31/05/2011 00:00
Austria loses opening game to Greece
Salzburg, Austria, May 26, 2011. Austria lost its first game
in the 2011 CEV Volleyball European League as the guys around head coach
Michael Warm could not handle the strong play displayed by Greece and were
finally defeated 1:3 (15-25, 25-22, 23-25, 21-25) in front of some 600
spectators. The hosts of the EuroVolley 2011 had surprisingly claimed the
opening game against the same opponent last year, but this time had to
acknowledge the superiority of the guys in blue and white.
Both teams started the
game with a lot of energy, but Austria was a little bit nervous and tentative.
The Greeks displayed a solid and consistent performance in attack while the
hosts struggled in many aspects of the game. The guests used their advantage
for an impressive 16:7 lead in the opening set. The Austrians fought back to
make it 22:14, but couldn’t deliver more, so that Greece finally clipped the
first set 25-15. Anchored by the intelligent play of setter Oliver Binder, Austria
performed much better in the second set, setting the pace 16:12 at the second
technical time-out. The Greeks tried to turn the score around when they made it
23:21, but the team of head coach Michael Warm didn’t give up so fast. The
Austrians couldn’t convert their first set point, but with a bad Greek serve they
finally brought it home 25-22.
With more self-confidence
Austria jumped out to take a 12:8 lead in set 3. Two minutes with a lot of
mistakes then turned the tables around and the Greeks soon had taken back the
lead. The Austrians came back to make it a tight set, but the Greeks came out
on top for the final 25-23. In the fourth set both teams once again played with
glowing hearts, but in the end the advantage of the Greeks in blocking (14 vs. 5)
and in terms of unforced errors (18 compared to 34 committed by the Austrians) could
not help the home team go for the tie-break and a happy end.
Austria’s Thomas Zass led
all scorers with 31 points. Philip Schneider chartered 14 while Simon Frühbauer
totaled 8. Nikolaos Roumeliotis was the best scorer for Greece, supported by Andreas
Fragkos and Dimitrios Soultanopoulos who clipped 9 points apiece.
Austrian head coach
Michael Warm wasn’t too disappointed: “We had high expectations before the
game, but Greece caught us cold in the first set. I am proud that the team
showed what it’s able to do in the second set. In the end Greece proved to be
better, but I am still satisfied with the game. Our reception was much improved
in comparison with the friendly matches with Croatia and we want to make
another step forward in the second game on Saturday”.
Austria’s star Philip
Schneider added: “We cannot be happy with that result. Anyway we have showed that
we can play Volleyball at a high level. Our reception was good and now we have
to improve our attack and blocking. It’s a lot of fun with this team as
everyone gives 100% of his energy”.
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