29/05/2018 21:56
Estonia and Turkey poised to keep immaculate record in Golden #EuroLeagueM
2018 CEV Volleyball Golden European League - Men
Luxembourg, May 29, 2018. Estonia and Turkey are the only teams with an impeccable record of three wins in as many matches in the pool stage of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Golden European League – Men this far. On Wednesday, they will be vying for their fourth consecutive victory when travelling to Sweden and hosting Slovenia, respectively. In Pool C, Finland and Portugal share the same win-loss record (2-1) and will be hoping to improve on it as they vie for a spot to compete in the Final Four due to take place in Karlovy Vary (CZE).
Pool A
Slovakia vs. Belgium
• Last Saturday Belgium beat Slovakia 3-2 at home in Aalst.
• Slovakia’s team captain Emanuel Kohut is back after missing the matchup in Aalst. On Sunday, he received the award for Slovakia’s Best Volleyball Player of the year 2017.
• It is the 14th match in history between Belgium and Slovakia, with Belgium boasting nine wins.
Andrej Kravárik, coach of Slovakia: “Belgium is one of the best European teams, they have qualified for the World Championship and they finished in fourth place at the last European Championship. It was a close match on Saturday, and we were a little bit unlucky, but I am satisfied with the performance of our team. Belgium has very good float service, and we need to be ready for this. If we want to be successful, we need to serve well and fight.”
Andrea Anastasi, coach of Belgium: “We had to fight hard for the victory against Slovakia last Saturday and I am sure we will need to fight for the win in the return game as well. Slovakia played well and grew in the game. I expect it will be as difficult as the home game. We have to be ready to fight.”
Sweden vs. Estonia
• When Sweden take on pool leaders Estonia in Nyköping, fans can look forward to a tight and thrilling contest. At least, that is what happened in Saturday’s game between these two rivals. After four hard-fought sets, Estonia stood as winners (3-1) on home soil in Rakvere.
• The two sides know each other well by now. Not just because they faced each other this past weekend, but also because they have clashed on several occasions in recent years. As late as 2015, the teams challenged one another for a spot in the European Championship in the third and last stage of the qualification process. There and then, Estonia came out victorious.
• Swedish opposite Fredrik Gustavsson is the best scorer so far in the Golden European League with 69 points in three games and with an average of 5.75 points per set.
• Robert Täht is the top scorer for Estonia with 49 points. He ranks 7th overall in the competition.
• If Estonia are victorious, they will make sure they will finish first or at least second in Pool A.
Johan Isacsson, coach of Sweden: “We are looking forward to clashing with Estonia once again. Last Saturday’s game was intense and of high quality with both sides fighting hard for the victory. We have faced each other a lot in recent years and competitions and the matches always tend to be tight and full of action. Furthermore, our countries are almost neighbouring, so it is for sure a special thing to play against them.”
Pool B
Turkey vs. Slovenia
• The local sports in Samsun played host to European League matches in 2015 as well.
• Back in 2015, Turkey’s opponent was the same – Slovenia.
• Slovenia won both matches contested in Samsun before claiming the gold medal from the European League Finals held in Walbrzych, Poland.
• Two days ago, Turkey beat Slovenia 3-0 in Maribor to keep a perfect record of three wins in as many matches in Pool B.
Nedim Özbey, coach of Turkey: “After achieving a good start to the CEV Golden European League, there has been an increase in the interest for men’s Volleyball in our country. We want to win the match against Slovenia in front of our spectators. We also want to qualify to the Final Four and this is our main goal right now.”
Murat Yenipazar, captain of Turkey: “We defeated Slovenia only two days ago but we know that tomorrow’s match will not be easy for both teams. I can say that we are a young team but at the same time, we are an experienced one too. We want to win tomorrow’s match and we invite all our fans in Samsun to cheer us on.”
Ukraine vs. The Netherlands
• Ukraine are the gold medal winners from the 2017 edition of the European League.
• Last year they crowned their European League debut seizing gold at the Final Four held in Gentofte, Denmark.
• Last Saturday they beat the Netherlands in Apeldoorn (3-2).
• Ukraine have a record of two wins in three matches this far – while the Oranjes have won once and lost twice in Pool B.
Pool C
Finland vs. Spain
• Finland are leading the way in Pool C with seven points from two wins and one loss this far. Spain sit in third place with one victory and three points.
• Finland have played Spain 30 times – winning 16 times. The last time that these two teams locked horns came at the World Championship qualifier held last year in Karlovy Vary (CZE) where Finland won 3-1.
• It is the 16th time that Finland men’s national team play in Turku.
• Tommi Siirilä will reach 100 caps with the team this coming Saturday. He is the best blocker of the competition this far on 16 stuffs.
• Finland opposite Sauli Kaislasalo is the sixth best scorer of the European League on 51 points.
Tuomas Sammelvuo, coach of Finland: “Spain is a skilled and technical team. They fight hard and dig many balls. They have an excellent setter and opposite. We are going to work again on a better serve-reception and we will push to be better in attack too. Our team’s self-confidence is on a high level. My players have great will to show their best and they have all showed that they can play well on this level.”
Czech Republic vs. Portugal
• This is the last home match for Czech Republic in the European League this season.
• Top Czech player Matyáš Demar just became a father, so it is possible that he will be missing this match.
• Portugal have beaten both Finland and Spain, i.e. the other two teams competing in Pool C, and will be chasing a victory over the Czechs as well.
• Portugal have a 2-1 win-loss record whilst the Czechs have won one match out of three this far.
Jakub Janouch, captain of Czech Republic: “The Portuguese won against Finland and Spain, so we want to defeat them. It will be a difficult match.”
Michal Nekola, coach of Czech Republic: “The situation in the pool is getting confused. Every set can be decisive. We want to confirm our increasing form and we want to win, the best would be by taking three points.”
Click here for further information.
|