In das erste Match ging für Spanien das Youngster-Duo Daniela Álvarez und Tania Moreno, die sich derzeit mit dem Titel der U22-Europameisterinnen schmücken dürfen gegen die gleichaltrigen Lettinnen Anete Namike und Varvara Brailko an den Start, die in Wien ihr Debut geben. Den ersten Satz entschieden die Spanierinnen mit 21:13 eindeutig für sich. In diesem Satz konnten sie mit zwei Ace Services brillieren.
Im zweiten Satz zeigte sich ebenfalls von Beginn an ein klarer Vorsprung der Spanierinnen. Die Lettinnen wirkten als kämen sie in der Wiener Red Bull Beach Arena nicht so richtig in den Flow. In diesem Match glänzten Álvarez/Moreno mit zwei Blocks und einem weiteren Ace Service und zeigten eine Side Out Quote von über 80 Prozent. Wenig überraschend also, dass sich die 20-jährigen, spanischen Damen den zweiten Punkt holten. Das Ergebnis endete wie im ersten Satz bei 21:13.
The second match was contested by the veterans and No. 1s of the respective nations for Latvia and Spain. Spain's Angela Lobato and Belén Carro, who captured fifth place at the Challenger in Tlaxcala and ninth place at the Elite16 in Gstaad, faced Anastasija Kravcenoka and Tina Graudina, who played their way to fourth place at last year's A1 CEV Volleyball European Championships in Vienna.
In the first set, the two nations alternated points until the Latvians overtook the Spaniards after the seventh point in the tie and took the helm. In their usual manner, the Latvians showed their blocking skills, namely four times, and reached a 7-point lead at the end with 21:14, thus winning the first set.
The turning point came in the second set, when the Spanish first scored, but the Latvians quickly caught up and the two nations took turns fighting for the lead until point 8. After the technical timeout, the Latvians were able to build a lead and ultimately initiated a golden set with a 4-point advantage of 21:17.
In the Golden Set, where the winners of the second match were used, things really heated up and the players created goose bumps in the stadium as the match went head-to-head once again. The Latvians gave away a point when they made a service error, which allowed the Spaniards to take a 7-5 advantage in points. The first match point came at a score of 14:11 for Spain. After a ball in the net and a block by Graudina, the Latvian team caught up to tie the score 14:14. Spain, in turn, managed to score the 15th point and so began another match point series, which caused a stir among the fans. After the incredible 11th match point for Latvia, they managed to take the two-point lead, securing the victory.
