The MEVZA Qualifiers for the U18 Volleyball European Championship 2026 officially got underway today, with the women’s tournament taking place in Zadar (Croatia) and the men’s competition being hosted in Maribor (Slovenia).
Women’s Tournament: Zadar
The opening day of the women’s tournament featured three clear victories.
Slovakia started the day with a convincing 3-0 win over Cyprus (25-14, 25-18, 25-13). In the following match, Czech Republic defeated Luxembourg in straight sets as well, 3-0 (25-11, 25-9, 25-16), wrapping up the match in just 60 minutes.
Foto: Nenad Opacic
The final match of the day saw Croatia deliver a dominant performance against Israel, securing a 3-0 victory (25-8, 25-8, 25-16) in only 52 minutes of play.
Croatia’s statistical dominance was evident throughout the match: 19 service aces (with 11 errors) compared to Israel’s three, a 7-1 advantage in blocking points, and 34-11 in attack points. Serve reception efficiency stood at 38% for Croatia and 29% for Israel. Israel committed slightly fewer errors (15-17), with 10 of Croatia’s errors coming in the third set, seven of them from the service line. Emilie Stojic led the way with an outstanding 23 points, including six aces.
After the match, Croatia U18 women’s head coach Ivica Radocaj said:
“An important win at the opening of the tournament. We were at a very high level from the start, especially on serve, in blocking and defense. With such a performance, Israel was simply not at our level today. This is a valuable win for the start of the tournament and for building the right attitude and atmosphere. However, the win is already behind us, and we now turn our focus to the next opponents, Austria. That match will be the real beginning of the tournament for us, as we go match by match towards our ultimate goal: qualification for the European Championship.”
Women’s matches in Zadar on Thursday:
- Austria vs Israel, 11:30
- Slovenia vs Cyprus, 14:00
- Hungary vs Luxembourg, 16:30
- Austria vs Croatia, 19:00
Men’s Tournament: Maribor
The men’s tournament in Maribor opened with Israel defeating Luxembourg 3-1 (25-27, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22).
Croatia then produced a commanding display against Cyprus, winning 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-15) in just 67 minutes.
From the first to the last point, Croatia controlled the match, a fact also reflected in the statistics. The Croatian U18 team was particularly dominant in blocking, scoring 12 block points compared to Cyprus’ three, as well as in attack points (35-24). Croatia also held the edge in serve reception (43%-39%), while Cyprus committed more errors (25-20). Tomo Sulic was Croatia’s most efficient scorer with 13 points, including four blocks and two aces.
Foto: Croatian Volleyball Federation
Croatia U18 men’s head coach Tomislav Misin commented after the match:
“This was our easiest win since I took over as head coach three years ago. Our opening matches at tournaments have often been problematic, but today everything worked very well. I’ve said before that this is a very interesting generation with great chemistry, which is evident in training and matches. Next up are the favored Czech team, but with the same approach and level of play we showed against Cyprus, we can expect an interesting and hopefully competitive match.”
In the final match of the day, host nation Slovenia defeated Slovakia in straight sets, 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-16).
Men’s matches in Maribor on Thursday:
- Hungary vs Slovakia, 10:00
- Czech Republic vs Cyprus, 12:30
- Austria vs Luxembourg, 15:00
- Hungary vs Slovenia, 17:30
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.
