Poland emerged victorious at the CEV U16 Women’s Volleyball European Championship, which recently concluded with the final four matches in Tirana, following earlier stages held in Albania and Kosovo. Turkiye secured the silver medal, while Italy claimed the bronze.
Poland finished as runners-up in Pool I in Tirana, achieving a strong record of six wins and one loss during the round-robin stage of the tournament. In the semifinals, they faced Czechia, who had topped Pool II in Pristina with an identical 6-1 record, and staged a comeback to win 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-10). In the other semifinal, Turkiye, Pool II`s runners-up with a 5-2 record, mounted an impressive recovery from two sets down to defeat Pool I winners Italy 3-2 (17-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-9), handing Italy their first loss of the competition.
In the gold medal match held on Sunday, Poland defeated Turkiye 3-1 (25-22, 26-28, 25-22, 25-23) to claim the continental title. For the bronze medal, Italy swept Czechia 3-0 (25-16, 28-26, 25-13).
The final standings saw Croatia, Spain, France, Greece, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Hungary, Ukraine, Slovenia, Lithuania, Albania, and Kosovo ranking from fifth to sixteenth, respectively.
Fifteen-year-old Polish outside hitter Aleksandra Wika was recognized as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Championship. The “Dream Team” for the tournament included setter Anna Prokesova (Czechia), opposite Elzbieta Czerwonka (Poland), outside hitters Zuzanna Lange (Poland) and Ecrin Selis Turkyasar (Turkiye), middle blockers Nejla Guzonjic (Turkiye) and Gabriela Jakubowska (Poland), and libero Kaila Simeonov (Italy).
Oliver Wrenwick 
Finley Blackwood