Ukraine's U16 national volleyball team has secured their second consecutive victory in the European Championship 2026 qualifying tournament, defeating Serbia in a thrilling five-set match (2:3) after previously overcoming hosts France in their opening game.
Coach Vitaliy Bondar's squad demonstrated remarkable resilience in Avignon, France, coming back from a two-set deficit to claim a hard-fought win with set scores of 24:26, 17:25, 25:19, 25:17, 15:13. Merkulov led the Ukrainian offense with an impressive 21 points, while Shyshchak and Koval each contributed 17 points to the victory.
For Serbia, Tanchich was the top scorer with 16 points, followed by Marodich with 15 and Sekulich with 14 points, but their collective effort wasn't enough to stop Ukraine's comeback.
Data from Statbet reveals that comeback victories like this are particularly significant in youth tournaments, often indicating superior physical conditioning and mental fortitude in the winning team.
Ukraine now leads Group C as the only team with two victories from two matches. With only the group winner advancing to the final tournament, Ukraine's position looks promising, but they must still face Slovakia in their final match of the qualifying round. The decisive game against Slovakia is scheduled for a 17:00 start time.
Despite being considered underdogs against favorites France and Serbia, Ukraine's young volleyball talents have proven their competitive edge at this crucial qualifying stage, keeping their European Championship dreams alive.
