As they were just about to play their last match in Pool C, Belarus already had two wins and five points, which meant open doors to the 8^th Finals. Slovakia, on the other hand, only had three points from their victory over Switzerland, so this was definitely their last chance to catch the train, actually the charter flight to Belgrade, taking teams from Zadar to the knockout phase of the competition.

Therefore, Slovakia was very motivated to win this game and started in full speed. Last time these teams played against each other was in 2019, when Slovakia won 3-2, after losing 0-2 in sets. This time it went exactly the other way around, so it seems that what goes around, comes around.

The first set went to the Slovakians. They set the pace right from the early stages and finished it with a comprehensive 25-18. Belarus coach Stanislav Salikov started rotating his team in the first set already, trying to find the winning combo, but that helped only in the second one. Belarus had a two, three-point advantage up to 18-18, but Slovakia fought back and managed to reach number 25 first by a few good blocks and then through precise serves. The second set finished 25-23. In the first two sets, Slovakia got nine points from blocks, Belarus just three.  

The third set went to Belarus 25-23. They made no points in that set from blocks, but they scored three aces. They were leading by as many as eight points at 19-11, but they needed a second set ball to seal the deal.

The fourth set was not short of further drama. Belarus had a four-point lead, but Slovakia fought relentlessly, desperately trying to catch up. At the end of the set, after both passed 20 points, Slovakia could not capitalise on a number of match points and Belarus eventually claimed the set 30-28. The fight continued into the fifth set. After 4-4, Belarus edged ahead until 9-9, before powering to a 15-12 win to claim their third win in five matches in the pool.