Greece secure third place as Pool A concludes in Modena, Italy to the top after a dramatic 3-2 win over Slovenia

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With all four knockout-stage places already confirmed in the previous days, the final day of Pool A was about determining the order of the standings. Greece secured third place after recording their third consecutive victory, defeating Slovakia 3–1 (25:17, 21:25, 25:22, 25:17) in their final match in Modena.
Slovakia, meanwhile, concluded their campaign without a win.

Greece entered the match already assured of a place in the Round of 16, following Slovakia’s defeat the previous day. Their objective was now to improve their final position, while Slovakia were still searching for their first victory of the tournament.
With Theodoros Voulkidis at the service line, Greece made a powerful start, racing to a 9–3 lead.
Angelos Markou and Lampros Pitakoudis led the attack, contributing six and five points respectively, with Pitakoudis converting all of his attempts in the opening set. Slovakia tried to respond through Erik Gulák and Julius Firkal, reducing the deficit to 13–7, but Greece immediately regained control.
Another service run, this time from Jakub Ihnat, helped Slovakia cut the gap to 17–12. However, the Hellenic side remained composed, committing just three errors throughout the set. Markou eventually delivered the decisive attack to give Greece the opener, 25–17.
Slovakia returned to the court with renewed determination in the second set. Greece initially made the better start, but the Slovakians remained close and applied consistent pressure from the service line. Aces from Ihnat, Firkal and Branislav Hanusek helped Slovakia turn the momentum in their favour, with Firkal continuing to provide a reliable attacking option.
Slovakia moved ahead 16–14 as Greece began to make more errors under pressure. Hanusek then produced his second ace of the set to make it 21–20, setting up a strong finish. Slovakia followed with excellent work at the net to close out the set 25–21 and level the match.
Greece responded immediately in the third set. Markou added five points and Pitakoudis four as their team established a 10–6 advantage. Slovakia attempted to stay within reach, with Hanusek producing an impressive block, but Greece continued to control the tempo and extended their lead to 14–9.
The Hellenic side moved further ahead at 18–12 during another service rotation, this time with Alexandros Raptis. Slovakia refused to surrender, however. Martin Rendla, who had entered the match during the set, made an immediate impact alongside Firkal, and his ace reduced the deficit to 21–19.
Greece remained composed in the closing stages. Raptis finished the decisive rally to secure the set 25–22 and put his team back in front.
Voulkidis once again helped Greece make a fast start in the fourth set, as his service run contributed to an 8–4 lead. Pitakoudis, Raptis and Markou continued to find solutions in attack, allowing Greece to extend their advantage to 17–12.
Slovakia fought until the final point, but Greece never lost control.
The Hellenic side closed out the set 25–17 to complete the 3–1 victory and secure third place in Pool A.

Markou finished as the match’s top scorer with 21 points through 69% in attack and one ace. Pitakoudis added 17 points through 73% in attack, three blocks and one ace. For Slovakia, Gulák and Firkal scored 14 points each.

“We are blessed because we are living some really beautiful moments here in Modena, but we don’t stop here. From tomorrow on, we are going to prepare for our next game, and that’s the most important thing. It was not easy to keep our minds focused today because we knew from yesterday that we had qualified for the Round of 16. We had to focus more than in the other games because we also wanted to win this match. They pushed us a lot, but we showed on the court who is the boss,” said Theodoros Voulkidis

“We tried to focus on our tactics. We had some weak moments when we didn’t catch easy balls, which worked in our opponents’ favour. But we gave our best; unfortunately, it was not enough,” added Slovak Branislav Hanusek.

In the evening, Italy eventually prevailed in a thrilling five-set battle, winning 3–2 (25:19, 25:22, 27:29, 19:25, 15:9) to finish top of the pool as the only unbeaten team. The result sets up a Round of 16 meeting between Italy and Denmark, while Slovenia will face Serbia, Greece will take on Finland and Czechia will meet Belgium in Turin.

