Finland stunned hosts Italy in a five-set thriller to reach the EuroVolley semifinals for only the second time in their history, while Slovenia advanced to the Final Four for a fourth consecutive edition.
In front of more than 8,300 fans at PalaVela, Italy won the opening set before Finland turned the match around. Led by Joonas Jokela and Luka Marttila, the Finns claimed a dramatic second set and dominated the third.
Italy fought back to force a tiebreak and led 11-8 in the deciding set, but Finland produced another comeback. Marttila’s ace levelled the score at 12-12 before the Finns completed a memorable victory and secured their first EuroVolley semifinal appearance since 2007.
Jokela finished with a match-high 28 points, while Marttila added 22. Yuri Romano led Italy with 20.
Earlier, Slovenia defeated Belgium in four sets to continue their impressive EuroVolley record. After winning the opening two sets, Slovenia dropped the third before responding emphatically in the fourth.
Rok Možič led Slovenia with 18 points, followed by Nik Mujanović with 14 and Klemen Čebulj with 12. Ferre Reggers scored 23 for Belgium.
Slovenia will face Poland in Friday’s semifinal.
Results
Slovenia 3-1 Belgium (25-22, 25-22, 20-25, 25-13)
Finland 3-2 Italy (21-25, 28-26, 25-16, 19-25, 15-12)