Zlín, Czech Republic, April 9, 2018. All games on the third competition day of the #EuroVolleyU18M in Zlin were played in five sets as Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Germany seized victories over Greece, Belarus and Turkey respectively. Germany have a perfect record of three wins in as many matches - the only side to have achieved this feat in Pool I.
Live streaming of all matches is available here.
Bulgaria vs. Greece 3-2 (22-25, 25-19, 26-24, 22-25, 15-13)
As both teams of Pool I won their games yesterday, they wanted to keep the winning streak alive. Bulgaria looked better in the first set, but Greece managed an upset as they took the lead after 20-20 and later won 25-22. For the upcoming sets, the team, who managed to take the lead early in the set, were victorious. The tiebreaker, however, was the set of emotions and unforced errors, in which Bulgaria was more successful.
Bulgarian libero Simeon Dobrev, who seems to be the keeper of the team spirit, shared: "It was a really hard match, but the European Championship for us has only started. We will play better, in my opinion, in next matches. Our goal is to play in the finals and definitely to have medal, so we need to be confident."
After the game the coach of the Greeks Stefanos Nanas admitted: "It was very important for us to look into the eyes of our opponent. That was our first step. In the end of the third and fifth sets we did mistakes and that is not the way, how we can play against Bulgaria. But to play a tiebreak with a country, which has so many players on the World volleyball scene, is a good thing. We took one point and we will see what will happen against Germany and Belarus."
Belarus vs. Czech Republic 2-3 (25-22, 21-25, 20-25, 25-16, 16-18)
Since Czech Republic is the 2017 CEV U19 European champion, there is an obvious pressure on the local team here in Zlín to continue the legacy, as the age groups were shifted and from this year on, boys will compete for the U18 title instead of U19. In this game their opponents were the Belarussians, who have been bold about their high ambitions in this championship, but still haven't recorded any wins. In result the statistics for this game are rather peculiar, with one team showing clear dominance in the first three sets. Team Belarus managed to change the course of the fourth set in their favour and move the game into a tiebreak. The final set kept the spectators on their feet, as the rallies were really intense, the support helped the Czechs take the set and game after two unsuccessful match balls for Belarus.
Anton Sushynski, the setter and captain of Belarus played a key role in the events late in the fourth set: "Both teams do not have a lot of experience. We fought until the end, but Czech Republic had more chances."
Head coach of the Czechs Jiří Zach: "We started really badly. All the teams play against us better, because of the crowd and the atmosphere here. In the fourth set we were up 9-6 and afterwards number 14 (Yauheni Hretski) served well and we could not get out of this situation. Suddenly we got scared, but they started to defend very well. The fifth set was more like a fight of who will be more patient and lucky. This match keeps us in the fight for a position among the top four of this tournament."
Turkey vs. Germany 2-3 (17-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19, 16-18)
The final match of the day followed the Pool I traditions and was a display of fine volleyball in five sets. From the first points the teams took care of good team spirit, support from the bench and were selfless by running into the advertisement banners to save the balls whenever needed. The first set passed as Germany desired, in the second both teams took turns in leading, but Germany proved to be successful once again. In the following sets Turkey managed to mobilise their strengths and bring the game into a tiebreak. The fifth set was a tight one and eventually the team that could keep their head cool won.
Hüseyin Düzceler, coach of Turkey, could see the silver lining after the loss: "This game was very important to us and I am really sorry that we lost. But the tiebreak is nothing bad, we still won one point. I hope that we win the next two games taking three points and this point will be important too in the end."
His colleague from Germany Matus Kalny: "This match had two parts. Until 2-0 we played very well, our volleyball, but afterwards we stopped to serve properly and our opponent used it against us. When they receive, they have very good attack. In the fifth set we came back to our game and started to serve well again. We were luckier as both teams had match balls."
The games will resume on Wednesday with the pool play and reach the climax on April 15 when the eventual champions will be crowned in Zlin.
Tickets to attend the matches of #EuroVolleyU18M in Zlin are available on Ticketportal. The price for a daily ticket in the pool stage stands at 50 CZK, while tickets for the semi-finals and medal matches cost 100 CZK (approximately € 2 and 4, respectively). The price for a ticket valid for the whole tournament is 300 CZK (about € 12). Children and teenagers until 16 years of age enjoy free entrance to the tournament. Tickets are available for purchase here.
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