Greece and Türkiye both remained undefeated after four rounds of play at the U16 Balkan Championship in Western Macedonia city Grevena, confirming a highly anticipated clash for gold in the closing match of the round-robin tournament, which now takes the shape of a final.

Bulgaria pounded an unconvincing Greece from the service line and led twice, but the hosts came back to force a tie-break and were emphatic in producing a very solid performance in the decider and claim a 3-2 (16-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-20, 15-8) win.

It was only the second tie-break of the tournament after 12 matches – and both were won by Greece.

Greece gave away a full set’s-worth of points with some poor receiving during the regular match, but in general produced a more efficient attack and better blocking to overcome Bulgaria.

Bulgaria’s Maria Bakova produced the match high of 26 points (including as many as 9 aces), but it was Greece that had a better distribution of scoring with 19 from Emilia Grigoriadou, 13 from Dafni Kornakia and 12 from Vasiliki Drouga.

“This is truly a great win,” said Greece Head Coach Thanassis Strantzalis. “It’s very positive that our girls have the ability to turn matches around. This proves that they have the right mentality and a lot of soul in them as they try to leave nothing to chance.”

With a stunning tournament high of 31 points, including 7 aces and 24/40 for an impressive 60% in attack, Sera Cadlar powered Turkey to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-16) sweep of Serbia. Serbia were more powerful on the block with 8 stuffs (to 5), but were otherwise overpowered by Turkey’s pressure from the service line and in attack.

Romania registered their first win of the tournament, shutting out Montenegro 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-20), on the back of 20 points (including 3 aces, 3 blocks and 14/23 for 61% in attack) from Bianca Tranca. Adela Vasilescu added another 14 for Romania. The winners dominated across the board, leaving Montenegro still winless and setless at the bottom of the table.

“This is what we’d been waiting for,” said Romania Head Coach Alexandra Trica. “I have a good feeling for this team that has had little time together. But I see improvement day by day and this is our success.”

“We tried to fight against a good team and, although Romania beat us, at certain moments during the match we delivered competitiveness,” said Montenegro Head Coach Luka Bogojevic. “We still need to work on tactics and technique, but the more matches we play the more we will improve.”

The Balkan Championship wraps up here on Saturday with Romania facing Serbia, Montenegro playing Bulgaria and culminating with the Greece vs Türkiye match for gold.

Greece and Türkiye remain undefeated after three rounds of play Thursday at the U16 Women’s Balkan Championship that is taking place in Western Macedonian city Grevena.

Host team did not produce their best performance, but nonetheless it was more than enough to win against Montenegro 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-21) and remain unbeaten.

Greece did give away a full set’s-worth of unforced errors, but once again produced all-around scoring with Emilia Grigoriadou bringing in a match high of 13 and Konstantina Lambrousi and Dafni Kornakia adding another 10 each. Milena Muratovic was the only Montengrin to venture into double digits with 10 points.

“It’s a beautiful feeling,” said Greece captain Konstantina Tsatsou, a local Grevena girl. “We tried our best in all our matches so far, and will put in an effort to reduce our unforced errors. But we look ahead and carry on for our next wins. We are a capable team, but we take our matches one at a time.”

Romania cancelled two set points of Türkiye at 24-22 in the first, as they drew level, but saw them drop the set before Türkiye carried on for an otherwise comfortable victory 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-17) to stay undefeated and on full points at the top of the table.

Türkiye enjoyed a wholesome attacking efficiency of 46%, as Sera Cadlar once again led the charge scoring a match high of 19 points to counter Romania’s best of 15 from Bianca Tranca.

Bulgaria scored a great win 3-1 (25-9, 25-22, 11-25, 25-19) over Serbia, as they jumped to third place in the standings.

The winning side kept unforced errors to an acceptable level, as Maria Bakova with a match high of 18 points and Radostina Dobrava with another 16 led the scoring.

“I believe we played really well,” said Bulgaria captain Lora Rodopska after the match. “We showed that we can produce high-level volleyball, with strong serving and precise attacking. We are thrilled and want to carry on this was, keep winning and take first place.”

Day 4 (the penultimate) in this single round-robin tournament continues here on Friday. Serbia clash with Türkiye to open proceedings. Montenegro and Romania are both still winless and setless, but something has to give when they go head-to-head. And hosts Greece take on Bulgaria hoping to extend their winning streak.

