Serbia eyes EuroVolleyM title defense

Defending champion Serbia refuses to get complacent with success after winning the CEV EuroVolley 2019 as it sets its sights on defending the title. Coming off a perfect season, the Serbs will enter the EuroVolley 2021 unscathed and with a steady confidence they can repeat as champions.

Since 2007, Serbia has become one of the volleyball powerhouses on the continent, winning two EuroVolley titles in the process (2011 and 2019) as well as three bronze medals (2007, 2013, and 2017). The team coached by Slobodan Kovac is looking to become the fourth nation to win back-to-back titles at the EuroVolley.

So far, in the 73 years of the tournament, only three countries have achieved this rare feat -  Soviet Union (1950-1951 and between 1967 to 1987), Czechoslovakia (1955 and 1958), and Italy (1993-1995 and 2003-2005). But if EuroVolley 2019 is an indication, the Serbs have shown they can pull off the improbable.

Going up against strong opponents such as Belgium and Germany in the group stage, and against the likes of perennial title contender France and rising powerhouse Slovenia in the final round, Serbia defied expectations and swept the tournament, completing an emphatic and hard-fought 9-0 run to capture the gold medal.

This year, standing in their way to a rare two-peat early in the tournament are Greece, Portugal, Ukraine, Belgium, and host Poland as they will tussle in Pool A in the preliminaries.

Entering the competition as the top team in Europe, Serbia will once again rely on the flashy offensive exploits of the 28-year outside hitter and reigning EuroVolley Most Valuable Player Uros Kovacevic. The multi-awarded spiker took his talents to the Chinese Volleyball Super League in the 2020-2021 season, where he helped Beijing BAIC Motor secure its third title. 

Veteran opposite spiker Aleksandar Atanasijevic and blocking machine Srecko Lisinac, who were selected to the 2019 EuroVolley Dream Team, are also expected to return for another tour of duty and they will play significant roles in Serbia's title-defence.