Serbia vs Slovenia in Turin Monday at 9 PM
Serbia's volleyball team plays Slovenia in the European Championship round of 16 on Monday at 9 PM at the Palavela arena in Turin, with the winner facing whoever advances from Belgium vs Czechia.
There has been no room for relaxing in the Serbian volleyball team’s locker room in Turin over the past few days. Training has gone on in a silence rarely seen from this generation, because everyone in the squad knows what Monday night carries. Lose, and you pack your bags and go home. There is no second round, no makeup game.
Serbia’s round of 16 opponent at the European Championship is Slovenia, a team that has regularly given Serbia trouble in recent years. The match is set for Monday, September 21, at 9 PM, at the famous Palavela arena in Turin. The broadcast will air on Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) and Arena Sport, so fans at home will not need to hunt for a signal on dubious streaming links.
This matchup came together after real drama in the final round of the group stage. Slovenia was supposed to finish Group A in first place, but lost its last match to Italy 3-2. That handed the hosts the top spot and a clash with Denmark, while Slovenia dropped to second, which automatically meant a meeting with Serbia. Had Slovenia taken just one more set off the tournament hosts, Serbia would now be facing an entirely different rival in Turin.
Serbia finished Group C in third place, with the same record of three wins and two losses that Slovenia posted in Group A. On paper it looks like a modest position, but far from a disaster once you look at how it happened. Against the Netherlands and Denmark, Serbia trailed 0-2 in sets both times and fought back to win, which says more about the team’s character than any standings table. Estonia was dealt with early in the tournament without much trouble, while Serbia lost its rhythm in the closing stages of sets against Finland and Belgium and dropped both matches.
Slovenia’s roster carries names that play leading roles in the Italian and Polish leagues. Rok Mozic, Alen Pajenk, Nik Mujanovic and Jan Kozamernik are players every defense has to account for individually and out loud. But Slovenia did not get through the group stage unscathed either, surprisingly losing to Greece and then to Italy, which means the team arrives in Turin with the same question as Serbia: can stability hold up under the pressure of knockout volleyball, when there is no tomorrow left.
Aleksa Batak, one of Serbia’s players, did not shy away before the match from admitting the group stage could have gone better.
“Did we expect a better position in the group? Probably… But there is not much time to dwell on it. I think we showed some good things, like the comeback in those two incredible matches.”
On the Slovenia match itself, he made clear the focus is on Serbia’s own game rather than analyzing the opponent:
“It’s up to us to give everything we have. First, the basic and most important thing is that we focus on ourselves, that everyone does their job as well as they can. I’m sure the result will follow. We can promise that we’ll leave our hearts on the court, and we’ll see what the outcome will be.”
For most national teams, a statement like that would sound like a standard pre-match cliche. For this squad, there is concrete proof behind it: two comebacks from hopeless set deficits against the Netherlands and Denmark show that Serbia knows how to hold on even when a match starts going wrong from the first set.
The winner of Monday’s duel advances to the quarterfinals, scheduled for Wednesday, September 23, again at the Palavela, against the winner of Belgium vs Czechia. The European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) has not yet set that kickoff time, since it depends on the round of 16 results. The entire final stage of the championship is being played in Italy and Bulgaria, with the semifinals and medal matches set for September 25 and 26 in Milan.
Our earlier report already noted that Serbia would face Slovenia in the round of 16 after Belgium. Now it is known when and where that match will be played, and what awaits the winner. What remains is for Serbia to repeat on the court what it has already shown twice in the group stage, that falling behind does not mean the end. Now they need to prove the same thing when there is no deficit to come back from, starting with the first ball on Monday night.
