Prague, Czech Republic, September 11, 2011. Slovakia claimed this afternoon a spot for the Playoffs of the EuroVolley 2011 after edging Germany 3:1 at the end of a very tough game.
After causing quite a sensation by beating Bulgaria in the opening game of Pool D, Slovakia opened well by clipping the opening set but Germany was able to fight back and draw level. Slovakia committed some errors but this was compensated by the stellar performance of Lukas Divis. Very nice attacks were to be seen in set 3 which unfolded as a tough battle ending up in a 24-26 for Slovakia. Germany moved up by 4 points in the fourth but once again the game was extremely tight. The Slovaks’ enthusiasm was growing rally after rally; they turned the score around from 9:12 to 15:13 and closed the game by silvering their third match ball. They really deserved the victory and with this also a ticket for the next phase of the tournament. “I want to congratulate Emanuele Zanini because his guys played well after the tough game they had with Bulgaria. We played better than yesterday with Poland but it was not enough” stated Germany’s mentor Raul Lozano. “I am really proud of my players” added Zanini. “Yesterday they made a tremendous effort to beat Bulgaria and today they played well again. We have seen many good blocks, attacks and great actions in defense. We are definitely in a good spirit”.