Women's European Volleyball Championship

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Women's European Volleyball Championship
Upcoming season or competition:
Current sports event
SportVolleyball
Founded1949; 72 years ago (1949)
Inaugural season1949
No. of teams24 (Finals)
ContinentEurope (CEV)
Most recent
champion(s)
 Italy (3rd title)
Most titles Soviet Union
(13 titles)
Official websitecev.eu

The Women's European Volleyball Championship is the official competition for senior women's national volleyball teams of Europe, organized by the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV). The initial gap between championships was variable, but since 1975 they have been awarded every two years. The current champion is Italy, which won its third title at the 2021 tournament.[1]

History[]

The first tournament was held in 1949 with participation of seven national teams. It was dominated by teams from Eastern Europe, who at that times were strongest teams not only at the European continent but also in the whole world. The teams from Eastern Europe dominated at the tournament for next four and half decades. The first European title was won by Soviet Union, who also won two next editions – in 1950 and 1951. At all three tournaments the Soviet team demonstrated overwhelming advantage – they not only won all matches, but also didn't lose any single set. This achievement was repeated by Soviet Union at the first Women's World Championship which was held in 1952 in Moscow.

In 1955, Czechoslovakia managed to break Soviet dominance and to win European gold after 3-2 victory over a Soviet Union in a decisive match at the tournament. However, Soviet team returned at first positions after victory at the 1956 World Championship next year. At the next 1958 European Championship which was held in Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union took revenge and returned European title after 3-2 victories over host team and Poland who captured silver and bronze medals respectively.

The victory in 1958 marked the beginning of the era of dominance of the Soviet Union which lasted for more than two decades. From 1958 to 1979, Soviet team didn't lose any tournament by winning 7 European titles in a row. At the next European Championship which was held in 1963, Soviet Union defended own title after difficult 3-2 victory over a Poland in a decisive match of the final round. But at next two European tournaments – in 1967 and 1971 – Soviet team demonstrated overwhelming advantage not losing any single set in all matches. European Championships held in 1975 and 1977 were also won relatively easy as all matches ended with either 3-0 or 3-1 victories. However, at the 1979 European Championship, Soviet Union faced with serious resistance from opponents. In preliminary round, Soviet Union lost 2-3 to Poland. It was only second defeat of the Soviet team at the European Championships and also their first defeat within 24 years. It, however, affected little at outcome of the tournament as Polish team was eliminated after preliminary round while Soviet team won gold medals after difficult 3-2 victories over a Romania and Bulgaria in the final round. During these two decades, Soviet Union was not only dominant power in Europe but also world volleyball superpower by winning two Olympic titles (1968, 1972), two World Championships (1960, 1970) and first edition of the Women's World Cup held in 1973.

After victory at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, a power of the Soviet team started to decline. At the next 1981 European Championship which was held in Bulgaria, home team finally managed to break Soviet dominance. Bulgaria won their maiden European title after 3-0 victory over a Soviet Union in a decisive match of the final round which was held in Sofia. The next four European Championships were marked by rivalry between Soviet Union and East Germany. In 1983, playing at home, East Germany obtained a remarkable victory over Soviets after trailing 0-2 in a decisive match of the final round which was held in Rostock and won their maiden European title. Two years later Soviet team took revenge and returned European title after 3-0 victory over East Germany in a decisive match of the final round. But in 1987 East Germany won European Championship for second time after 3-2 victory over Soviet Union in a final march. The last European final between these national teams took place in 1989 in Stuttgart, West Germany. Soviet team won 3-1 and returned European title.

In the late 1980s, Soviet Union was managed to return status of volleyball superpower not only in Europe but also in the world by winning 1988 Olympic Games and 1990 World Championships. At the 1991 European Championship, Soviet team demonstrated overwhelming advantage not losing any single set in all matches – including 3-0 victories over unified Germany in semifinals and Netherlands in the final match. It however was their last participation at the competition. Soviet national team finished its history with remarkable statistics - they won 13 of 17 European Championships (not losing any single set in all matches at 6 of 13 victorious tournaments), suffered only 5 defeats in 116 matches, with set ratio 341:43.

