15/03/2021 10:34
Czech Republic, Slovenia through to #EuroVolleyU16W and #EuroVolleyU17M Finals
CEV U16 Women / U17 Men Volleyball European Championships 2021
Zadar, Croatia, March 15, 2021. The teams from the Czech Republic and Slovenia claimed on Sunday the MEVZA qualifiers for this year’s U16 Women and U17 Men European Championships, thus securing their journey to Hungary/Slovakia and Albania later this summer. The programme of the final competition day in Zadar included all classification matches as well. The teams that finished second to fifth will all join the second round of qualifications scheduled for early May.
The Czech Republic and Slovenia had progressed to the women’s final with an impeccable record in the tournament. It promised to be an entertaining match and it did not disappoint. Slovenia got off to a better start in the first set and held on to it for a 1-0 lead. The Czech team then adjusted their block and defence to slow down the Slovenian outside hitters Masa Pucelj and Mija Siftar, which resulted in a 2-1 advantage for the Czechs at the end of the third set. With Siftar playing as opposite and many great rallies later, including even defended match points, Slovenia decided the fourth set with 29-27 in their favour. The Czechs, however, regrouped to win the all-important tiebreak. Nela Jaseckova and Josefina Smolkova were the Czech top scorers with 27 and 24 points, while Siftar had a game-high 30 points for Slovenia.
The first two sets of the men’s final had a similar outcome, with Slovenia emerging victorious. The difference was that in the second set the Austrians had a minimum lead almost until the end, before Slovenia turned the score around in their favour. Luka Marovt, who eventually received the MVP award at the end of the tournament, was again the team’s top-scorer. However, in the third set it was the Austrians, who took centre stage. Leading the way with a 59% attack was their opposite Benedikt Sablatnig and Austria reduced the gap to 2-1. When the Slovenian team captain Miha Okorn also played to the best of his abilities in the fourth set, the game completely tilted to the Slovenian side. In addition to Marovt’s 27 points, the impressive statistic was that Slovenia managed to prevent a single Austrian service-ace and eventually won the match 3-1 (27-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-17).
Team Slovenia celebrate their success at the MEVZA #EuroVolleyU17M qualifier in Zadar
Both afternoon bronze medal matches featured the Croatian national team. While the girls faced Hungary, the boys played against the Czech Republic. The Czech boys were obviously disappointed after the semi-final loss against Slovenia and proved once more to be a team to reckon with. With an inspired performance, they left the hosts no chance and won the bronze medal with a commanding 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-17).
Much more even was the bronze medal match of the women’s U16 competition. The teams split the first two sets that ended with the same score (25-23). Afterwards, Croatia kept blocking their way into the game, while Hungary pushed hard with their hitters to reward themselves with a 3-1 victory (25-23, 24-26, 25-20, 25-22) and a bronze medal.
The morning session featured both matches for 5th place. On the women’s side, it was Israel against Austria, who had unluckily missed the semi-final by the smallest possible margin. After losing in five sets to both Slovenia and Croatia in the pool stage, Austria was the big favourite going into the game and they kept showing it throughout the match, deciding it with a clear 3-0 in their favour (25-12, 25-7, 25-17).
Israel could however decide the men’s match to their advantage. Hungary was not an easy opponent, but with a few less service errors and a more efficient attack, the Israeli men won the match 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-18) and secured the 5th place.
The organisers in Zadar provided a ‘bio-secure bubble’ for all participants, which allowed for no spectators in the hall, instead live streaming of the matches was available on the official YouTube channel of the Croatian Volleyball Federation.
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