The match had all the ingredients of a final, with first place at stake. Slovenia needed a straight-set victory to overtake Italy, while a 3–1 win would have left the final standings to be decided by the point ratio. Any other result would guarantee the hosts first place.
Slovenia entered the match with a reshuffled lineup. Rok Možič and Alen Pajenk were rested, while Tine Urnaut was unavailable due to injury. Despite those absences, the Slovenians made a confident start, taking a narrow 12–10 lead. Klemen Šen and Sašo Štalekar showed their quality, but Italy gradually found their rhythm.
With Yuri Romanò serving and Daniele Lavia leading the attack, both contributing seven points in the opening set, Italy turned the score around and moved 15–13 ahead. Romanò then produced two consecutive aces to give the hosts the decisive advantage and close out the set 25–19.
Slovenia responded strongly in the second set. With Nik Mujanović at the service line and Nejc Najdič directing the offence, they raced to a 9–4 lead. Italy fought back through Lavia and Mattia Bottolo, while Simone Giannelli applied pressure with his serve. The hosts not only levelled the score but moved 13–12 ahead.
Coach Ferdinando De Giorgi introduced Alessandro Michieletto to strengthen the lineup, but Slovenia quickly regained control, moving 16–14 in front. Mujanović was particularly influential, scoring seven points in the set as Slovenia maintained a two-point advantage at 19–17.
Italy refused to surrender. Giannelli’s ace levelled the score at 20–20, before Bottolo’s service run and Pardo Mati’s blocks helped the hosts move to 24–21. Mati then finished the set with a decisive attack, giving Italy a 2–0 lead after a 25–22 victory.
De Giorgi completely rotated his lineup for the third set, but Slovenia immediately seized the opportunity. With Najdič serving, they opened up a 4–0 lead and remained ahead at 9–5. Michieletto then sparked Italy’s comeback from the service line, helping the hosts reduce the deficit to 11–9.
Excellent work from Giovanni Sanguinetti and Michieletto at the net allowed Italy to move ahead 13–12. From there, the set developed into a gripping point-for-point contest, with the teams level at 16–16.
Mujanović and Rok Bračko continued to find powerful solutions for Slovenia, while Michieletto and Kamil Rychlicki kept Italy in the battle. Italy appeared to have made the decisive breakthrough when Luca Porro’s service run gave them a 21–19 lead, but Slovenia responded immediately.
The visitors saved Italy’s match points and turned the set around. Klemen Šen delivered the decisive block to complete a dramatic 29–27 victory, keeping Slovenia alive in the match.
Slovenia carried that momentum into the fourth set, taking an early 8–5 lead and maintaining control at 13–10. Mujanović, Šen and Bračko continued to provide consistent attacking options, allowing their team to preserve a comfortable advantage through the middle stages.
Italy attempted to fight back, but Slovenia remained composed and closed out the set 25–19 after Šen’s decisive spike, forcing a deciding tie-break.
Italy quickly recovered in the fifth set, establishing a 5–2 lead. Slovenia struggled from the service line, committing several errors that allowed the hosts to maintain control. An ace from Mati extended Italy’s advantage to 9–5, before Riccardo Sbertoli’s service run, combined with excellent plays from Sani and Sanguinetti, pushed Italy further ahead at 13–6.
Rychlicki then delivered the final attack, sealing the tie-break 15–9 and completing Italy’s 3–2 victory. The hosts finished the pool stage at the top of the standings, unbeaten after five matches.

Rychlicki, who entered the match in the third set, finished with 13 points, all from attack at 54% efficiency. Lavia added 12 points despite playing only the opening two sets, while Romanò contributed 11. For Slovenia, Mujanović led all scorers with 19 points, followed by Šen with 16.

“It was two games in one. We needed two points—two sets—today to finish first in our group. We achieved that, and it also meant that everybody could get some time on the court. In this situation, we managed to win as well. We were the favourites in this pool, and we showed that on the court. I think we performed very well, just as we wanted. We have some time to get ready for the next one. Now there is no room for mistakes, so we must stay focused,” said Italy’s opposite Kamil Rychlicki after the game.

“Today we played an incredible match against the world champions, Italy. Our team was slightly younger, and I have to say that we performed very well today. Everything we saw today can only be positive, because we know that we now have a match against Serbia, who are not an easy opponent, so everyone on the team will have to contribute their part to achieve victory,” added Slovenia’s setter Nejc Najdič.

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🏐| CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 | Thursday, September 17, 2026

👉🏼POOL A📍PalaPanini Modena
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Slovakia – Greece 1-3 (17:25, 25:21, 22:25, 17:25)
• 21.05 (Local Time) | Italy – Slovenia 3-2 (25:19, 25:22, 27:29, 17:25, 15:9)

🏐| POOL A FINAL STANDINGS
1. Italy 14
2. Slovenia 10
3. Greece 9
4. Czech Republic 8
5. Sweden 4
6. Slovakia 0

POOL C📍Nokia Arena Tampere
• 17.00 (Local Time) | Serbia – Belgium 0-3 (19:25, 21:25, 16:25)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Finland – Estonia 2-3 (25:22, 21:25, 22:25, 25:20, 11:15)

🏐| POOL C FINAL STANDINGS
1. Belgium 13
2. Finland 11
3. Serbia 7
4. Denmark 7
5. Estonia 5
6. Netherlands 2

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NEXT GAMES: Round of 16

Saturday September 19, 2026
📍Arena 8888 Sofia
16.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Latvia
19.00 (Local Time) | Germany – Bulgaria

Sunday September 20, 2026
📍Arena 8888 Sofia
16.00 (Local Time) | Ukraine – Romania
19.00 (Local Time) | France – Portugal

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