Croatia showed they were not going to make it easy for the Swedish volleyball women to reach the playoffs during Tuesday's match in Scandinavium. The opponents made sure to keep a tight block on superstar Isabelle Haak and started strongly with a 2-0 lead in the set.
Then things started to loosen up for Sweden, who fought their way to victory in the third set and then tied the score at 2-2.
The first two sets weren't that fun, it was very frustrating when nothing was right. It was hard to get it right, Isabelle Haak told SVT.
But we started to serve better and find better solutions. It was strong of the team to come back after the difficult situation.
Broke own European Championship record
Haak held the previous points record for a single European Championship match with 42. She now beat that by ten.
"Great, it wasn't something I was aiming for, but it was a long match so there was room for a few more points," she says.
After two set victories, Sweden advanced to the playoffs thanks to a bonus point.
But then the comeback to victory was also completed.
It's mostly a relief now that we managed to tie it together in the end, says Hilda Gustafsson.
She says that the mental strength Sweden showed by turning around a seemingly hopeless situation is something the national team has built up over time.
We have shown several times that we have been able to make tough recoveries, it builds self-confidence, she says.
Playoffs in Brno
Four of the six teams in Sweden's group will advance to the playoffs in Brno. Tuesday's win means that Sweden, at worst, ends up in third place in the group. This is the best result the Swedish women's national team has achieved in a European Championship group stage.
With the win, there is a chance to advance to second place in the group, provided there is a victory in the group finale against France on Thursday.
The round of 16 will be played on Sunday or Monday.
