Luxembourg, April 29, 2018. Belarus, Germany, Finland, Italy and Turkey became the last five teams that advanced directly to the finals of the 2018 CEV U20 Volleyball European Championship - Men, which will take place in the Netherlands and Belgium from July 14 through 22. They booked their tickets to #EuroVolleyU20M on Sunday to follow in the steps of France, Portugal and Russia who qualified on Saturday.
The runners-up in the eight second qualification round pools – Czech Republic, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Spain – will battle for the two remaining vacancies in the third qualification round scheduled for June 28 through July 1.
Pool A in Corigliano Calabro (ITA)
Spain defeated an excellent Bulgaria in a five-set drama to secure both the second place in the pool and a spot in the third qualification round for themselves and the ticket to the #EuroVolleyU20M finals for Italy, before the hosts even played their last match of the tournament in Corigliano Calabro. Still, the Italians made sure they finished victorious and did so with a straight-set win over Switzerland.
Spain vs. Bulgaria 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 19-25, 25-17, 15-12)
Spain made a strong start and won the first set. Bulgaria turned things around by winning the second and the third sets. In the fourth set and in the tie-breaker, the Iberians made life difficult for the skilled Bulgarian team and persevered to win the match. The top scorer of the match was Bulgaria’s Asparuh Asparuhov with 25 points. 20 points were landed by captain Jordi Ramón Ferragut for the winning side.
Switzerland vs. Italy 0-3 (22-25, 12-25, 20-25)
In the first set the Swiss played with rhythm and desire. But Italy were not just watching and maintained the lead through the most part of the set, closing it at 25-22 with an ace by Daniele Lavia. In a one-sided second set Italy left Switzerland far behind on the way to a 25-12 win. The third set was quite spectacular, with Switzerland playing well again. However, Italy put a lot of precision in both offence and defence to finish it off in the best possible way – 25-20 and 3-0 – setting off the fan celebrations on the stands, followed by many hugs and souvenir photos. Lorenzo Cortesia scored nine times for Italy to top the charts.
Pool B in Anapa (RUS)
Israel qualified for the third round as the Pool B runners-up after a speedy straight-set victory over Hungary in the direct clash for the second place in Anapa. Russia who secured their ticket to the finals on Saturday, confirmed their superiority in their home pool on Sunday by claiming their third win of the tournament.
Hungary vs. Israel 0-3 (14-25, 19-25, 18-25)
Israel established a comfortable 6-1 lead with backcourt spikes by Enosh Shtift finding holes in the Hungarian defence. Coach Tibor Tomanoczy used a time-out, but Israel protected their advantage. Israeli spiker Ido David went through the Hungarian block for 16-9 at the second technical time-out. Tomanoczy made several substitutions, but it did not help and Israel claimed the first set. The situation changed dramatically in the second set. Hungary regrouped and took the lead with spikes by Kristóf Horváth. Israel equalised at 10-10 and, refraining from unforced mistakes, went 16-13 ahead. The Israeli spikers, spear-headed by David, continued strong to close the set and double the lead. Hungary started the third set much stronger than the previous two, but after a time-out for coach Yossef Geva, Israel improved to 8-7. With David serving, Israel managed a 12-8 lead, before extending it to 16-10. Despite all efforts of Hungary to cope with the pressure, Israel finished it all off at 25-18. Ido David was the best scorer with 18 points.
Tibor Tomanoczy, coach of Hungary: “I would like to congratulate the team of Israel for this victory. Today they were better than we were. They did not let us show the way we can play.”
Yossef Geva, coach of Israel: “We played a very good match today and we won it.”
Ido David, player of Israel: “We wanted to win and we did it! Hungary are a very good team, but we played as a real team and won the match.”
