Paola Egonu and Kate Antropova Lead the Comeback: Italvolley Among Europe’s Top Four

The Italian women’s volleyball team staged a comeback, defeating Sweden 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the European Championships in Brno (Czech Republic) and thus advancing to the semifinals of the continental competition. 21-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-23 were the set scores of a closely contested match, in which Paola Egonu and Kate Antropova made the difference on offense, scoring 27 and 22 points, respectively. The Azzurre’s next opponent will be determined by Thursday’s match between Poland and the Netherlands, scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

In addition to the performances by Egonu and Antropova, Myriam Sylla’s 14 points and Sarah Fahr’s 9 points were also noteworthy. On the other side, however, the 42 points from an incredible Isabelle Haak, along with the 11 from Hanna Helvig and the 10 from Anna Haak—Isabelle’s older sister—proved ultimately futile. Thus, the run of the Swedish national team, coached by Italian Lorenzo Micelli, comes to an end.

The 34th edition of the Women’s European Volleyball Championship is now reaching its climax, with the semifinals, third-place match, and final all set to take place at the Sinan Erdem Spor Salonu in Istanbul, Turkey. So far, the team coached by Julio Velasco has played the group stage in Sweden, at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, and the round of 16 and quarterfinals in Brno, in the Czech Republic.

For the Italian women’s national team, this marks their fourth consecutive appearance in the European Championship semifinals: after finishing third in 2019, they achieved their third-ever title in 2021, while in 2023 their run ended in the semifinals, and the Azzurre subsequently lost the third-place game as well.