Italy overcomes Sweden 3-1 to reach EuroVolley 2026 semi-finals in Istanbul

Quarter-final comeback in Brno

The Italian women's volleyball team advanced to the EuroVolley 2026 semi-finals after defeating Sweden 3-1 at Pavilion P in the BVV Veletrhy venue in Brno. Italy dropped the opening set before recovering to win with set scores of 21-25, 26-24, 25-21, and 25-23. The victory marked Italy's seventh consecutive win since the start of the tournament, following an earlier 3-0 sweep over Bulgaria in the round of 16. It is also the fourth consecutive European Championship in which the Italian squad has reached the final four, and the thirteenth semi-final appearance in the national team's history.

Scoring leaders and individual battles

Opposite hitter Paola Egonu led the scoring for Italy with 27 points, while Ekaterina Antropova added 22 points across the four sets. Outside hitter Myriam Sylla contributed 14 points, and middle blocker Sara Fahr recorded 8 points from attacks set up by Alessia Orro. Sweden relied heavily on Isabelle Haak, who recorded between 42 and 43 points for the Scandinavian side, supported by Anna Haak, Linda Gustafsson, and Madelene Hellvig. Sweden entered the match under Italian head coach Lorenzo Micelli after previously losing 3-0 to Italy in Gothenburg on 23 August during the pool stage.

Momentum shifts across four sets

Italy opened the match with leads of 4-1 and 10-6 before Sweden fought back to tie the first set at 14-14 through a quick attack from Gustafsson. Sweden capitalized on Italian unforced errors and 12 first-set points from Isabelle Haak to secure the opener 25-21. Sweden held an early 3-0 advantage in the second set and reached a 23-21 lead before Italy leveled the contest at 26-24 through key points from Antropova and Egonu. In the third set, Sweden recovered from a deficit to level at 22-22, but Egonu scored three consecutive points to give Italy the 25-21 set win. In the fourth set, Sweden erased a 19-14 Italian lead to pull ahead 22-20 after consecutive aces by Haak, before Italy took five of the next six points to secure the 25-23 victory.

Tactical adjustments and post-match reactions

Italian head coach Julio Velasco noted after the match that his team suffered from a lack of composure in the opening stages rather than a lack of patience. Velasco highlighted defensive adjustments against Sweden's primary scoring options as the turning point in the contest.

We lacked lucidity, not patience, and this complicated our match a lot. Haak put in a monstrous performance, but the problem was that at the beginning we were unable to defend her normal balls, not the spikes where you can only try to block. When we managed to do that, we made decisive points and the match changed.

Egonu also reflected on the pressure of the match and how the team adjusted its court positioning after falling behind in the opening set.

It was nice to play, suffer, and come out of it well. I am happy to have found my rhythm and to have given everything for my team.

Travel to Istanbul for the final four

Following the conclusion of the quarter-finals in Brno, the Italian squad travels to Istanbul for Saturday's semi-final. Italy will face the winner of the quarter-final match between Poland and the Netherlands. Serbia has also secured a place in the semi-finals after winning its quarter-final tie.