Sotola leads Czechia in a four-set EuroVolley battle over Greece, Slovenia sweep Slovakia

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The CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 Men’s action in Pool A moved from Naples to Modena on Friday, where Czechia began their campaign with a victory that was anything but straightforward.
Led by an outstanding performance from opposite Marek Sotola, Jiří Novák’s side defeated Greece 3-1 (25:21, 25:17, 23:25, 25:23) in a match full of momentum swings and tense finishes.

After their breakthrough run at last year’s World Championship, Czechia arrived at EuroVolley with ambitions that go beyond simply making it through the pool. Greece, meanwhile, were determined to make their own mark, and the opening set immediately reflected the competitive nature of the encounter.
Czechia established the first advantage at 10-8 in first set, with Lukas Vašina serving an ace, but Greece responded immediately as Dimitrios Mouchlias did the same to level the score. From there, neither side managed to pull away for long. Outside hitter Alexandros Raptis scored seven points for Greece in the set, while Mouchlias added five. Czechia relied heavily on Vašina and Sotola, who contributed seven and five points respectively.
The first one proved particularly influential in the closing stages, putting Czechia ahead 16-14 before producing the kill that finally settled the opening set at 25-21.

The second set followed a similar pattern in its early stages, with Greece refusing to let Czechia escape.
A spectacular rally ended with a block by Vašina and Jakub Klajmon against Mouchlias, giving the Czechs an 8-6 lead that soon turned into control. Sotola’s powerful attack made it 13-9, and Czechia gradually opened up a comfortable advantage. Greece coach Konstantinos Christofidelis used both of his time-outs as his team struggled to contain the hosts, who dominated at the net and from the service line.
Sotola was particularly devastating, finishing the set with six kills from six attempts. An ace from Klajmon stretched the lead to 21-13, and Czechia closed the set with a clear 25-17 to move within one set of victory.

The third set appeared to be heading in the same direction. Czechia raced to a 4-1 lead and then moved 9-5 ahead after two consecutive aces from Matouš Drahonovský. At 13-8, the hosts seemed firmly in control.
Greece, however, refused to surrender, reducing the gap to 13-11 and continued to apply pressure, eventually reaching 17-16. An ace from Stavros Kasampalis then levelled the score at 19-19, before Raptis put Greece in front for the first time at 22-21.
This time, Greece held their nerve, resisting the rivals’ late response and took the set 25-23, forcing the match into a fourth.

The decisive set developed into another battle. Greece led 8-6 before Luboš Bartůněk’s service rotation helped Czechia turn the score around to 10-8. Greece immediately responded, and the remainder of the set became a rally-by-rally contest.
Vašina and Sotola once again carried much of the Czech offensive load, scoring six and five points respectively, while Angelos Markou led Greece with six. Czechia appeared to have finally created the decisive gap at 22-19 following an attack by Drahonovský, but Greece again found a way back.
Protopsaltis levelled the score at 23-23, setting up another dramatic finish. Unlike in the previous set, however, Czechia kept their composure and won the final two rallies to seal the 25-23 set and a 3-1 victory.

Marek Sotola finished as the match’s top scorer with 18 points through 58% in attack and three blocks. Vašina added 16, while Raptis led Greece with 16 points and Protopsaltis contributed 12.

For Czechia, the victory was also a valuable first test for a relatively young team at a major international tournament — exactly the kind of challenge Sotola had expected:
“We expected a hard game today because it’s the first match at the European Championship. We have a lot of young guys and a lot of players who are playing at a big tournament for the first time, so we expected something like this. We passed this first test for our young team. We had to stay calm in our heads because we were leading in the third set and lost it. Staying calm with so many young players was key, and then going into the fourth set like we did,” he said.

Czechia therefore leave their opening match with more than just three points: they have also shown that they can survive a difficult momentum shift and close out a match under pressure.

In the evening, Slovenia were pushed to the limit by Slovakia in the opening set, but the bronze medallists from the previous EuroVolley eventually found their way to a 0-3 (29:31, 15:25, 18:25) victory in Modena.
The match had an interesting historical backdrop: Slovakia had won all three previous European Championship meetings between the teams, in 2001, 2007 and 2009. Slovenia captain Tine Urnaut had spoken before the match about finally ending that run, but Slovakia looked determined to make the wait even longer.

