Teams were seeded following the Serpentine system according to their European ranking as of January 1, 2015.[1]
Twelve qualified nations were drawn into two groups, each consisting of six teams. After a robin-round, the four highest-placed teams in each group advanced to a knock-out round to decide the medals.
Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 match points for the winner, 0 match points for the loser
Match won 3–2: 2 match points for the winner, 1 match point for the loser
The teams who rank 1st in each pool played against the teams who rank 4th in the other pool.
The 2nd place teams in pool A played against the 2nd or 3rd place teams in the pool B, determined by drawing of lots. The remaining teams played each other.