C.D Indiana Games storms back to claim Europe Trophy women’s title

C.D Indiana Games did not just win the women’s final in Niš. It took the first punch, answered with three straight victories and finished the ETTU Europe Trophy Grand Finals with a perfect run that underlined how far the club has come in Europe’s second-tier club landscape.

At Hala Čair in Serbia, the Spanish side beat last year’s runners-up STK Josip Kolumbo Niš 3-1 on April 26, closing out a tournament held from April 24 to 26. The home club struck first when Chen Sun won the opening match, but that was as far as the momentum went. Marta Perales Gonzalez then beat Chen Sun 3-0, Haruna Ojio followed with a 3-0 win over Maria Dolgikh, and Roxana Istrate made it 3-1 with another 3-0 result against Anna Fejos before Ojio sealed the title by defeating Chen Sun 3-1 in the fourth match.

That finish mattered because the Europe Trophy is built to reward depth as much as headline names. ETTU places the competition as the third level of European club play, behind the Champions League and Europe Cup, and the format sends regional qualifiers into one Grand Final venue. In the women’s draw, eight clubs reached the final stage, which meant there was no room for a slow start, weak third option or shaky doubles-style rotation. Indiana Games handled that pressure by keeping its lineup stable, then trusting every player to deliver when the tie turned.

Roxana Istrate’s role was especially telling. The final was not won by one standout performance alone, but by a lineup that could absorb the opening setback and still stay composed against a host club with real pedigree. STK Josip Kolumbo Niš had come through the Niš regional stage unbeaten in individual matches and then backed that up with a 3-1 semifinal win over CDTM Hujase Jaén. Indiana Games answered with a 3-1 semifinal victory over Panathinaikos A.C. before taking the title match apart point by point.

The result says something broader about the women’s Europe Trophy scene. Emerging clubs are no longer just making up the numbers in regional qualification; they are arriving in the final venue with multinational squads, clear tactical plans and the depth to win under playoff stress. Indiana Games’ run in Niš showed exactly that, and the perfect record gave the title a sharper edge than a one-off upset.