13/09/2019 23:59
Bulgaria hammer out second shutout as EuroVolley rolls out in full swing
CEV EuroVolley 2019 Men
Luxembourg, September 13, 2019. With action in Pools B and D in Brussels and Rotterdam, respectively, getting underway on Friday, September 13, and Pools A and C in Montpellier and Ljubljana, respectively, delivering the second days of competition, CEV EuroVolley 2019 Men is now rolling in full swing. Bulgaria nailed their second straight-setter of the tournament, thus becoming the only team that has not lost a single set in two matches played. Spain’s Andres Jesus Villena fired away a tournament-high 34 points, despite his team’s five-set defeat, while Dutch captain Nimir Abdel-Aziz stunned Montenegro with a record nine aces in three sets.
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Italy’s Simone Giannelli celebrates
Pool A
• Despite the commanding score, Bulgaria struggled in the end of each set to win the match. Showing at times signs of fatigue and self-sufficiency, Silvano Prandi’s men still managed to keep a clean sheet, the Lions’ second straight-set win of the tournament.
• Martin Atanasov contributed 15 points to Bulgaria’s victory. Todor Skrimov added another 14, while Razvan Florentin Mihalcea (11 points) was the only Romanian to reach the double digits.
• Greece surprised Italy by winning the first set on a wide margin, but then things went “back to normal” and the Italians claimed the next three to emerge victorious for the second time in the competition.
• Both setters, Greece’s Dmytro Filippov and Italy’s Simone Giannelli, performed really well, while Osmany Juantorena top-scored 21 points towards the victory. The Greeks impressed with a total of eight aces.
Match Centres:
BUL vs ROU 3-0 (28-26, 25-20, 25-20)
ITA vs GRE 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-18)
Slovakia’s Peter Michalovic spikes against a Spanish double block
Pool B
• What was expected to be the big Pool B opener with the two big favourites playing against each other turned out to be a one-sided affair, with 2017 bronze medallists Serbia completely outplaying 2017 runners-up Germany in straight sets.
• Serbia’s Aleksandar Atanasijevic opened the game with an ace for the very first point on the way to a match-high of 14 points. His captain Nemanja Petric added another 12, including the closing point of the match, also an ace.
• A thrilling five-set battle between Slovakia and Spain could have gone either way and made the fans of both sides bite their nails all through an extended tiebreak before those who cheered for the Slovaks could celebrate with a precious victory.
• Opposites Andres Jesus Villena and Peter Michalovic engaged in a spectacular scoring race throughout the match, with the Spaniard emerging way ahead with a fantastic 34 points to his name against “only” 26 for the Slovak.
• Cheered on by a fantastic crowd of supporters of both sides, doing the Mexican wave together and enjoying the Volleyball party at Paleis 12, Belgium and Austria offered them a good game, in which the home side emerged with a straight-set victory.
• Belgium's Hendrik Tuerlinckx and Austria's Thomas Zass and Alexander Berger shared the top-scoring honours of the match with 11 points apiece, while Tomas Rousseaux put away four of the home squad’s seven stuff blocks that made the biggest difference in this game.
Match Centres:
SRB vs GER 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-15)
SVK vs ESP 3-2 (25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 16-25, 18-16)
BEL vs AUT 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-17)
Russia’s Victor Poletaev and Dmitriy Muserskiy on the block
Pool C
• Turkey showed a lot of determination and solid performance against North Macedonia on the way to a convincing three-set victory, their first of the tournament, after losing to Russia on Thursday.
• With 19 points on his tally, including three aces and one block, Turkey’s Adis Lagumdzija was the best scorer of the match. Aleksandar Ljaftov managed 10 points for North Macedonia.
• Making use of a total of 11 serving aces, Russia shook off a first-set scare against Belarus to turn things around to a four-set victory, their second in the pool.
• Victor Poletaev and Dmitriy Muserskiy scored 16 points each towards Russia’s win to top the charts of the match. Artur Udrys and Pavel Kuklinski were Belarus's most prolific players with 11 points apiece.
Match Centres:
MKD vs TUR 0-3 (20-25, 23-25, 13-25)
BLR vs RUS 1-3 (25-23, 17-25, 22-25, 10-25)
Dutch captain Nimir Abdel-Aziz nails one of his nine aces against Montenegro
Pool D
• Ukraine and Czech Republic opened Pool D for business with a lasting four-setter, which brought the Ukrainians their first victory of the tournament.
• The leading scorer of the match was the 21-year-old Dmytro Viietskyi, who hit 23 and added two aces and a block for Ukraine, a break-out performance for the youngster. Jan Hadrava and Donovan Dzavoronok led the way for the Czechs with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
• Fans of both Poland and Estonia packed the stands at Rotterdam Ahoy as the reigning world champions allowed only one set to the opponents, despite the fact that coach Vital Heynen sidelined four of his star players for the start of the match.
• Poland’s Artur Szalpuk led the match scorers with 23 points. On Estonia’s side, Robert Täht reached 13 points.
• The Netherlands executed a relatively easy win over Montenegro, for whom this was the first ever match at the finals of a European Championship.
• The match was a spectacular ace show with Nimir Abdel-Aziz in the lead. The captain of the home team scored an incredible 27 points, of which nine aces (!) and five blocks, in just 65 minutes. Marko Bojic was the leading scorer for Montenegro with 11 points.
Match Centres:
CZE vs UKR 1-3 (21-25, 19-25, 25-19, 22-25)
EST vs POL 1-3 (22-25, 27-25, 22-25, 17-25)
NED vs MNE 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-15)
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