Sweden were riding high after a record crowd for a women's volleyball match in the country saw them beat Montengro in straight sets in their first Group D match, but a tougher encounter looked in store when Slovakia opened a 4-1 lead in the first set.
However, the hosts responded by closing the gap and opening a 13-9 lead of their own, and didn't give up the advantage again to take the first set, 25-23. The Swedes led the second set 14-13 before a 9-1 run put them in control of what eventually became a 25-16 victory.
But this time there would be no straight-sets win, as Slovakia turned an 11-10 lead in the third to 17-10, winning the set by dropping 14 points to end Sweden's run of five successive set wins at the Scandinavium.
Things went from bad to worse for the home side in a very tight fourth set, where neither side led by more than two points throughout until the very last rally, which the Slovaks took to win 25-22 and set up a deciding set.
Needing 15 points to win, Sweden got off to the perfect start, taking a 5-1 lead, and though Slovakia made inroads to make it 9-6, Sweden then took six successive points to claim a 15-6 set win, and 3-2 in the match, as Isabelle Haak top-scored with 38 points.
Next up, Sweden take on the other unbeaten side in Group D, pre-tournament favourites Italy, who have secured 3-0 wins over Croatia and Montenegro thus far.
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