Olympiacos Save Three Match Points to Win 3-2 Thriller on Santorini

By Taki Panos

Santorini is famous for sunsets, not tie-breaks, but on Saturday night the island served up both drama and a comeback. Olympiacos beat AO Thiras 3-2 in the opening round of the women's Volley League, winning the fifth set 16-14 after trailing 14-11, as Fosonline reported. The set scores read 25-21, 17-25, 23-25, 31-29 and 14-16 from the home side's point of view, and the whole thing lasted two hours and 32 minutes, per Ta Nea. Three match points down, and still the red and whites left the island winners.

This is the volleyball arm of the same multi-sport Olympiacos you know from football and basketball, and our guide to the Olympiacos sports club covers its many departments. The women's team won the treble in 2024-25, Proto Thema noted, but last spring it was knocked out in the playoff quarterfinals by ZAON, missing the semifinals for the first time in 20 years. SPORT24 called it the biggest upset of that season. So this opener mattered more than most, and it came far from Piraeus, on an island most visitors know only from our guide to Santorini.

The home side made it clear early that this would not be a stroll. AO Thiras jumped out to an 8-4 lead before Olympiacos levelled at 11-11 and briefly went ahead 13-12 on a Bannister block, Fosonline wrote. The hosts pulled away again late, at 22-19 and 23-20, and took the first set 25-21. Olympiacos answered with authority in the second, leading 6-2 and then 22-16, before Italian outside hitter Gaia Traballi closed it out with two straight points for 25-17, per the same report. One set each.

The third set looked like it was heading the visitors' way without much fuss. Olympiacos built a six-point cushion, with captain Michaela Mlejnková hammering away on the outside, and it still led 21-17 late on, according to Fosonline. Then the island side clawed back to 22-22 and 23-23. Kiriaki Terzoglou settled it, first with a block and then with an ace, to make it 25-23 and 2-1 in sets, Ta Nea reported. That is the kind of finish that tells you who has done this before.

The fourth set is where the night turned into a proper thriller. AO Thiras led 11-7 before Olympiacos ran off six straight points to go in front, per Ta Nea. The hosts surged again to 23-20, but Olympiacos fought back to 23-23, Taylor Bannister wiped out a set point at 24-24, and the visitors then held match point at 25-24, 27-26 and 29-28, Fosonline detailed. They could not convert any of them. AO Thiras took it 31-29 and sent the game to a fifth set. Moments like that can break a team.

It did not break this one, although it came close. Olympiacos led 11-9 in the tie-break, Ta Nea wrote, only for AO Thiras to storm back to 14-11 and stand one point from a famous opening night win. What followed was a five-point run. Terzoglou struck two aces in a row, Bannister added two kills, and Olympiacos closed it 16-14, according to Fosonline. From three match points down to a road win in a matter of minutes. Volleyball can be cruel, and wonderful.

The numbers back up what the eyes saw. Mlejnková led Olympiacos with 26 points, Bannister scored 23 and Traballi added 15, per Ta Nea. Terzoglou finished with 12 points, including four aces, four blocks and a perfect four for four in attack, SPORT24 reported. As a team, Olympiacos stuffed AO Thiras with 17 blocks, a figure Ta Nea called decisive. Credit to coach Manolis Skoulikaris and the hosts, who will take points off plenty of teams this season.

Head coach Branko Kovacevic sounded more relieved than triumphant afterward. "Truly, a very exciting match. The level of volleyball was good, not throughout, but at several points, especially considering it was the first match of the season," he said, as quoted by Fosonline (translated from Greek). "Usually, at this stage, there are more errors and more miscommunication. Both teams have changed quite a lot compared to last season, especially ours." A new group finding its way. Fair enough.

He was also honest about the venue and the problems his team faced. "It is well known that the Santorini court is always difficult. We have never managed to win easily here. The same thing happened tonight," Kovacevic said, per Fosonline (translated from Greek). "Santorini pushed us hard with their serve. For the first time this year, although we have not played many games yet, we had quite a few problems in reception." He added that the team's injury situation is improving every day. Serve reception is fixable. Character is harder to coach.

Elsewhere in round one, reigning champions Panathinaikos beat AEK 3-1, a night we covered in our story on the pink jerseys honoring Penny Rogka. Panionios won 3-1 away at Thetis Voulas, PAOK beat Elpis 3-1, and ZAON edged Apollonios in five sets, the league's official results showed. Markopoulo beat Aris in another tie-break despite a 40-point night from Aris' top scorer, while 16-year-old Eleni Alexoglou started for Aris and scored 15, SPORT24 noted. For some history, see our list of the top Greek volleyball players.

My take: Olympiacos did not play its best volleyball on Santorini, and that is exactly why this win could matter. Last season's quarterfinal exit showed how quickly a strong team can unravel, and Panathinaikos went on to win the title by sweeping ZAON in the finals series, ERT News reported. Saving three match points on the road, after blowing three of their own, says something about the mood in this new group. The reception issues need work. The fight looks real, and I would take that trade in October.

Next comes Europe. Olympiacos already won the Balkan Cup in Strumica, North Macedonia, with three straight-set victories, Naftemporiki reported, which earned a CEV Challenge Cup tie against Benfica. The first leg is set for October 27 to 29 at the Melina Merkouri hall in Rentis, with the return in Portugal a week later, according to Volleylove. "We have high ambitions in the CEV Challenge Cup," Kovacevic said, per Fosonline (translated from Greek). Keep an eye on our Greek Sports section for that tie and every big Greek result. Three match points saved. Not a bad way to start.

Sources: Fosonline, Ta Nea, SPORT24, Gazzetta, LEGA, Proto Thema, ERT News, Naftemporiki, Volleylove.

Image: Olympiacos F.C. crest, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).