In the second round of Group B of the continental championship, the Ukrainian women's national volleyball team played a grueling five-set match against Greece. The squad coached by Jakub Glushak failed to seal the victory in a game where, in the final minutes of the tie-break, they had a real chance to turn the match around. In the end, the "blue-and-yellow" side lost 2:3 in sets and settled for just one point for the defeat in the deciding game.

Match progression: from a poor start to a dominant set

The opening set went to the Greeks, who confidently took the first game 25:23. In the second set, the Ukrainians showed character: trailing 20:23, they won five consecutive rallies and leveled the match by taking the game 25:23. The third set was played under the full control of the Ukrainian team and ended in a rout, 25:12, which restored the team's initiative and hope of winning in four sets.

The tie-break and a missed victory

The Ukrainians failed to close out the match in four sets: in the fourth game, the opponents made a powerful surge and held their advantage to the end, winning 25:22. In the decisive tie-break, the Ukrainian team initially had the upper hand, but a string of their own mistakes allowed Greece to earn five match points and take the game 15:10. Thus, the final result of the encounter was 2:3 in favor of the Greeks (23:25, 25:23, 25:12, 22:25, 10:15).

Standing in the group and the next match

For the tie-break defeat, the Ukrainian team earned one point and currently holds fifth place in its group. Recall that in the tournament's opening match, the Ukrainian players lost to Bulgaria 0:3. Jakub Glushak's team will play its next match at EuroVolley 2026 on Monday, August 24, against a direct rival in the standings — the Austrian national team. The match is scheduled to begin at 17:00 Kyiv time.

Tournament context

Five-set matches decided by a narrow margin in the tie-break are a typical scenario of the group stage of the European Championship, where every team fights for each point. For the Ukrainian team, the match against Austria becomes a key one: the result will directly affect the "blue-and-yellow" side's chances in the fight for a place in the upper part of Group B's standings and its further trajectory at the continental championship.