The phenomenal Isabelle Haak played yet another incredible match at the European Championship, but even her 42 points were not enough for Sweden to cause an upset against Italy.
The "Squadra Azzurra" won the extremely contested quarter-final in Brno with 3:1 (21:25, 26:24, 25:21, 25:23) and qualified for the semi-finals of EuroVolley 2026.
Sweden was just a step away from putting Julio Velasco's team in an extremely difficult situation. After winning the first set 25:21, the Scandinavians were on the verge of taking a 2:0 lead, having led 23:21 in the second set, but Italy dramatically snatched the second set 26:24.
The Italians took the third set 25:21, but Sweden refused to give up. The drama repeated itself in the fourth set. The "Squadra Azzurra" seemed to be in full control at 17:12, but Isabelle Haak and Hanna Hellvig led a great comeback and Sweden pulled ahead 21:20 and 22:20. The Italians equalized at 22:22, and Miriam Sylla sealed the deal for 25:23 and a final 3:1.
Isabelle Haak was once again above all. Sweden's opposite hitter finished with an incredible 42 points (including 3 aces and 1 block), of which 12 were break points. She was targeted a total of 78 times, registering 49% attack efficiency. Paola Egonu was the top scorer for Italy with 27 points, Ekaterina Antropova added 22, and Miriam Sylla – 14. For Sweden, Hanna Hellvig finished with 11 points.
The team statistics also show how serious a test this quarter-final was for Italy.
| Indicator | Italy | Sweden |
|---|---|---|
| Blocks | 4 | 9 |
| Attack efficiency | 51% | 43% |
| Attack points | 75 | 62 |
| Positive reception | 53% | 42% |
| Perfect reception | 29% | 18% |
| Aces | 3 | 4 |
| Service errors | 7 | 7 |
| Points from opponent errors | 15 | 8 |
| Total points | 97 | 93 |
Sweden decisively won the blocking battle – 9:4, and finished with more aces – 4:3. However, Italy had a significant advantage in attack – 51% versus 43% efficiency and 75 versus 62 points scored. The Italians were also more stable in reception – 53% positive and 29% perfect against 42% and 18% respectively for Sweden. The cleanliness of the game is particularly impressive. For four whole sets, Sweden gave away only 15 points from their own errors, and Italy – only 8. This is an extremely low number of unforced errors for such a contested elimination match. And the final 97:93 points show how small the difference between the two teams actually was. Only four points separated Italy and Sweden in a match where the Scandinavians had real opportunities to deliver one of the biggest sensations of the championship. Sweden leaves EuroVolley 2026 with their heads held high, and Isabelle Haak – the tournament's top scorer – ended her participation with another phenomenal individual performance. Italy continues to the semi-finals, but this time they had to go through a real test.
Italy will play the semi-final in Istanbul on Saturday, September 5, against the winner of Poland – Netherlands. The Italian women will depart from Brno to Istanbul on a charter flight on Thursday morning.
photo:cev.eu
