19/09/2019 23:59
Czech Republic, Spain snatch last tickets to EuroVolley eighthfinals
CEV EuroVolley 2019 Men
Luxembourg, September 19, 2019. Czech Republic and Spain became the last two teams to secure their spots in the CEV EuroVolley 2019 Men eightfinals on Thursday’s last competition day of the pool stage. Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine booked the other 14 tickets to the next round on the previous days. Also on Thursday, Czech Republic’s Jan Hadrava delivered a tournament-high of 10 aces in the five-set loss to Montenegro.
With the conclusion of the battles in Pools B and D, the remaining four eighthfinal matchups emerged. In Antwerp, Serbia will play against Czech Republic and hosts Belgium will entertain Ukraine. Over in Apeldoorn, Poland will take on Spain, while the Netherlands will face Germany.
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Pool B
• Spain snatched the last available ticket to the eighthfinals of EuroVolley 2019. Facing a do-or-die situation in their last match of the pool stage, the inspired Red Lynxes mastered a four-set victory over Germany to advance to the last 16, leaving Slovakia out of contention.
• Spain’s Andres Jesus Villena topped the scorers on a total of 20 points. Simon Hirsch reached 15 on the German side.
• Serbia won the last match in Pool B emphatically in straight sets over out-going Austria to finish the pool unbeaten in five matches. The Austrians were forced to conclude their participation in EuroVolley 2019 empty-handed.
• 18 points, of which three aces, made Drazen Luburic the biggest point-maker on the winning side. However, Thomas Zass was the overall best scorer of the match on 20 points, including three stuff blocks and two aces.
Match Centres:
ESP vs GER 3-1 (25-22, 25-20, 18-25, 25-19)
SRB vs AUT 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-20)
Spain triumph as eighthfinallists
Pool D
• Czech Republic needed to win at least two sets against Montenegro to take the fourth place in the pool standings, and that’s exactly what they did. With the Balkan squad winning by 3-2, both teams finished on a 2-3 win-loss record, but the Czechs have six points, while the Montenegrins stand on five.
• Czech Republic’s Jan Hadrava impressed with a fantastic 10 aces towards a match total of 39 points. Milos Culafic scored 22 times for the winners.
• Poland showed no desire to make calculations despite having already secured first place in the pool. The reigning world champions opted for an emphatic three-set victory over Ukraine to finish on top of the pool unbeaten and cement the Ukrainians into the third place.
• Polish substitute Dawid Konarski was the best scorer of the match on 10 points, while everybody on the Polish roster, except for the two liberos, signed their names among the point-makers.
Match Centres:
CZE vs MNE 2-3 (23-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-21, 13-15)
POL vs UKR 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-15)
Montenegro happy to finish their maiden EuroVolley appearance with a victory
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