Netherlands women's volleyball team defeats Romania in EuroVolley opener

The Netherlands women's national volleyball team secured a narrow 3-2 victory against Romania in their opening match of the EuroVolley 2026 tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan. Despite Romania's strong performance, the Netherlands managed to clinch the win in a deciding tie-break with set scores of 25-21, 26-28, 25-15, 22-25, and 15-9.

For the Netherlands, Elles Dambrink led the scoring with 24 points, followed by Indy Baijens with 20. Romania's efforts were spearheaded by Ioana Baciu, who recorded 19 points, and captain Rodica Buterez with 18 points.

Romania, coached by Guillermo Naranjo Hernandez, remains in Group C alongside Azerbaijan, Belgium, Portugal, and Spain. Following this debut, Romania is scheduled to face Azerbaijan in a critical match to determine their chances of advancing to the knockout stages. The tournament is being hosted across Azerbaijan, Turkey, the Czech Republic, and Sweden.