Russia vs. Estonia 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 27-25, 25-14)
Russia started the match with a 10-5 lead after powerful attacks by Vitalii Dikarev. Estonia was not able to withstand the storm of the Russian spikers and they extended their advantage to 16-8. In the conclusive moments, Estonian setter Karlo-Remy Kallend scored two aces and forced Russian coach Andrey Nozdrin to use a time-out, before Russia won the set 25-17. In the second set Russia’s young players lost concentration and Estonia went 10-6 ahead thanks to attacks by Tarvo Täht and Devin Põlluste. Russia managed to tie it at 11-11 thanks to the spiking skills of Dmitrii Lyzik, but poor reception helped Estonia regain control for a 25-20 win. Estonia started the third set strong again, but Andrey Nozdrin made several substitutions and Russia caught up at 12-12 and started gaining advantage until Timo Ander Lõhmus appeared on the court. He aced twice in a row and helped extend the set to overtime. With help from Ivan Kuznetcov, however, Russia managed a 27-25 close. The fourth set began in a very close battle with the two teams trading points and neither able to take the edge. Russia broke away after the first technical time-out and never looked back, before Maxim Sapozhkov ended the match with an ace for 25-14. Estonia’s Albert Hurt was the best scorer with 16 points.
Andrey Nozdrin, coach of Russia: “I preferred to use reserves in the beginning to see how young players will act in different situations. It is a great experience for our team.”
Anatoliy Volodin, player of Russia: “It was a hard game for us. We made too many mistakes in reception. We were not focused enough, but we managed to cope with our problems.”
Urmas Tali, coach of Estonia: “It was a good match. In the second and in the third sets we showed our real Volleyball, but Russia were too strong for us.”
Pool C in Zdar nad Sazavou (CZE)
Finland needed to win one set in the last match in Pool C against hosts Czech Republic to top the standings and book their trip to the Netherlands and Belgium, and that is exactly what they did! The Czechs took the three points, which was enough for them to move forward to the next qualification round.
Czech Republic vs. Finland 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 25-27, 25-18)
The Czech Republic started fresh in the first set. They scored a lot of points in blocking and managed to keep the lead until the end of set. At 18-22 late in the second set, Finland still believed they had a chance, even though they were facing a four-point deficit. But eventually they had to admit their opponent’s dominance in the set, as the Czech Republic doubled their lead. The Czechs stayed in control for most of the third set, but Finland levelled the score at 19-19. The set continued point for point with Finland being more successful in the final episodes. They saved two match points for the opponents before converting their first set point to a 27-25 close and celebrating with the ticket to the European Championship. The Czechs played much better than their opponents in the fourth set and managed a 25-18 win. Oskari Keskinen was the most prolific player of the match scoring 18 times for Finland.
Jan Svoboda, coach of Czech Republic: “It was a really hard match today. We had to win 3-0. Then we lost the third set, but I think that my team played great. We will try to win the third round of qualifications and go to the European Championship.”
Joona Väänänen, captain of Finland: “We went into a game where we knew we had to win one set to get to the finals. I am so glad that we won the third set after losing the first two and qualified for the European Championship.”
Pool D in Herceg Novi (MNE)
Latvia defeated Slovenia to cement themselves in the runner-up position and stay in contention for the finals through the next round. France made sure they finished with a win showing their class against Montenegro in the last match of the pool.
Slovenia vs. Latvia 1-3 (26-28, 25-23, 9-25, 17-25)
Latvia started the first set better, but Slovenia caught up to extend it into overtime before losing 26-28. In the second set both teams started strong. The Slovenes went up to a 14-11 lead, but their opponents tied it at 22-22. In the money time, Slovenia held their nerves for a 25-23 win. Latvia were well in control throughout the third set to demolish the rival 25-9. After taking a 4-1 lead in the fourth set, Slovenia allowed Latvia to regain control and close the match with a 25-17 win. Matic Rojnik topped the scorers’ charts with 16 points for Slovenia.
France vs. Montenegro 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-20)
France got into the game very relaxed because they had already qualified for the European Championship. In the first set they showed their power and broke away towards an impressive 25-12 win. The home side started playing a little better in the second set, but the tall and powerful blockers of the French team gave their squad an advantage at the beginning. Montenegro caught up at 6-6 and kept it level through 14-14, before the French went on a 9-1 run en route to a 25-18 close. In the third set, France continued to dominate for a routine 25-20 win to celebrate with a straight-set victory. Pierre Derouillon topped the charts with 18 points.