Following the Soviet Union's dissolution in December 1991, Russia (official inheritor of the Soviet team) continued to dominate in Europe. It's remarkable that their main European rival at those times (who became runner-up for the three times in a row) was Croatia strengthened by some former Soviet players such as Irina Kirillova, Yelena Chebukina, Tatyana Sidorenko and Maria Likhtenstein. In 1995, playing at home, Netherlands managed to break this dominance after 3-1 victory over a Russia in semifinals and 3-0 victory over Croatia in a final match which was held in Arnhem. This victory became historical not only for Netherlands, but also for whole Western Europe. At the next two editions – in 1997 and 1999 – Russia returned at first positions after 3-0 victories over Croatia in both final matches. But in the 2001 European Championship final Russian team faced with stronger resistance from the new rising European power – Italy (who became World Champion next year). Russia achieved difficult victory in a five-set match. Nikolay Karpol won European title as head coach for the record seventh time (starting from 1979 victory).

After victory in 2001, the period of Russia's dominance came to end, and more national teams were managed to win their maiden European title. The next tournament was surprisingly won by Poland while Russia (2001 European Champion) and Italy (2002 World Champion) faced only in 5th place match. At the 2005 European Championship, Polish team proved non-randomness of this success after 3-2 victory over a Russia in semifinals and 3-1 victory over Italy in a final match. In 2007, Italy won their maiden European title by beating Serbia 3-0 in a final match. At next European Championships, Italian team repeated this success after 3-0 victory over Netherlands in a final. In 2011, playing at home, Serbia managed to win their maiden European title after remarkable 3-2 victory over Germany in a final match which was held in Belgrade. The next two European Championships held in 2013 and 2015 were won by Russia who managed to beat home teams in the both final matches (3-1 over Germany in Berlin and 3-0 over Netherlands in Rotterdam respectively).

The 2017 European Championship took place in Azerbaijan and Georgia. The 2019 European Championship was co-hosted by four contries for first time – Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Turkey. Both tournaments were finished with Serbia's success who also won World Championships in 2018. However, this winning streak was ended in 2021 when Italy managed to beat Serbia in a final match which was held at the opponent's home ground in Belgrade and thus winning their third European title in history.

The 32 European Championship tournaments have been won by eight nations. Russia have won nineteen times (thirteen as Soviet Union). The other European Championship winners are Italy and Serbia, with three titles each; Germany (as East Germany) and Poland, with two titles each; and Bulgaria, Czech Republic (as Czechoslovakia) and Netherlands, with one title each.

The current format of the competition involves a qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding two years, to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase, which is often called the European Championship Finals. 16 teams, including the automatically qualifying host nation(s), compete in the tournament phase for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about two weeks. For the 2019 edition the number of participants in the Finals was increased from 16 to 24.

Among all national teams, Russia is the only who participated in all 32 European Championships (seventeen as Soviet Union). Poland took part in 31 European Championships by missing only one tournament, Bulgaria participated 30 times and Netherlands – 29 times.

Results summary[]

Year Host Final 3rd place match Teams
Champions Score Runners-up 3rd place Score 4th place
1949
Details
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Poland
Round-robin
Romania
7
1950
Details
Bulgaria
Bulgaria

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
Bulgaria
6
1951
Details
France
France

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland

Yugoslavia
Round-robin
France
6
1955
Details
Romania
Romania

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
Soviet Union

Poland
Round-robin
Romania
6
1958
Details
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Poland
Round-robin
Romania
12
1963
Details
Romania
Romania

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland

Romania
Round-robin
East Germany
13
1967
Details
Turkey
Turkey

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
East Germany
15
1971
Details
Italy
Italy

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Poland
Round-robin
Bulgaria
18
1975
Details
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Hungary

East Germany
Round-robin
Bulgaria
12
1977
Details
Finland
Finland

Soviet Union
3–0
East Germany

Hungary
3–2
Poland
12
1979
Details
France
France

Soviet Union
Round-robin
East Germany

Bulgaria
Round-robin
Hungary
12
1981
Details
Bulgaria
Bulgaria

Bulgaria
Round-robin
Soviet Union

Hungary
Round-robin
East Germany
12
1983
Details
East Germany
East Germany

East Germany
Round-robin
Soviet Union

Hungary
Round-robin
Bulgaria
12
1985
Details
Netherlands
Netherlands

Soviet Union
Round-robin
East Germany

Netherlands
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia
12
1987
Details
Belgium
Belgium

