The third day of EuroVolley 2026 for women brought the first loss for Bulgaria, who fell to Greece in Brno. Serbia won the derby against host Czechia, Turkey had to overcome serious resistance from Slovenia, and world and Olympic champion Italy continued without losing a set.
Greece – Bulgaria 3:1(25:20,21:25,25:18,25:23)
Bulgaria suffered its first loss at the European Championship after Greece achieved a second consecutive victory in Group B. Iva Dudova came off the bench and became the top scorer for the national team with 23 points, but the Bulgarians could not stop the Greek attack. Marta Anthouli scored 19 points, Elpida Tikmanidou added 18, and Markella Papageorgiou finished with 7 blocks. Bulgaria remains with one win and one loss before their next matches in Brno. The loss costs the "Lionesses" three places, who are 30th in the world.
Czechia – Serbia 1:3(19:25,17:25,25:16,17:25)
Serbia won the important clash with host Czechia in front of 5021 spectators and continued their winning streak. Tijana Bošković was again the main figure for the world champions with 27 points, and Aleksandra Uzelac added 16. The Czechs convincingly took the third set, but Serbia responded decisively in the fourth and closed out the match.
Latvia – Germany 1:3(15:25,18:25,25:13,15:25)
Germany recovered after the surprising loss to Slovenia and recorded their first victory in Group A. The Germans took a 2-0 lead, but Latvia played an impressive third set, won 25:13. Marta Levinska was the top scorer in the match with 24 points, while Leana Grozer and Lina Alsmeier scored 17 each for Germany.
Slovenia – Turkey 1:3(21:25,25:22,17:25,16:25)
Slovenia put up serious resistance against the European champion in front of 15,628 spectators in Istanbul and equalized the score after the second set. However, Turkey gradually asserted their superiority and convincingly won the next two sets. Melissa Vargas finished with 19 points for the winners, and Maša Pucelj scored 17 for Slovenia.
Portugal – Belgium 0:3(16:25,22:25,11:25)
Belgium achieved their second victory in Group C and for the first time in the tournament did not lose a set. Portugal managed to put up the most serious resistance in the second set, but the third set was entirely under the control of the Belgians. Pauline Martin was the top scorer with 16 points, and Britt Herbots added 14.
Spain – Azerbaijan 0:3(16:25,22:25,15:25)
Azerbaijan continued their excellent performance in front of their home crowd in Baku and recorded a second victory. The hosts controlled almost the entire match, with Spain only managing to stay close to their opponent in the second set. Elizaveta Ruban was above all with 20 points, and Polina Rahimova added 14.
France – Croatia 3:0(25:16,25:17,25:22)
France did not concede a set to Croatia and recorded their second victory in Group D. The French had a significant advantage in the first two sets, while the third was considerably more contested. Cyrille Depie excelled in blocking with 5 points from that element.
Sweden – Italy 0:3(18:25,23:25,14:25)
Italy recorded a third consecutive clean victory and continues at EuroVolley with an impressive balance of 9:0 sets. Sweden came closest to a surprise in the second set, when they led 20:18, but the Italians turned it around to 25:23. Ekaterina Antropova finished with 18 points, and Sara Fahr added 5 blocks in front of a record 6801 spectators for women's volleyball in Sweden.
