belgium, Czechia and Ukraine extended their winning streaks to four matches in the CEV Volleyball European Golden League 2024 Women, after dominating their opponents last weekend, throughout the three tournaments they played in.

Belgium have the best record so far in the league round, with four wins, only two sets lost and less points conceded than Ukraine, as both sides have scored 342 points so far in their first four matches.

On their home court, in the Topsporthal in Beveren, Belgium had no issues in clinching a win against Estonia, 3:0 (25:9; 25:19; 25:10), but had a mishap against Croatia in the third set, after taking the first two sets, 25:19 and 25:14. After a 14:25 loss in the third set, Belgium bounced back and clinched a 25:15 win in the last set, as Britt Herbots and Manon Stragier combined for 30 points.

Ukraine extended their winning run to four matches in Tournament 5, in Schwechat, Austria, but it was not for the lack of trying from their opponents, which pressured the unbeaten side. Slovakia put up a serious fight in the first match, but conceded a 3:0 loss (20:25, 21:25, 11:25), while hosts Austria took the second set, 25:20, and were close to snatch another one, eventually conceding the last set, 24:26.

The other unbeaten team, Czechia, provided an excellent display against Spain in Tournament 7, in Maribor, Slovenia, winning in straight sets, 25:19, 25:19 and 25:17, and doubled down on that win against the hosts (25:16; 20:25; 25:21; 25:21), to prepare for the Final Four which they will host on 15 and 16 June.

With two wins in two matches on their home court in Blaj, Romania bounced back in superb fashion, as they are now challenging for a place in the Final Four. Two straight sets wins against Azerbaijan and Sweden saw Romania jump to the fourth place in the standings, as the hosts limited Sweden’s superstar Isabelle Haak to 16 points.

The last week of the league round will see a tough battle for the Final Four spots, as Romania (3-1), Croatia (2-2), Slovakia (2-2) and Sweden (2-2) all have their skin in the game for these matches, especially as Romania will face Croatia in a head-to-head match in Gijon, Spain.

Fiery battle for the first two places in the Silver League

The nine teams competing in the CEV Volleyball European Silver League 2024 Women also featured in three tournaments in Luxembourg, Riga and Santo Tirso. Currently, two teams have an unblemished record – Hungary and Finland, while Portugal, Montenegro and Latvia are lingering behind, with a single loss.

The top two teams will feature in the final of the competition, as Portugal are due to meet Montenegro, while Finland and Hungary lock horns in the last weekend of the league round, due to be played between 31 May and 2 June.