Latvia's volleyball team beats host Romania in European Championship opener

Latvia's men's national volleyball team began its European Championship campaign with a win on Wednesday, September 9, defeating host Romania 3-1 (26:24, 18:25, 25:21, 26:24) away from home.

First two sets

The opening set was closely contested point for point, but Latvia edged ahead at key moments, helped by a strong blocking performance from Gustavs Freimanis, and closed out the set in their favor. Romania took control of the second set early, building a five-point lead that they maintained through to the end, leveling the match at one set apiece.

Turning point in sets three and four

In the third set, young player Kristers Landzāns proved decisive after coming on as a substitute for team leader Renārs Pauls Jansons, adding crucial points that helped Latvia regain the lead in the match. In the fourth set, Latvia built an early advantage, but Romania fought back with powerful serves to level the score multiple times, including as late as 23:23. After a tense finish featuring match points for both sides, Armands Rokjans sealed the win for Latvia with a successful ace serve, securing the team's first victory of the tournament.

Top scorers

Kristaps Šmits was Latvia's top scorer with 14 points, followed by Jānis Eduards Medenis with 12. Gustavs Freimanis also stood out, contributing 10 points, five of which came directly from blocks.

Elsewhere in the tournament's opening round, Bulgaria defeated North Macedonia 3-0. Several more matches are scheduled in the coming days, including Poland against Portugal and Israel against Ukraine.