Recap
First Semifinal: Romania 2 vs Hungary 3 (10–25, 25–22, 25–12, 16–25, 15–9)
In a thrilling first semifinal of the CEV Golden European League held in Ängelholm, Sweden on June 28, 2025, the Hungarian women`s national volleyball team defeated Romania in a five-set battle to secure their spot in the final. The match finished 3-2 in favor of Hungary, marking their second victory against Romania with the same scoreline in just three weeks. Despite losing the initial set comfortably at 10-25, Hungary, under the guidance of Italian head coach Alessandro Chiappini, who deployed the same lineup that beat Portugal, staged a comeback to take the second (25-22) and third (25-12) sets. Romania fought back by winning the fourth set 16-25, pushing the match to a decisive fifth set. Hungary held their nerve and won the final set 15-9, claiming the hard-fought victory.
Second Semifinal: Ukraine 3 vs Sweden 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-18)
The second semifinal featured Ukraine against the reigning champions, Sweden. Ukraine, who previously won the tournament twice (most recently in 2023 where they also beat Sweden in the final), delivered a dominant 3-0 victory (25-19, 25-20, 25-18) to advance. This result reversed the outcome of their group stage match earlier this season, which Sweden had won by the same score. Ukraine quickly took control in the first set, securing it 25-19. The second set was tighter; although Sweden gained an 11-5 advantage, Ukraine responded strongly, capitalized on opponent errors, and recovered to win 25-20. Ukraine closed out the match decisively by winning the third set, securing their place in the final and avenging their earlier season loss.
The CEV Golden European League final between Hungary and Ukraine is scheduled to be played on Sunday, June 29th at 19:00 local time.
Finley Blackwood 
Jasper Thornfield