East Germany
3–2
Soviet Union

Czechoslovakia
3–0
Bulgaria
12
1989
Details
West Germany
West Germany

Soviet Union
3–1
East Germany

Italy
3–0
Romania
12
1991
Details
Italy
Italy

Soviet Union
3–0
Netherlands

Germany
3–1
Italy
12
1993
Details
Czech Republic
Czech Republic

Russia
3–0
Czechoslovakia

Ukraine
3–1
Italy
12
1995
Details
Netherlands
Netherlands

Netherlands
3–0
Croatia

Russia
3–0
Germany
12
1997
Details
Czech Republic
Czech Republic

Russia
3–0
Croatia

Czech Republic
3–0
Bulgaria
12
1999
Details
Italy
Italy

Russia
3–0
Croatia

Italy
3–0
Germany
8
2001
Details
Bulgaria
Bulgaria

Russia
3–2
Italy

Bulgaria
3–1
Ukraine
12
2003
Details
Turkey
Turkey

Poland
3–0
Turkey

Germany
3–2
Netherlands
12
2005
Details
Croatia
Croatia

Poland
3–1
Italy

Russia
3–0
Azerbaijan
12
2007
Details
Belgium Luxembourg
Belgium / Luxembourg

Italy
3–0
Serbia

Russia
3–1
Poland
16
2009
Details
Poland
Poland

Italy
3–0
Netherlands

Poland
3–0
Germany
16
2011
Details
Italy Serbia
Italy / Serbia

Serbia
3–2
Germany

Turkey
3–2
Italy
16
2013
Details
Germany Switzerland
Germany / Switzerland

Russia
3–1
Germany

Belgium
3–2
Serbia
16
2015
Details
Netherlands Belgium
Netherlands / Belgium

Russia
3–0
Netherlands

Serbia
3–0
Turkey
16
2017
Details
Azerbaijan Georgia (country)
Azerbaijan / Georgia

Serbia
3–1
Netherlands

Turkey
3–1
Azerbaijan
16
2019
Details
Hungary Poland Slovakia Turkey
Hungary / Poland / Slovakia / Turkey

Serbia
3–2
Turkey

Italy
3–0
Poland
24
2021
Details
Serbia Bulgaria Croatia Romania
Serbia / Bulgaria / Croatia / Romania

Italy
3–1
Serbia

Turkey
3–0
Netherlands
24
2023
24

Total hosts[]

Hosts Nations (Year(s))
4  Bulgaria (1950, 1981, 2001, 2021*)
 Italy (1971, 1991, 1999, 2011*)
3  Belgium (1987, 2007*, 2015*)
 Netherlands (1985, 1995, 2015*)
 Romania (1955, 1963, 2021*)
 Turkey (1967, 2003, 2019*)
2  Croatia (2005, 2021*)
 Czech Republic (1993, 1997)
 Czechoslovakia (1949, 1958)
 France (1951, 1979)
 Poland (2009, 2019*)
 Serbia (2011*, 2021*)
1  Azerbaijan (2017*)
 East Germany (1983)
 Finland (1977)
 Georgia (2017*)
 Germany (2013*)
 Hungary (2019*)
 Luxembourg (2007*)
 Slovakia (2019*)
  Switzerland (2013*)
 West Germany (1989)
 Yugoslavia (1975)
* = co-hosts

Medals table[]

Euro Women's Championship 2015
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Soviet Union134017
2 Russia6039
3 Italy3238
4 Serbia3216
5 Poland24511
6 East Germany2417
7 Czechoslovakia1438
8 Netherlands1416
9 Bulgaria1023
10 Croatia0303
11 Turkey0235
12 Germany0224
13 Hungary0134
14 Belgium0011
 Czech Republic0011
 Romania0011
 Ukraine0011
 Yugoslavia0011
Totals (18 nations)32323296

Participating nations[]

[citation needed]

