Slovenia and Croatia Secure Semifinal Spots at MEVZA U18 Qualifiers

The second day of competition at the MEVZA U18 Qualifiers for the 2026 European Championship was completed today in both the men’s and women’s tournaments. Here is an overview of the day’s action from Maribor and Zadar.

U18 Men: Maribor

The day in Maribor opened with a match between Hungary and Slovakia, with Hungary claiming a 3-1 victory (25-23, 16-25, 25-22, 25-20). Hungary later returned to the court to face Slovenia, but the hosts proved dominant, as Slovenia secured a convincing 3-0 win (25-10, 25-17, 25-14) in just 63 minutes.

Foto: Zeljko Zelenicic

In another match, Czechia defeated Cyprus 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 17-25, 25-14), while Austria recorded a comfortable straight-sets win over Luxembourg, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-14), completing the match in 65 minutes.

On Friday, Austria will play their second pool phase match against Israel at 12:30, while Czechia will face Croatia at 10:00 in their second pool phase encounter. The classification phase will begin following these two matches. At this point, Slovenia is the only confirmed semifinalist after recording two straight wins, with the remaining three semifinal spots to be decided on the final day of pool play.

U18 Women: Zadar

The women’s competition in Zadar once again produced decisive results, with all matches ending in straight sets for the second consecutive day.

Austria opened the day with a dominant 3-0 victory over Israel (25-12, 25-10, 25-17), finishing the match in just 55 minutes. Croatia later faced Austria and claimed a convincing 3-0 win (25-17, 25-14, 25-20). Slovenia proved their strong form by defeating Cyprus 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-20), while Hungary had a commanding 3-0 victory over Luxembourg (25-6, 25-9, 25-17) in only 54 minutes.

Foto: Croatian National Federation

After two days of competition in Zadar, all matches in the women’s tournament have ended with a 3-0 scoreline!

Friday’s schedule will see Slovenia open the day against Slovakia at 11:30 in a pool phase match, followed by Hungary taking on Czechia at 14:00. The classification phase will begin after these matches. Croatia is currently the only confirmed semifinalist, having recorded two consecutive wins, with the remaining three semifinal places to be decided on the final day of the pool phase.

Where to watch the matches?

All women’s U18 matches can be followed live on the YouTube channel of the Croatian Volleyball Federation, while all men’s U18 matches are available on the YouTube channel of OK OTP Banka Branik.