Ljubljana, Slovenia, September 26, 2019. Another big Volleyball party in Ljubljana turned into a victory celebration for the majority of the about 11,500 fans on the stands at the Stozice, and in fact a whole nation, as the team of Slovenia delivered another sensational upset. After Bulgaria in the eighthfinals and Russia in the quarterfinals of EuroVolley 2019, it was world champions Poland’s turn to suffer a four-set defeat at the hands of an inspired home squad. Both teams are set to travel to Paris where the bronze medal match and the grand final will take place on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Their opponents will emerge from the second semifinal, between Serbia and France, to be played on Friday, also in Paris, at the magnificent AccorHotels Arena.
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 match between Serbia and France on Friday, September 25.
POL vs SLO 1-3 (23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 23-25) in Ljubljana, Slovenia
Poland could not hold on to a five-point lead they opened early into the first set. In the money time, the home side scored four in a row to step ahead in the score, 24-22, for the first time in the set before closing it off at 25-23 with a block by Alen Pajenk for the last point. The second set went quite the opposite way. Slovenia held the upper hand for the most part to be the first to reach set point, but Poland reacted with three in a row (two blocks and an ace) to turn the tide just in time for a 26-24 ending. After 6-6, set three was all about Slovenia. The home squad stepped up their blocking effort and with captain Tine Urnaut on fire (seven points, including the winning one) cruised to a 25-22 close. The fourth set went quite level through 22-22, when Urnaut followed up on a successful spike with an ace to bring up match point. Two serving errors later, Slovenia rejoiced with a 25-23 victory. Poland’s Wilfredo Leon was the best scorer of the match, with 22 points to his name, including four aces and three stuff blocks. Tine Urnaut scored 18 times for the winner.