Team Czechoslovakia
1949
(7)
Bulgaria
1950
(6)
France
1951
(6)
Romania
1955
(6)
Czechoslovakia
1958
(12)
Romania
1963
(13)
Turkey
1967
(15)
Italy
1971
(18)
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
1975
(12)
Finland
1977
(12)
France
1979
(12)
Bulgaria
1981
(12)
East Germany
1983
(12)
Netherlands
1985
(12)
Belgium
1987
(12)
West Germany
1989
(12)
Italy
1991
(12)
Czech Republic
1993
(12)
Netherlands
1995
(12)
Czech Republic
1997
(12)
Italy
1999
(8)
Bulgaria
2001
(12)
Turkey
2003
(12)
Croatia
2005
(12)
 Albania 11th
 Austria 12th 12th 17th
 Azerbaijan Part of  Soviet Union 4th
 Belarus Part of  Soviet Union 8th 8th 11th
 Belgium 14th 12th 12th 12th
 Bulgaria 4th 5th 5th 5th 6th 4th 4th 7th 3rd 1st 4th 10th 4th 7th 7th 9th 5th 4th 7th 3rd 7th 9th
 Czech Republic See  Czechoslovakia 10th 3rd 10th 11th
 Croatia Part of  Yugoslavia 6th 2nd 2nd 2nd 9th 8th
 Denmark 13th 16th
 England 18th
 Finland 12th 12th
 France 5th 4th 9th 13th 11th 10th 8th 7th 10th 9th 8th
 Germany See  East Germany and  West Germany 3rd 5th 4th 10th 4th 11th 3rd 11th
 Greece 12th 8th 12th 12th
 Hungary 6th 6th 6th 6th 7th 5th 5th 2nd 3rd 4th 3rd 3rd 9th 10th
 Israel 8th 11th
 Italy 6th 11th 8th 9th 11th 8th 7th 5th 6th 3rd 4th 4th 6th 5th 3rd 2nd 6th 2nd
 Latvia Part of  Soviet Union 11th 12th 8th
 Netherlands 7th 5th 10th 9th 7th 9th 11th 10th 6th 9th 11th 3rd 5th 2nd 7th 1st 9th 5th 5th 4th 5th
 Poland 3rd 2nd 2nd 3rd 3rd 2nd 2nd 3rd 6th 4th 8th 5th 9th 7th 11th 9th 10th 9th 6th 8th 6th 1st 1st
 Romania 4th 5th 4th 4th 3rd 9th 7th 7th 6th 5th 7th 6th 11th 8th 4th 6th 10th 12th 6th 7th 8th 10th
 Russia See  Soviet Union 1st 3rd 1st 1st 1st 5th 3rd
 Slovakia Part of  Czechoslovakia 12th
 Spain 12th
 Sweden 15th 15th 12th
  Switzerland 13th 12th
 Turkey 10th 12th 12th 11th 11th 2nd 6th
 Ukraine Part of  Soviet Union 3rd 7th 7th 4th 9th
Discontinued nations
 Czechoslovakia 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 6th 3rd 2nd 5th 5th 7th 6th 8th 4th 3rd 5th 5th 2nd See  Czech Republic
 East Germany 8th 4th 4th 6th 3rd 2nd 2nd 4th 1st 2nd 1st 2nd See  Germany
 Serbia and Montenegro See  Yugoslavia 10th 7th
 Soviet Union 1st 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 1st See  Russia
 West Germany 11th 11th 10th 10th 10th 8th 9th 10th 5th 6th 9th 6th See  Germany
 Yugoslavia 3rd 7th 8th 14th 8th 9th 10th 11th 8th 12th See  Serbia and Montenegro
Team Czechoslovakia
1949
(7)
Bulgaria
1950
(6)
France
1951
(6)
Romania
1955
(6)
Czechoslovakia
1958
(12)
Romania
1963
(13)
Turkey
1967
(15)
Italy
1971
(18)
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
1975
(12)
Finland
1977
(12)
France
1979
(12)
Bulgaria
1981
(12)
East Germany
1983
(12)
Netherlands
1985
(12)
Belgium
1987
(12)
West Germany
1989
(12)
Italy
1991
(12)
Czech Republic
1993
(12)
Netherlands
1995
(12)
Czech Republic
1997
(12)
Italy
1999
(8)
Bulgaria
2001
(12)
Turkey
2003
(12)
Croatia
2005
(12)
Team Belgium
Luxembourg
2007
(16)
Poland
2009
(16)
Italy
Serbia
2011
(16)
Germany
Switzerland
2013
(16)
Belgium
Netherlands
2015
(16)
Azerbaijan
Georgia (country)
2017
(16)
Hungary
Poland
Slovakia
Turkey
2019
(24)
Serbia
Bulgaria
Croatia
Romania
2021
(24)
Total
 Albania 1
 Austria 3
 Azerbaijan 12th 12th 9th 15th 14th 4th 10th 24th 9
 Belarus 16th 15th 12th 9th 7th 22nd 13th 10
 Belgium 7th 11th 3rd 6th 14th 9th 14th 11
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 19th 1
 Bulgaria 11th 8th 14th 13th 13th 9th 8th 9th 30
 Czech Republic 9th 10th 8th 10th 11th 12th 15th 11
 Croatia 14th 16th 12th 5th 10th 11th 11th 10th 14
 Denmark 2
 England 1
 Estonia 23rd 1
 Finland 18th 18th 4
 France 8th 14th 10th 8th 21st 7th 17
 Georgia 16th 1
 Germany 6th 4th 2nd 2nd 5th 8th 6th 11th 16
 Greece 14th 22nd 6
 Hungary 12th 15th 20th 16th 18
 Israel 16th 3
 Italy 1st 1st 4th 6th 7th 5th 3rd 1st 26
 Latvia 3
 Netherlands 5th 2nd 7th 9th 2nd 2nd 5th 4th 29
 Poland 4th 3rd 5th 11th 8th 10th 4th 5th 31
 Portugal 24th 1
 Romania 12th 15th 13th 23rd 26
 Russia 3rd 6th 6th 1st 1st 6th 7th 6th 15
 Serbia 2nd 7th 1st 4th 3rd 1st 1st 2nd 8
 Slovakia 13th 13th 12th 17th 5
 Slovenia 16th 16th 2
 Spain 15th 9th 11th 16th 15th 21st 7
 Sweden 8th 4
  Switzerland 14th 19th 20th 5
 Turkey 10th 5th 3rd 7th 4th 3rd 2nd 3rd 15
 Ukraine 15th 13th 17th 12th 9
Discontinued nations
 Czechoslovakia See  Czech Republic 17
 East Germany See  Germany 12
 Serbia and Montenegro See  Serbia 2
 Soviet Union See  Russia 17
 West Germany See  Germany 12
 Yugoslavia See  Serbia and Montenegro 10

