The CEV EuroVolley Women 2026 reached its thrilling fifth day of competition this Tuesday, August 25, 2026, highlighted by a historic, record-breaking performance from Sweden's superstar Isabelle Haak.
Sweden Survives Five-Set Thriller Against Brave Croatia
Playing on home soil at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden pulled off a historic and agonizing reverse sweep against a highly valiant Croatia squad. Croatia completely stunned the hosts early on, taking a commanding 2-0 lead (25-16, 25-22) and pushing Sweden to the absolute brink of elimination.

While Sweden managed to claw their way back to force a tie-break, the final set was pure drama. Croatia refused to back down and held a staggering 5 match points during the extended tie-break. However, they failed to convert a single one of them. 

Under maximum pressure, Sweden erased every single match point to finally close out the epic showdown at 23-21, sealing the overall match 16-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-16, 23-21.
The undisputed MVP of the match was Isabelle Haak, who delivered a stratospheric performance. 
Haak completely shattered the all-time CEV EuroVolley tournament record by exploding for an unbelievable 52 points in a single match (including 47 attack kills, 2 blocks, and 3 aces at a remarkable 57% efficiency), carrying her team into the playoffs on her shoulders.
Impressive Italy Sweeps Slovakia
Over in the same pool, Italy continued their flawless campaign with a commanding 3-0 clean sweep against Slovakia. The Italian team showed surgical precision and absolute defensive dominance, denying any chance of a Slovakian upset with set scores of 25-19, 25-18, 25-20.
 Italy's offensive versatility was fully on display, but it was their star attacker Paola Egonu who led the charge as the match's top scorer, cementing Italy's place at the top of Pool D without conceding a single set in the tournament so far.
Dominant Poland Outclasses Underwhelming Slovenia
In Pool A action at Istanbul's Sinan Erdem Sports Hall, Poland secured a decisive 3-0 victory over Slovenia. The complete score of the match stood at 25-14, 28-26, 25-18. Poland's powerhouse attacker Magdalena Stysiak stepped up as the game's top scorer, proving crucial in closing out a very tight second set. 
On the other side, much more was expected from Slovenia; after their strong performances in the CEV European League, they struggled heavily to establish their rhythm, failing to maintain consistency against the clinical Polish block and leaving fans expecting a far tighter contest.
Photos: European Volleyball