The underdogs made the brighter start, racing to a 3-1 lead and extending it to 8-5 with an ace from Daniel Sellong. Another ace, this time from Patrick Matejcik, made it 11-6 as Slovakia applied constant pressure from the service line.
Slovenia gradually found their rhythm. Rok Možič reduced the deficit to 12-11 with a clever finish at the end of a long rally, and a service run from Uroš Planinšič then put Slovenia ahead for the first time at 13-12.
Slovakia responded once again, restoring a three-point advantage at 19-16. Július Firkaľ was particularly effective, scoring seven points at 64% attacking efficiency, while Jakub Ihnát added five at an impressive 71%.
But Slovenia’s experience showed in the closing stages. The favourites stayed alive through a dramatic series of rallies and eventually turned the pressure back on Slovakia. After a marathon battle, Nik Mujanović delivered the decisive attack to give Slovenia the opening set 31-29.

If the first set belonged to the experience of Slovenia, the second belonged to Mujanović.
Slovenia led 7-5 before Firkaľ’s ace levelled the score at 7-7, and the two teams remained locked together until 11-11. Then Mujanović stepped behind the service line and completely changed the set: four consecutive aces Slovenia fly from 11-11 to 19-11!
Tine Urnaut and Alen Pajenk also played important roles during the run, with Urnaut scoring three points and Pajenk four.
Pajenk’s contribution carried additional significance as the middle blocker was making a record 10th appearance at the European Championship. Slovenia maintained their advantage to the end, with Pajenk finishing the set with a powerful attack for 25-15.

Slovakia tried to respond in the third, but Slovenia were now firmly in control. Their blocking became increasingly effective, with Jan Kozamernik and Mujanović making life difficult for the Slovak attackers.
An ace from Pajenk helped Slovenia establish a 10-6 lead, and although Slovakia continued to fight, Fabio Soli’s team maintained a comfortable advantage at 16-11 and later 22-17.
Mujanović and Pajenk continued to lead the Slovenian attack, and Mujanović’s spike created a series of match points. Slovenia needed only one. Klemen Šen stepped up from the service line and delivered the ace that sealed the set 25-18 and completed the 3-0 victory.

Nik Mujanović finished as the match’s top scorer with 14 points through 47% in attack, four aces and one block. Rok Možič and Alen Pajenk contributed 10 points apiece, while Firkaľ led Slovakia with 12.

Despite the straight-sets victory, Mujanović was quick to acknowledge just how difficult the opening match had been: “It’s pretty normal in matches like these, which look easy on paper, that the team with nothing to lose plays very, very well against the favourites. They did especially well in block-defence, and that caused us a lot of problems, particularly in the first set. It’s good that we won, but there is obviously a lot to improve for the upcoming matches. I think we need to raise our level if we want to go further in this championship,” he said.

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🏐| CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 | Friday, September 11, 2026

👉🏼POOL A📍PalaPanini Modena
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Czech Republic – Greece 3-1 (25:21, 25:17, 23:25, 25:23)
• 21.00 (Local Time) | Slovakia – Slovenia 0-3 (29:31, 15:25, 18:25)

🏐| POOL A STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Italy 3
2. Slovenia 3
3. Czech Republic 3
4. Slovakia 0
5. Greece 0
6. Sweden 0

POOL B📍Arena 8888 Sofia
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Ukraine – North Macedonia 3-0 (25:22, 25:22, 25:10)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 19.00 (Local Time) | Portugal – Bulgaria 0-3 (18:25, 18:25, 20:25)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH

🏐| POOL B STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Bulgaria 6
2. Ukraine 6
3. Poland 3
4. Israel 0
5. Portugal 0
6. North Macedonia 0

POOL C📍Nokia Arena Tampere
• 17.00 (Local Time) | The Netherlands – Belgium 1-3 (15:25, 25:18, 17:25, 14:25)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Serbia – Estonia 3-1 (25:23, 26:24, 26:28, 25:22)

🏐| POOL C STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Finland 3
2. Serbia 3
3. Belgium 3
4. Netherlands 0
5. Estonia 0
6. Denmark 0

POOL D📍 BT Arena Cluj Napoca
• 17.00 (Local Time) | Germany – Latvia 3-0 (25:20, 25:20, 25:16)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Switzerland – Romania 1-3 (21:25, 23:25, 25:13, 20:25)

🏐| POOL D STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Germany 6
2. France 3
3. Romania 3
4. Latvia 3
5. Türkiye 0
6. Switzerland 0

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NEXT GAMES: Saturday, September 12, 2026

POOL A📍PalaPanini Modena
16.00 (Local Time) | Sweden – Czech Republic
21.05 (Local Time) | Greece – Italy
POOL B📍Arena 8888 Sofia
16.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Israel
19.00 (Local Time) | Bulgaria – Ukraine
POOL C📍Nokia Arena Tampere
15.00 (Local Time) | Denmark – The Netherlands
18.00 (Local Time) | Belgium – Finland
POOL D📍 BT Arena Cluj Napoca
17.00 (Local Time) | France – Türkiye
20.00 (Local Time) | Romania – Germany

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• EuroVolley 2026 – Calendar
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