Pool I

Belarus vs. Romania 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-17)

Belarus and Romania appeared on the court in Hristo Botev Hall to open Pool I programme after the day off at the #EuroVolleyU17M. The team coached by Aliaksei Kavaliou defeated Romania without losing a single set, thus claiming their second win in the tournament. The opener was played on a point by point basis till the very end but then the young Belarusians managed to stay calm and close it 26-24. Using the winning energy they kept playing their best in the next part to take an eight-point advantage (14-6) staying in front up to 25-19 at the end. Things went in similar way in the third set won by Belarus 25-17. Arseniy Palonski was the top scorer of Belarus with 15 points followed by Aliaksei Ilkevitch with 14. Alin-Florin Ion claimed 20 for Romania, but even that couldn’t help his team.

Aliaksei Kavaliou, head coach of Belarus: “It was a good game for us. Romania performed well, but fortunately we won. I am satisfied with the team spirit. We still have one more match to play and it is time to focus on it. I hope that we will manage to overcome Turkey as well.”

Alexandru Calin, assistant coach of Romania: “I don’t have much to say. It’s another loss for us. But I would like to mark that it’s really hard for these young players to play two important tournaments in a row – the Balkan and the European Championship. I see that our guys are very tired and it’s not all about their physical condition, they are also mentally exhausted.”

 

Finland vs. Bulgaria 1-3 (25-18, 26-28, 13-25, 23-25)

Bulgaria extended their Pool I winning streak to 4 games with a 3-1 win over Finland and after the French victory later in the day, the hosts qualified to the semifinals. The Finns played probably their greatest set during the tournament. Right at the beginning they made a 5-0 run and didn’t meet any issues to close the opener 25-18.  The hosts tied after a thrilling end of the second part. Finland missed three set-points while the Lions immediately grabbed their first chance for 28-26. Bulgaria dominated in the following set (25-13) but they needed much more efforts to close the fourth as they completed a great comeback from 18-23 to 25-23.

Martin Stoev, head coach of Bulgaria: “Finland started risky with five amazing serves and put us in trouble very quickly. I think they could beat each team at this tournament if they serve like that. They surprised us with their starting line-up because they used different players in every single match so far. I am happy that we managed to overcome all the issues we had and to get three points for the standing at the end. Now we are looking forward to the next match France – Turkey in order to see if we will get to the semis as earliest as possible.”

Janne Heikkinen, head coach of Finland: “We served very well during the entire match today. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to win. We needed something more to cope with the Bulgarian outside hitters. We were unable to find an answer to them. I am proud of my guys but disappointed with the final result. We played almost two sets at our best but “almost two sets” are not enough to win.”

Another straight-set victory for France let them book a spot in the Final Four. The team coached by Olivier Audabram overcame Turkey 3-0 and lead in Pool I right in front of hosts Bulgaria. On the on other hand, with this loss the Turks have no longer a chance to qualify for the Final Four. Nathan Canovas was on fire again as he scored 21 points for the victory of his team.



Olivier Audabram, head coach of France: “We are very happy because it was a hard victory against a tough opponent. We did what was necessary to win. We stayed focused in the difficult moments especially in the second set when we survived several set-points. At the end but not last I want to congratulate all my players.”
 

 

Pool II

Portugal vs. Czech Republic 1-3 (30-32, 25-21, 17-25, 16-25)

The opening part was a nailbiting battle, in the middle of the set Czech Republic claimed a two-point-advantage which they improved to 24-21, however Portugal didn't give up and tied at 24-24, then having three set-points which they didn't use. Eventually the Czechs closed out this 37-minute-fight 32-30. In the second part Portugal were on the lead, claiming this set, while the Czechs totally dominated on the court in the third and fourth part. This game had two heroes - on the Czech side - David Kollator with an impressive record of 32 points and Nuno Marques of Portugal with 28.


Jiri Zach, head coach of Czech Republic: “It was very important for us that we won the extremely long first set, because it showed that we are a bit more patient. Portugal were not able to keep the high level of their game during the entire match. Tomorrow we face Poland, we know each other very well, we expect a tough game and long rallies.”

Nuno Miguel dos Santos Pereira, head coach of Portugal: "In the first two sets we played very well, but the we lost concentration and it affected badly our game. Tomorrow the decisive game, so we are going to motivate our players as much as possible to show their best on the court and be in the top shape."

 

Poland vs. Greece 3-1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-17, 25-18)

The Poles entered the court fully motivated what was visible from the very beginning, they smashed their rivals leading 12-6, 17-7 and eventually closing the set 25-13. Poland started well also the second set, being a few points ahead for most of the time, however the Greeks constantly tried to catch up the score, tying at 22-22 and taking this part 25-23. In the third set Greece were leading till 17-17, then they made a series of unforced errors letting the young Polish eagles to close the set easily 25-17. Greece started the last part better, but Poland tied at 6-6, then Piotr Sliwka went on serve and with his great service the White-and-Reds moved to 11-6. Later the Poles extended their advantage and emerged victorious. The best scorer of the game was Alexandros Nanopoulos with 20 points for Grece, while on the other side of the net Jakub Olszewski and Tytus Nowik tallied 12 for Poland.

Ariel Fijoł, head coach of Poland: “We could and should have won this match in three sets, because we were leading 20-16 in the second part. We just let them win this set and I totally don’t know why. We are struggling with some problems in counter-attack. On the other hand, I’m glad that after a long preparation I have twelve guys to play. Today Piotr Sliwka and Aleksander Czerwinski gave great substitutions and they totally changed the game. Tomorrow we will do everything to win with Czech Republic and progress to the semifinals.”

 

Italy vs. Russia (25-22, 17-25, 17-25, 17-25, 16-25)

Italy demolished Russia at the beginning of the first set, leading 13-1. It was like a cold shower for the young Russians and they started to regain their power on court, but it was not enough to catch up the score and the Italians won this part. The second set was like a new beginning, the players led by coach Khromenkov improved their game in every element taking the next two sets 25-17. In the fourth part the Italians were close only at the beginning of the set, later Russia started their march for the final victory, eventually closing the set 25-16. Mikhail Labinskii contributed with 26 points for Russia and was the best scorer of the game, in the Italian squad captain Luca Porro claimed 12 points.