Slovenia qualified for the EuroVolley 2026 quarterfinals after a convincing 3-0 (25:14, 25:13, 25:22) victory over Serbia in Turin. The match lasted only 77 minutes, and the difference in total points – 75:49 – clearly shows how one-sided the first two sets were.
For Serbia, the defeat means the end of the championship already in the round of 16. Serbian media describe the elimination as historic – for the first time, the national team is left out of the top eight at a European Championship.
The Slovenians practically decided the match in the first two sets. In the first, they led 8:4, 16:10, and 21:12, before closing the set at 25:14. In the second, their superiority was even more significant – 8:1, 16:5, and 21:9 on the way to 25:13. Only in the third set did Serbia manage to stay close to their opponent – 15:16 and 19:21, but Slovenia did not allow a comeback and finished the match with 25:22.
Nik Mujanović was the top scorer in the match with 14 points, achieving 11 attacks from 21 attempts (52%) and adding 3 aces. Both Slovenian middle blockers also performed strongly. Alen Pajenk finished with 12 points and an impressive 7 successful attacks from 8 attempts, while Jan Kozamernik added 10 points, including 5 blocks. Rok Možič finished with 11 points.
The play at the net was one of the Slovenians' great weapons. They finished with 57% attack efficiency – 35 points from 61 attacks, to which they added 10 blocks and 6 aces.
Serbia did not find anyone to lead the team in attack. Marko Ivović was the top scorer with only 8 points, Aleksandar Nedeljković added 7, and Veljko Mašulović – 6. Dražen Luburić's problems were particularly indicative – only 2 points with 2 successful attacks from 8 attempts. The Serbs had already shown in the group stage that they could escape difficult situations, having come back from 0:2 against the Netherlands and Denmark. This time, however, there was no room for such a scenario. Slovenia controlled the serve and the net, and after the huge difference in the first two sets, they maintained enough composure in the much more contested third.
Thus, Slovenia continues to the quarterfinals in Turin, while for Serbia, EuroVolley 2026 ended in a way that could hardly have been predicted before the start of the tournament – not just in the round of 16, but after a three-set loss in which the Serbs managed to be competitive only in the final part. Slovenia will now face Belgium for a place in the finals in Milan.