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First team qualified for quarterfinals!
The defending champions are the first team to officially advance to the Quarterfinals of CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026!
Poland secured their spot with a dominant straight-sets sweep over Latvia in the Round of 16: 25:17, 25:16, 25:16 in Sofia.
The Polish squad continues to look unstoppable in their quest to defend their EuroVolley crown as they await their Quarterfinal opponent in the knockout stage.
The match was the first-ever meeting between the two nations at the European Championship, while Poland secured a place in the quarterfinals for the sixth time in their history.
Poland took control from the opening exchanges, turning an early 2–2 tie into leads of 4–2 and 6–2 through their imposing presence at the net. Latvia were forced into an early timeout, but Poland continued to dictate the pace, extending their advantage to 11–5, 15–7 and 18–9. A brief Latvian response reduced the gap to 19–12, yet the Polish side never lost control and comfortably claimed the opening set.
The statistics reflected Poland’s superiority: they dominated the blocking battle seven to zero and recorded a 64% attacking efficiency compared to Latvia’s 34%. Their positive reception also stood at 63%, against 40% for their opponents, while both teams registered one ace.
Latvia showed greater resistance at the beginning of the second set, trading hard-fought rallies with Poland through 4–4, 5–6 and 7–6.
Despite Poland’s excellent defensive work, Latvia maintained a narrow advantage before the reigning volleyball powerhouse turned the momentum around. Poland moved ahead 8–7, gradually increased their lead to 14–10 and then pulled away to take a commanding two-set advantage.
The Polish attack became even more effective in the second frame, reaching 67% efficiency compared to Latvia’s 37%. Poland recorded four kill blocks to Latvia’s two, while both teams finished with 58% positive reception. The Poles also held a narrow advantage from the service line, with one ace against none.
Latvia opened the third set with renewed energy, taking leads of 3–1, 4–3 and 5–3. Poland quickly responded, levelling at 5–5 after a powerful spike from Tomasz Fornal and an ace from Bartłomiej Bołądz. From that moment, Poland steadily exploited the weaknesses in the Latvian defence, maintaining control through the middle of the set before completing a convincing straight-sets victory.
Fomasz Fornal led all scorers with 19 points to his name including six kill blocks and 68% in attack, while Kristers Landzans was Latvia’s leading scorer with 11 points, including one ace but only 37% in attack.
The final statistics underlined Poland’s dominance across every major area of the game. They finished with 14 kill blocks to Latvia’s four, outperformed their opponents in attack 63% to 38% and registered a 56% to 45% advantage in positive reception.
Poland also led from the service line, recording five aces compared to Latvia’s one.
“The whole game was for sure under our control, from the beginning of every set. I think we played pretty well. We didn’t allow our opponents to fully show themselves. We were putting pressure on them all the time, and that’s why we won. We will see if we play with Bulgaria or the other team in the next phase. With Bulgaria, the hall will be filled like last time, so it’s always a very emotional game, and we have to be focused on that one. But we focus on every match, so it’s nothing different,” said middle blocker Bartłomiej Lemański after the game.
For Latvia, the result marked the end of their campaign, but Janis Medenis reflected positively on the experience of competing at his first European Championship.
“I’m really grateful for our performance. This EuroVolley is the first one in my career. So this was a big boost for my individual performance. Every player should go through this tournament – the atmosphere is really professional, and there are amazing teams like Poland. You don’t play every day against such teams. I told myself and my team to enjoy every second because you never know what’s going to happen. We reached our goal in the playoffs for our small country, so overall I’m really satisfied,” added Janis Medenis.
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🏐| CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 | ROUND OF 16
Saturday September 19, 2026
📍Arena 8888 Sofia
👉🏼16.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Latvia 3-0 (25:17, 25:16, 25:16)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 19.00 (Local Time) | Germany – Bulgaria 3-2 (21:25, 21:25, 25:19, 25:23, 15:12)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
Sunday September 20, 2026
📍Palavela Torino
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Finland – Greece
• 21.05 (Local Time) | Italy – Denmark
📍Arena 8888 Sofia
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Ukraine – Romania
• 19.00 (Local Time) | France – Portugal
Monday September 21, 2026
📍Palavela Torino
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Belgium – Czech Republic
• 21.00 (Local Time) | Slovenia – Serbia
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