The Spanish women's national volleyball team faced near-elimination from the 2026 European Volleyball Championship on Wednesday after losing 3-1 to Portugal in Baku, Azerbaijan. The 26-24, 23-25, 19-25, 20-25 defeat in Group C leaves Spain at the bottom of the table with two matches remaining in the opening stage.
Head coach Pascual Saurín's team has collected just one point from their four matches so far. Spain now needs a dramatic turnaround in their final two fixtures to have any chance of progressing to the round of 16.
The European Volleyball Championship, known as EuroVolley, is the premier competition for European national teams. The 2026 tournament features teams divided into preliminary pools, with Group C matches hosted in Baku. In international volleyball, matches are played as a best-of-five sets format, with teams needing to win three sets to secure victory.
Spain, nicknamed Las Leonas, started the opening set brightly by building an early 8-3 lead. Portugal managed to narrow the gap to 10-8, but an attack from Ana Escamilla followed by an offensive error from Portugal allowed Spain to restore their advantage. Another scoring play by Escamilla extended the Spanish lead to 16-10.
Portugal fought back during the closing stages of the set, reducing the deficit to 18-17 and forcing a tense finish. Spain held firm under pressure to secure the first set 26-24.
Portugal turnaround in second set
The momentum shifted completely at the start of the second set as Portugal raced to a 1-6 lead. The early surge prompted Saurín to call a time-out to reset his team's strategy.
Despite the stoppage, Portugal expanded their lead to 10-19. Spain mounted a rally spearheaded by Zoi Mavrommatis to bring the score to 19-21, but Portugal absorbed the pressure to claim the set 23-25 and level the match.
The third set began evenly, with both sides tied at 8-8 and 13-13. Portugal then established control by pulling ahead 15-20 before taking the set 19-25 to put Spain under severe pressure.
Fourth set battle and match outcome
Portugal maintained their advantage in the fourth set, opening up early leads of 8-10 and 9-13. Spain battled back to equalize at 16-16, raising hopes of pushing the match into a deciding fifth set.
However, Portugal responded immediately by winning two consecutive points to regain the lead. Saurín used his remaining time-outs in an effort to spark a late comeback, but Portugal held firm in the final points to seal the set 20-25 and wrap up the victory.
Spain remains at the bottom of Group C with one point. The team must win their remaining two group matches and rely on other results to stand any chance of advancing to the knockout rounds.
