Israel’s volleyball team beats Sweden to stay on track for Euro qualification

Israel’s men’s volleyball team continued its strong run in the European League, defeating Sweden 3-1 in North Macedonia and improving to four wins from four matches. The set scores were 25-16, 25-20, 22-25 and 25-11.

The result kept Israel, coached by Itamar Stein, in a strong position in the standings with qualification for the European Championship at stake. In this format, the top four teams in the group advance. The victory came a week after a tense five-set win over Norway, when Israel dropped a point but still prevailed 3-2.

Israel now heads to next weekend’s tournament in Kosovo, where it will face the host team and North Macedonia. Leading the way against Sweden were Shai Liberman with 21 points, Mark Rora with 20 and Nikita Maron with 11.

Stein said he was “very satisfied,” adding that the loss of two sets to Norway had been on the players’ minds and affected the third set against Sweden. He said the response in the fourth set was “amazing,” praised the team’s “peak performance,” and added, “I have no words to describe this group. I am proud of them and love them.” Looking ahead, he said, “I hope we qualify for the European Championship,” but stressed that the team can only control its own preparation and is aiming to recover well, train properly and collect six points next weekend.