Pool E in Ploiesti (ROU)
Germany shut out Romania in the decisive match in Pool E and qualified directly to the finals of the European Championship, leaving the hosts in Ploiesti in second place with a pass to the third round of qualifications.
Germany vs. Romania 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-11)
Germany set the tempo of the match early on with the spikes and aces by Louis Kunstmann. Although Romania tried to respond with the help of Nicolas Grigorie and Alexandru Rata, the Germans claimed an early 8-4 lead and paved the way for a 25-15 win of the first set. Romania trailed again in the early stages of the second set as Germany found extra energy and with more spikes by Kunstmann finished the set off at 25-23. The home team did not find the right consistency in reception and Germany imposed their rule for a 25-11 win that sealed a 3-0 victory and a ticket to the Netherlands and Belgium. Louis Kunstmann was the best scorer of the match with 17 points.
Johan Verstappen, coach of Germany: “My players can be proud of themselves as they delivered another classy performance. This was our best game in the tournament and we did very well in all aspects of the game. I would like to thank all clubs, the coaching staff and management because they all did a great job in the last few weeks and during this European qualifier as well. We have achieved our first goal and we now look forward to the European Championship.”
Pool G in Humenne (SVK)
Turkey mastered a five-set victory to disappoint hosts Slovakia in the last match of the pool. The Turks progressed to the finals of #EuroVolleyU20M as pool winners, giving neighbouring Greece the green light to the next qualification round.
Turkey vs. Slovakia 3-2 (25-19, 25-27, 23-25, 27-25, 15-11)
Turkey beat Slovakia in a hard-fought match before more than 600 spectators in Humenne. The match lasted almost two and half hours. Slovakia were one point away from the second place, but the home team wasted a match point in the fourth set against the favourites of the match. Turkey turned the course of the game and won in five sets. Their opposite hitter Adis Lagumdzija was the star of the match with 35 points.
Akif Gökhan Öner, coach of Turkey: "Slovakia played very well and I want to congratulate them. On the other side, we did not play well and I am not satisfied with our performance. My players were thinking only about this match, but I know that in the final tournament we should play better. The important thing is that we qualified. This was our goal."
Peter Kalny, coach of Slovakia: "We were close to making it to the next round. It’s a pity. There was a big difference between our two matches here - against Greece yesterday and against Turkey today. We played very good Volleyball against a strong team, which can win a medal at the final round. We lost, but my players gave their best."
Pool H in Cherkasy (UKR)
Belarus carried on with their winning streak all the way through their last match in Cherkasy. On Sunday they shut out hosts Ukraine to secure the top spot in the pool standings and a ticket to the finals. Poland took the opportunity to take the runner-up position with a straight-set win over Croatia in the last game of the pool.
Ukraine vs. Belarus 0-3 (21-25, 13-25, 14-25)
The ‘miracle’ that the Ukrainian fans were hoping for did eventually not happen. After losing to Poland, Ukraine had to beat their neighbours from Belarus to stay alive in the competition. However, this was a difficult mission to accomplish, knowing the level of performance that Belarus had shown in their previous matches. The players coached by Oleg Mikanovich outclassed the home side in all aspects of the game and following their third victory in as many matches, they secured their participation in the Final Round of #EuroVolleyU20M.
Poland vs. Croatia 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-18)
After Ukraine’s heavy loss to Belarus, Poland had the valuable opportunity to finish second in the pool and to continue their journey in the third round of qualifications. They eventually did so as they beat Croatia, with the players coached by Mariusz Sordyl coping with their task quite comfortably. Their dominance was obvious – with Mateusz Poreba recording all alone five blocks, i.e. as many as those registered by the entire Croatian team. As a result, Poland will continue their quest for a spot to compete in the Final Round coming up later this summer in the Netherlands and Belgium via the third and last stage of the qualification process.
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