The Swedish women’s national team qualified for EuroVolley for the first time in 38 years. In a tight Pool B qualification match on Friday in Tbilisi, they persevered to claim a 3-2 (15-25, 25-18, 25-23, 18-25, 15-11) win over Ukraine, and improving to 4-0 in the pool, to secure one of the top two spots in the final standings. Ukraine drop to 2-2 and will have to contend with Portugal for the other available ticket to the finals.

Ukraine outspiked Sweden to completely dominate the first set. With middle Diana Meliushkyna on fire in both blocking and offence in the conclusive part of the set, Ukraine scored six in a row to win it by an impressive 25-15. Sweden reacted with a fantastic Isabelle Haak hammering 12 points, including the winner, towards a 25-18 win in set two.

She continued to score away in set three (11 points), but once Ukraine stepped in front at 11-10 after five points in a row, the two teams offered a fierce battle through the end of the set, with frequent changes in the lead. Finally, Haak produced a sizzling ace to deliver the set point and converted it to a 25-23 close with another strong serve that made the opponents commit an error in attack. Setter Olga Skrypak did a fabulous job creating variety in Ukraine’s attack to lead her team to a 25-18 win in set four and prompt a deciding set.

It was the Swedish players who kept their cool through the tie-breaker. Two stuff blocks by Dalila-Lilly and an ace each by Isabelle Haak and Alexandra Lazic made the difference towards a 15-11 Swedish win. Haak upped her match total to a formidable 37 points, while Nadiia Kodola was Ukraine’s best scorer on 18.