05/06/2018 19:59
Tickets to Skopje at stake in last round of Silver #EuroLeagueM pool play
2018 CEV Volleyball Silver European League - Men
Luxembourg, June 5, 2018. With wins in a row, Latvia are sure of their participation in the Final Four of this year’s CEV Volleyball Silver European League – Men. The last round of pool play coming up on Wednesday will determine the two sides joining the Latvians and hosts Former Y.R. of Macedonia at the Finals in Skopje. Austria will be trying to make the most of their away match against Latvia while Croatia and Belarus will be playing in Albania and Hungary respectively in an effort to claim first place in Pool B. The top teams from each pool plus the runners-up with the best result will eventually book their journey to Skopje.
Pool A
Former Y.R. of Macedonia vs. Kosovo
• The Former Y.R. of Macedonia will be vying for their second victory in Pool A after claiming the away match at Kosovo.
• Kosovo are still winless in what is their first appearance in the European League.
• Home star Nikola Gjorgiev is the third best scorer of the competition this far on a personal tally of 93 points.
• The hosts are the silver medal winners from the 2015, 2016 and 2017 European League.
Latvia vs. Austria
• Latvia will be playing Austria for the second time this season. Back in May, they beat the Austrians 3-1 away in Klagenfurt.
• The game will take place in Jelgava, in a venue that can accommodate up to 2,000 fans.
• Armands Abolins hails from Jelgava and he will enjoy the opportunity to play before family and friends.
Andrejs Zavorotnijs, player of Latvia: “This is the last game before the Final Four and we have been preparing with some heavy training and video analysis of the opponent – Team Austria. The coach has analysed how to play against each attacker. Is it going to be easy? No. The game against the Former Y.R. of Macedonia was easier due to their slightly shorter players, but the Austrians are extremely tall. What is going to be the key to win? I think we have to do our best in both serving and receiving, another factor will be the block where we will try to compete with Austria. I am looking forward to the match tomorrow. We are ready.”
Pool B
Hungary vs. Belarus
• After five rounds, Belarus lead Pool B (together with Croatia) with four wins and one loss, while Hungary have one win and four losses to their name. Hungary claimed their first victory last Saturday in Albania, while Belarus won 3-1 in Croatia on the same day.
• If Belarus win, they will keep their chances to qualify for the Final Four, while Hungary has no chance of making it to the final stage of the competition.
• On May 26, Belarus beat Hungary 3-0 in Minsk. The best spiker of the match was Pavel Audochanka from the home team with 14 winning spikes and 16 points in total. This was the two teams’ first match against each other.
• The two countries’ football national teams meet on the same day as the Volleyball teams. The friendly football match takes place in Brest, Belarus.
• The match will be played in Érd, where after the men’s game, the Hungarian women’s national team will play against Finland in the Golden European League.
Szabolcs Németh, team leader of Hungary: “We have a very young team with little international experience. We are building a new team, and the European League is a great opportunity for us to practice before the European Championship qualifiers. The victory in Albania gave us confidence; we would like to build on it and close the group stage with a win.”
Albania vs. Croatia
• Croatia have a record of four wins in five matches this far. They suffered their first setback last Saturday at home when playing Belarus.
• The visitors from Croatia are fighting with Belarus for first place in the pool.
• Albania have a record of one win and four losses this far in the competition.
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