MVP by edition[]

Most successful players[]

Boldface denotes active volleyball players and highest medal count among all players (including these who not included in these tables) per type.

Multiple gold medalists[]

Rank Player Country From To Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Natalya Morozova  Soviet Union
 Russia
1991 2001 5 1 6
Yelena Tyurina (Batukhtina)  Soviet Union
 Russia
1989 2001 5 1 6
3 Yelena Chebukina (Ovchinnikova)  Soviet Union
 Russia
 Croatia
1983 1997 4 4 8
4 Valentina Ogiyenko  Soviet Union
 Russia
1983 1995 4 2 1 7
5 Aleksandra Chudina  Soviet Union 1949 1958 4 1 5
6 Yevgeniya Artamonova  Russia 1993 2001 4 1 5
Yelizaveta Tishchenko  Russia 1993 2001 4 1 5
8 Nina Smoleyeva  Soviet Union 1967 1977 4 4
 Soviet Union 1949 1958 4 4
10 Lyudmila Buldakova (Meshcheryakova)  Soviet Union 1955 1971 3 1 4
Lyudmila Chernyshyova  Soviet Union 1975 1981 3 1 4
Irina Ilchenko (Smirnova)  Soviet Union
 Russia
1987 1993 3 1 4
Nadezhda Radzevich (Zezyulya)  Soviet Union 1975 1981 3 1 4
Tatyana Sidorenko  Soviet Union
 Croatia
1985 1997 3 1 4

Multiple medalists[]

The table shows those who have won at least 5 medals in total at the European Championships.

Rank Player Country From To Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Yelena Chebukina (Ovchinnikova)  Soviet Union
 Russia
 Croatia
1983 1997 4 4 8
2 Valentina Ogiyenko  Soviet Union
 Russia
1983 1995 4 2 1 7
3 Natalya Morozova  Soviet Union
 Russia
1991 2001 5 1 6
Yelena Tyurina (Batukhtina)  Soviet Union
 Russia
1989 2001 5 1 6
5 Yelena Godina  Russia 1995 2007 3 3 6
6 Aleksandra Chudina  Soviet Union 1949 1958 4 1 5
7 Yevgeniya Artamonova  Russia 1993 2001 4 1 5
Yelizaveta Tishchenko  Russia 1993 2001 4 1 5
9 Eleonora Lo Bianco  Italy 1999 2009 2 2 1 5
Maja Ognjenović  Serbia 2007 2021 2 2 1 5
Ariane Radfan  East Germany
 Germany
1983 1991 2 2 1 5
Ute Steppin (Oldenburg)  East Germany
 Germany
1983 1991 2 2 1 5
13 Irina Kirillova (Parkhomchuk)  Soviet Union
 Croatia
1983 1997 1 4 5

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Italy triumph as the new European champions!". eurovolley.cev.eu. Retrieved 4 September 2021.

External links[]

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