Grevena, Greece, 22 July 2026 – Hosts Greece and Türkiye are the only undefeated teams after Day 2 of the 2026 Women’s U16 Balkan Championship – both on track for a potential gold medal showdown when they clash on the Saturday on the closing day of competition.

Twice Greece led and twice Serbia equalised, forcing the first tie-break of the tournament, but the home team, again playing again before a full house at the Municipal Sports Hall Grevena, beating Serbia 3-2 (25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13). It was Serbia’s first defeat in the tournament.

Greece was more decisive in the tie-break, leading by three as the teams switched courts, and extended that lead to 12-7 before Serbia closed in. Still, the home team persevered to close the game with the tightest of margins on their second match ball.

Anastasia Oikonomidou led the scoring for Greece with 17 points, though the match high of 20 came from Serbia’s Helena Blagojevic. When the final count was in, Greece enjoyed a very slight advantage across most skills (15 aces to Serbia’s 13, 16% to 11% in reception and 8 blocks to 7), with attacking efficiency practically level at 39%.

“My players were brilliant,” said Greece Head Coach Thanassis Strantzalis after the match. “Their effort was magnificent. It is through such matches that character and personality is built. Our original goal was to claim a medal from this competition and we are now closer to achieving this.”

Previously, Türkiye had shut out Montenegro 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-15) on the back of 15 points by Zumra Aktas (including 5 of her side’s 12 aces) and another 14 Sera Cadlar. Milena Muratovic of Montenegro was also on a joint match high of 15 points.

After two days of action, Montenegro are still in search of their first win in the Balkan Championship.

Bulgaria, meanwhile, made an eight-point run to come back from 17-22 down and take the first set 25-22 before carrying on to complete a straight-set win 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-22) win over Romania. It was Bulgaria’s first win here in Grevena, but, as with Montenegro, Romania are still looking to score their first win.

Maria Bakova, who came in off the bench in the first set (and stayed on), led Bulgaria with a match high of 18 points, while Romania’s Bianca Tranca and Ariana Harbuz scored 13 each. Bulgaria was better in all skills, but there was not much to separate the two sides.

“It’s very important for me that I saw my players react at the most difficult moments of the match to find solutions and help each other out,” said Bulgaria Head Coach Evelina Tsvetanova. “This is the way forward and I’m very happy for them.”

Day 3 (of 5) in this single round-robin tournament continues here on Thursday with Türkiye taking on Romania, Serbia facing Bulgaria and hosts Greece playing against Montenegro.

Grevena, Greece, 21 July 2026 – Hosts Greece, alongside Bulgaria and Türkiye took an early lead in the standings after the opening day of the 2026 Women’s Under 16 Balkan Volleyball Championship here in Grevena.

Before a full house of enthusiastic spectators, Greece kicked off their campaign with a very straightforward 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-14) win over Romania on the back of some strong serving that yielded 15 aces – five by Dafni Korniaka alone.

Romania’s Bianca Tranca on 14 points was top scorer of the game, but Greece produced a much wider range with 12 by Anastasia Oikonomidou and 11 each by Kornakia and Vasiliki Drouga.

“In addition to the positive result, our performance was also very good,” said Greece’s Head Coach Thanassia Strantzalis. “We were initially concerned of first-day jitters, but all the players responded as they should.”

Earlier in the day some strong serving that produced 17 aces had helped the Turkish side overcome the resistance of Bulgaria for a 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 25-19) win, though only after coming from behind in the fourth set.

Zeynep Berksun and Zumra Aktas with 18 points each and Sera Cadlar with another 16 (including six aces) led the Turkish scoring. Bulgaria enjoyed a slightly better attacking efficiency, but it was not enough to take the match.

“It was the first ever match at this level for all our players,” said Head Coach Batuhan Ragip Sen after the win. “I’d like to congratulate my players, but what’s especially important to me is how we dealt with managing the situation after we fell behind in the score.”

And Serbia overwhelmed Montenegro 3-0 (25-7, 25-20, 25-14) with an important contribution of 15 points each from Helena Blagojevic and Nina Janic.

Action in this single round-robin tournament continues here on Wednesday with Turkey facing Montenegro, Romania taking on Bulgaria and Greece hosting Serbia.