Romania stuns France, Estonia beats Netherlands — but too late for both

The penultimate day of group play at the men's European Volleyball Championship produced a major upset, as Romania defeated two-time reigning Olympic champions France 3-2 in a five-set thriller. France had already secured first place in the group following a win over Germany, while Romania, even with the win, could not rise above third place in the standings.

The match began with a commanding French lead in the first set. The second set was closer, but the visitors still closed it out to take a 2-0 lead. The hosts then fought back, winning the third set outright. In the fourth, Romania trailed 16-19 but not only equalized but also saved four French match points, eventually winning the set 31-30. In the fifth set, France opened with a 4-1 run, yet Romania again showed resilience, closing out the match 15-12.

Romania's Christian-Daniel Cîtigoi led all scorers with 28 points, while France's Stéphane Boyer added 21 points, including three aces.

Round of 16 matchups

In the round of 16 in Sofia, France will face Portugal, while Romania will take on Ukraine.

Estonia's win comes too late

In another match, Estonia defeated the Netherlands 3-1, but the result changed nothing for either side, as both had already been eliminated from playoff contention. The loss was the Netherlands' fifth of the tournament. The Dutch had won the first set after recovering from a 21-24 deficit, took the second more comfortably, then collapsed without resistance in the third. In the fourth set, they fell behind 2-6, later trailed 18-17 before letting Estonia move ahead to 19-22, but ultimately won six of the remaining seven rallies to close it out.

Sylvester Meis top-scored for the Netherlands with 19 points and three effective blocks, while Estonia's René Teppan led his team with 14 points.