EuroVolleyW 2023: Slovakia and the Netherlands take maximum points in Tallinn

Slovakia and the Netherlands started their EuroVolley campaign with 3-0 wins in their respective Pool D matchups with Finland and Spain as action continued Thursday at the UNIBET Arena in Tallinn. However, despite what the final score may suggest, it was not all plain sailing, and especially the Oranjes had to deal with the terrific comebacks mounted multiple times by the Spaniards – who impressed with their fast game and good defence. Thursday’s winners will be locking horns on Friday when they go for a second victory in as many matches, followed by the game featuring France and Spain later in the evening. 

The matchup featuring Slovakia and Finland opened the second competition day at UNIBET Arena in Estonia’s capital city – and knowing the level and roster of these two teams, observers and fans thought that a close game would ensue with extremely vital ranking points at stake in the quest for a spot in the knockout phase of the championship. The first set very much lived up to these expectations with Slovakia however securing a small advantage in the early stages, which they were able to keep until the very end.  

With much support coming from the stands, where a large number of Finnish fans had come together, ‘Suomi’ put up much of a fight in the second set and it looked like they were going to draw the match only for Slovakia to come back with an impressive series of points to make up for an 18-21 deficit and double their lead in the game. 

This comeback was a key moment in the match since Slovakia changed gear in the third set where they cruised to a far more comprehensive and comfortable 25-16 win to start their EuroVolley campaign on a high note.  

Later in the evening, the Netherlands looked quite dominant in the early stages of their matchup with Spain, but their rivals did grow in terms of quality and confidence, playing with impressive speed as the match progressed, thus closing the gap before losing the first set by the narrowest of margins (25-23) after a service error. History repeated itself in the second set, where the Dutchwomen broke away early, before Spain mounted another comeback. The physically more imposing Oranjes seemed to possess the right quality and consistency when it mattered the most and they eventually secured a 2-0 lead after taking the second set courtesy of a point scored by Celeste Plak. As the Netherlands seemed to be cruising to a 3-0 victory, Spain fought their way back again to reduce their deficit to a minimum – but a few changes paid off for the Dutch side, which eventually wrapped it up to take maximum three points.