Italy met Belgium for the fifth time in the history of the tournament in Belgrade in Serbia, with the Italians winning three of the previous encounters.

Belgium was significantly weakened for the match as it was without star player Brit Herbots.

After an initial back-and-forth, Italy surged into an 8-4 lead in the first set.

Gert van de Broek's team tried to get back into the game but were constantly met by a steadfast Italian defence on every occasion.

Italy went on to convincingly win the opening set 25-14 as Chirichela Cristia and Paola Egonu scored five and seven points respectively.

There was a change of momentum in the second set as the Belgians found their composure to win 25-23 and level the match.

Italy became completely ruthless in the third set despite committing seven service errors as the team won 25-17.

The fourth set was a confirmation of Italy's strength as it took control from the first point and quickly brought the match to a close with a 25-12 victory.

Italy will face Russia in the last quarter-final which is set to be contested in the Belgrade Arena following the country's battle against Belarus.

The teams were inseparable in the first set, but Arina Federovtseva smashed three consecutive aces to help Russia win 27-25.

Russia then recovered from a four-point deficit in the second set to win by a five-point margin 25-20.

Belarus finally got into gear in the third set as it won 25-19 to keep its hopes alive.

However, Irina Kapustina's side shrugged off its complacency to put an end to the game in a nail-biting fourth set 25-23.

The result extends Russia's EuroVolley winning streak to seven against Belarus.