18/09/2019 23:59
Finland, Germany, Greece, Ukraine make next round of EuroVolley 2019
CEV EuroVolley 2019 Men
Luxembourg, September 18, 2019. Four more eighthfinalists of CEV EuroVolley 2019 Men emerged on Wednesday as Pools A and C drew to an end, while Pools B and D held their penultimate competition day. Finland, Germany, Greece and Ukraine reserved their spots among the best 16 on the continent to join the teams of Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey, who qualified on the previous days. The remaining two vacancies will be filled by Slovakia or Spain and by Czech Republic or Montenegro.
Four of the 8th Final match-ups were also confirmed, with France entertaining Finland on Saturday and Italy taking on Turkey on Sunday in Nantes, and Slovenia hosting Bulgaria and Russia facing Greece, both on Saturday, in Ljubljana.
More on the event website at eurovolley.cev.eu, on EuroVolleyTV and on CEV’s social media...
Click here for a comprehensive TV schedule of the matches due to take place on Thursday, September 19.
Pool A
• In a fascinating turn of events, Greece snatched the last available eighthfinal spot in Pool A, without even coming out on the court on the last competition day. Romania and Portugal got the job done for them instead. The Romanians won in four sets, so the three teams ended up with exact same numbers of wins, ranking points and set ratios. So it went down to comparing the point ratios and Greece got it by a split hair. Had Portugal scored just one more point, it would have been them celebrating with a berth among the best 16.
• Alexandre Ferreira himself contributed 27 points to Portugal’s tally, while Robert Adrian Aciobanitei was Romania’s top scorer on 20 points, including three aces.
• The math was way simpler in determining the first place in the pool. It would go to the winner of the last match on the programme and that was France. In front of over 7,000 spectators, the hosts mastered a four-set victory over Italy to go through the first stage of the tournament undefeated. The Italians, on 4-1, finished second.
• Italy’s Ivan Zaytsev struck 21 times. Earvin Ngapeth played only in the first three sets of the match, enough to lead the scorers on the French side with 15 points, including four aces.
Match Centres:
POR vs ROU 1-3 (21-25, 25-19, 18-25, 23-25)
FRA vs ITA 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22)
Ngapeth in action
Pool B
• Germany shut out Slovakia to cement themselves among the top three teams in Pool B and, thus, advance to the round of 16. The Slovaks finished the pool on a 2-3 win-loss record and their fate will be decided in Thursday’s match between Germany and Spain. Any win would put the Spaniards above Slovakia in the final standings and among the last 16 of EuroVolley 2019.
• Slovakia’s Matej Patak was the best scorer of the match on 17 points. With 15 apiece, Christian Fromm and Simon Hirsch shared the honours on the winners’ side.
• A great Belgium was outplayed by an out-of-this-world Serbia in a spectacular three-setter at Antwerp’s Lotto Arena on Wednesday. Masterfully led by setter Nikola Jovovic, the Serbs claimed their fourth win of the tournament and secured the top spot in the pool’s final standings a day before their last pool match with Austria. The hosts finished on a 4-1 win-loss record in second place.
• Serbia’s Aleksandar Atanasijevic became the best scorer of the match, with a total of 18 points to his name. Captain Sam Deroo led the Belgian scorers with 13 points.
Match Centres:
GER vs SVK 3-0 (25-23, 30-28, 25-19)
BEL vs SRB 0-3 (19-25, 21-25, 19-25)
Germany’s Simon Hirsch spikes past the block of Slovakia’s Matej Patak
Pool C
• In front of 10,731 spectators, Russia defeated hosts Slovenia in straight sets to finish Pool C on top of the standings with a perfect record of five wins in five matches. The home side ended in second place with three victories and two losses.
• Victor Poletaev impressed with five aces towards a total of 13 points to share the top scorer honours with his teammate Dmitrii Volkov.
• Inspired by many of their fans on the stands, Finland took the last eighthfinal vacancy available to Pool C by claiming a 3-2 victory over Turkey in the last match on the programme, thus surpassing North Macedonia on set ratio for the fourth place in the final standings. Also on a 2-3 record, the Turks have one more point at hand to take the third place.
• Turkey’s Adis Lagumdzija tallied a fantastic 40 points to top the charts, while Tommi Siirilä was Finland’s top scorer on 17 points.
Match Centres:
SLO vs RUS 0-3 (21-25, 21-25, 21-25)
FIN vs TUR 3-2 (25-20, 15-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-12)
Finland’s Urpo Sivula
Pool D
• Ukraine delivered an emphatic shutout of Estonia to claim their third victory (in four matches) in Pool D, as well as a place among the eighthfinalists. Estonia finished bottom of the pool without a single win in five games.
• Ukraine's Oleh Plotnytskyi (15 points, of which five aces) and Dmytro Viietskyi (14 points, of which three blocks) became the leading scorers of the match.
• Czech Republic upset hosts Netherlands in a thrilling five-setter to stamp their second victory in the pool and greatly increase their chances of making the cut for the next round. To secure the fourth place in the final pool standings, all they need is to win two sets against the other contender, Montenegro, on Thursday. The Dutch finished the pool on a 3-2 win-loss record and face the risk of dropping to third place, if Ukraine beat leaders Poland.
• Netherlands' Nimir Abdel-Aziz (29 points, including seven aces and four blocks) and Czech Republic's Jan Hadrava (26 points - four aces, three blocks) and Donovan Dzavoronok (24 points - four aces) were the leading scorers of the match.
Match Centres:
UKR vs EST 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-14)
NED vs CZE 2-3 (18-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-22, 14-16)
Czech Republic celebrate victory over the Netherlands
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