Pool B preview: Reigning champions Italy are overwhelming favourites in open group

Verona, Monza and Turin will host Pool B at the CEV EuroVolley 2023 Women, with the reigning champions Italy being the overwhelming favourites to finish first and secure a better path for themselves towards the title, when they face Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Switzerland and Bosnia Herzegovina.

To add to their already excellent resume, Italy have finished in the top 10 of the past 21 editions of the European premium competition, with the last placement in double digits coming in 1977, 46 years ago, when they ended up on the 11th place.

Moreover, Davide Mazzanti’s side, who were bronze medallists at the 2022 FIVB Women’s World Championship, have only dropped 11 sets in the past 18 games at the CEV EuroVolley Women, winning 16 out of those matches in the competition.

Playing on their home court at least until an eventual semi-final, when the teams move to Brussels, Belgium, will surely add another incentive for an excellent performance for the reigning champions, who are due to have a stellar lineup at their disposal during the competition.

But Italy are not coming at the peak of their form, having a hit-and-miss form during the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League, when they ended up on the sixth place, after being eliminated by winners Türkiye in the quarter-finals, albeit with a weaker team than usual, missing the MVP of the CEV EuroVolley 2021 Women, Paola Egonu, throughout the competition.

Yet while the group might look easy on paper, Italy do not have fond memories of their matches against Bulgaria in the European premium competition. In fact, Bulgaria are the only existing country to have a positive balance against the European powerhouse in the competition, winning six out of the nine mutual games played against Italy in their history.

Bulgaria themselves are one of the teams that rarely miss the cut at the CEV EuroVolley Women, featuring in 30 out of the 32 previous editions of the competition. However, since the bronze medal sealed in 2001, they failed to challenge for the trophy, but they finished on the ninth, eighth and ninth places respectively in the last three editions, always making it out of the pool phase.

Bulgaria are favourites to do that again, but will face a tough challenge against Croatia, with both sides featuring this summer in the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League, where they ended up on the 13th and 15th places respectively, with two wins each out of 12 games.

A gritty side whenever they appear on the radar in the European premium competition, Croatia have constantly improved over the last years at the CEV EuroVolley Women, securing three wins and four wins respectively in 2019 and 2021, with a positive set difference.

They are primed to make the Round of 16 once again, like in the previous two competitions, boasting a larger experience than Romania, Switzerland and Bosnia Herzegovina, the three remaining teams in Pool B.
The nature of the pool, with one powerhouse, two mid-sized engines and three emerging sides makes it a tough one to predict, especially as Romania, who were co-hosts in 2021, lost nine of their last 11 matches in the competition, including all five in the previous editions.

Switzerland do not have a checkered record themselves, winning only five of their 28 matches in the competition, and only two out of the last 13, having managed to clinch only 11 sets in those matches. Moreover, Switzerland have never secured a win in straight sets, yet might be a plucky opponent throughout the competition.

Last, but not least, Bosnia Herzegovina will make only their second appearance in the CEV EuroVolley Women, after they made their debut in 2021, failing to progress to the knockout phase, after winning a single match out of the five they played, 3:0 against Azerbaijan and losing the other four in straight sets.

Their lack of experience is their biggest undoing, yet they might spring a surprise or two against easier opponents, which could make the pool even tougher to predict and murk the waters in the maths.