diff --git a/operators/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/pvc/pvc.go b/operators/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/pvc/pvc.go
index eb99fc45db..a05eda97cf 100644
--- a/operators/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/pvc/pvc.go
+++ b/operators/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/pvc/pvc.go
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ import (
 
 var (
 	log                         = logf.Log.WithName("pvc")
-	standardStorageClassname    = "standard"
 	ErrNotNodeNameLabelNotFound = errors.New("node name not found as a label on the PVC")
 )
 
@@ -107,11 +106,13 @@ func compareResources(claim, candidate *corev1.PersistentVolumeClaim) bool {
 }
 
 func compareStorageClass(claim, candidate *corev1.PersistentVolumeClaim) bool {
-	if claim.Spec.StorageClassName != nil {
-		return reflect.DeepEqual(claim.Spec.StorageClassName, candidate.Spec.StorageClassName)
+	if claim.Spec.StorageClassName == nil {
+		// volumeClaimTemplate has no storageClass set: it should use the k8s cluster default
+		// since we don't know that default, we fallback to reusing any available volume
+		// from the same cluster (whatever the storage class actually is)
+		return true
 	}
-	// No storage class name in the claim, only match if the claim is a standard storage class
-	return standardStorageClassname == *candidate.Spec.StorageClassName
+	return reflect.DeepEqual(claim.Spec.StorageClassName, candidate.Spec.StorageClassName)
 }
 
 // compare two maps but ignore the label.PodNameLabelName key
diff --git a/operators/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/pvc/pvc_test.go b/operators/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/pvc/pvc_test.go
index 4200ecd000..119f99a95d 100644
--- a/operators/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/pvc/pvc_test.go
+++ b/operators/pkg/controller/elasticsearch/pvc/pvc_test.go
@@ -203,14 +203,14 @@ func TestOrphanedPersistentVolumeClaims_FindOrphanedVolumeClaim(t *testing.T) {
 						"elasticsearch-sample-es-6bw9qkw77k-"+volume.ElasticsearchDataVolumeName,
 						sampleLabels1,
 						"1Gi",
-						&standardStorageClassname,
+						nil,
 					),
 					*newPVC(
 						"elasticsearch-sample-es-6qg4hmd9dj",
 						"elasticsearch-sample-es-6qg4hmd9dj-"+volume.ElasticsearchDataVolumeName,
 						sampleLabels1,
 						"1Gi",
-						&standardStorageClassname,
+						nil,
 					),
 				}},
 			args: args{
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ func TestOrphanedPersistentVolumeClaims_FindOrphanedVolumeClaim(t *testing.T) {
 				"elasticsearch-sample-es-6bw9qkw77k-"+volume.ElasticsearchDataVolumeName,
 				sampleLabels1,
 				"1Gi",
-				&standardStorageClassname,
+				nil,
 			),
 		}, {
 			name: "Labels mismatch",
@@ -241,14 +241,14 @@ func TestOrphanedPersistentVolumeClaims_FindOrphanedVolumeClaim(t *testing.T) {
 						"elasticsearch-sample-es-6bw9qkw77k-"+volume.ElasticsearchDataVolumeName,
 						sampleLabels2,
 						"1Gi",
-						&standardStorageClassname,
+						nil,
 					),
 					*newPVC(
 						"elasticsearch-sample-es-6qg4hmd9dj",
 						"elasticsearch-sample-es-6qg4hmd9dj-"+volume.ElasticsearchDataVolumeName,
 						sampleLabels2,
 						"1Gi",
-						&standardStorageClassname,
+						nil,
 					),
 				}},
 			args: args{
@@ -313,14 +313,14 @@ func TestOrphanedPersistentVolumeClaims_FindOrphanedVolumeClaim(t *testing.T) {
 						"elasticsearch-sample-es-6bw9qkw77k-"+volume.ElasticsearchDataVolumeName,
 						sampleLabels1,
 						"1Gi",
-						&standardStorageClassname,
+						nil,
 					),
 					*newPVC(
 						"elasticsearch-sample-es-6qg4hmd9dj",
 						"elasticsearch-sample-es-6qg4hmd9dj-"+volume.ElasticsearchDataVolumeName,
 						sampleLabels1,
 						"1Gi",
-						&standardStorageClassname,
+						nil,
 					),
 				}},
 			args: args{