Brno, Czech Republic, August 30, 2014. Turkey opened the second competition day in Pool II of the 2014 CEV U20 Volleyball European Championship - Men Final Round with a 3:0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22) shutout against Romania to claim its first victory in the tournament. So did host Czech Republic defeating Slovenia by 3:0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20). In what was considered the big clash between the two pre-favorites of the pool in Brno, Poland and Belgium, the central European team added another 3 points to its tally crushing the opponent by 3:0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-13).
Romania vs. Turkey 0:3 (21-25, 21-25, 22-25)
With a series of six consecutive points right before the second technical time-out of the first set, Turkey opened a 16-8 gap. Romania attempted a late comeback and even managed to save three set points before surrendering at 21-25. The second set was far more even and Turkey had to turn its game up a notch to overcome the Romanians. Opposite Cansin Ogbai Enaboifa played a fantastic set in both spiking and serving, contributing 3 aces for a total of 11 points towards another 25-21 Turkey’s way. The Romanians entered the third set very concentrated. With 16-year-old middle blocker Tudor Magdas now in play and playing well, setter Claudiu Dumitru had one more good option in attack and found more ways to surprise the opponent. Romania took control and shot up to a 10-4 lead. The Turks, however, had no intention of giving the set away. They reintroduced their well-directed serves and heavy spikes and managed to catch up at 12-12. The Romanian team started making far too many unforced errors, which Turkey took advantage of to win the set by 25-22 and close the match at 3:0.
Cansin Ogbai Enaboifo was the best scorer of the match with 20 points for Turkey. Mihai Tarta was Romania’s most prolific player with 13 points.
Adrian Aciobanitei, captain of Romania: “We played very very badly in comparison to yesterday’s match against the Czechs. Turkey was very organized. But we know all the matches will be very hard and so we have to be prepared for the next one.”
Yigit Gulmezoglu, captain of Turkey: “We were very tired after yesterday. Today we were not surprised by Romania. It was good game and not so difficult.”
George Valentin Grigorie, head coach of Romania: “It was a very bad game for us. The Turkish team played very well and with a lot of precision. They served perfectly and our reception was not good. Basically they were better in all elements. Tomorrow we will play against the Slovenian team, which we do not know that well, so we have to analyze today’s matches and fight hard tomorrow.”
Ali Umit Hizal, head coach of Turkey: “Before we came here we played against the Romanians at the Balkan Championship, so we know them. We are happy for this win. We won by 3:0 at the Balkan Championship and today we did it again."
Czech Republic vs. Slovenia 3:0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20)
With Donovan Dzavoronok scoring point after point in the noisy competition hall in Brno, the Czechs were well in control of the first set, leading by 11-6. But the Slovenes reacted well. They managed to level the score at 17-17 and even to take a one-point lead. However, the home heroes showed some character regaining the advantage in the conclusive moments and Dzavoronok closed the set in style with an ace for 25-21. The second set was very competitive through 17-17, but, with David Janku behind the serving line, the Czechs broke away for 22-17 and never looked back, taking the set by 25-20. The Slovenes took a 6-2 lead at the beginning of the third set, but could not hold on to it. The home team stepped up its spiking efforts even further and caught up. The last time the score was level was at 13-13. The Czech Republic regained the initiative for the remaining part of the set and a block-out by Dzavoronok shaped up the final 25-20 closing the match at 3:0.
Donovan Dzavoronok piled up an impressive 24 points to top the scorers’ chart of the match. Slovenia’s best scorer Toncek Stern finished with 11.
Jan Kozamernik, player of Slovenia: “The atmosphere was different in the hall and the Czechs played very well. We did not play, we did not serve, we did not block and our setters were not so precise. We have to clear our minds, fully prepare for tomorrow’s match and play more as a team.”
David Janku, captain of Czech Republic: “Today we were not so nervous. We were very well prepared tactically and we showed it on the court. It is a very important win for us. I hope that we could win against more difficult teams as well.”
Iztok Ksela, head coach of Slovenia: “I have to congratulate the Czechs, because they played very well today, much better than yesterday. We played very badly in all elements. The problem was in our heads and minds. But every day is different, so we have put our heads up and play much better tomorrow.”
Jindrich Licek, head coach of Czech Republic: “They are youngsters. One day you are up, the next you are down. It is not perfect, but today we fought and did it. We changed everything, we calmed down in attack and we were better in defense. Every point is important for us and this win is key for our psychology.
Poland vs. Belgium 3:0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-13)
With Pawel Gryc, who sustained a knee injury yesterday, ruled out for the rest of the championship, the Polish team came out on court to listen to its national anthem with only eleven players. In the first set, their Belgian opponents held up through 9-9, but four points in a row gave the Poles an advantage, which they then built upon to rush off to a convincing 25-17. In the second set both teams greatly reduced the number of unforced errors and offered a high-level volleyball show to the spectators. The battle was very tight through the second technical time-out, after which Belgium’s reception could not cope well with the incoming serves and the better fforts of captain Aleksander Sliwka and his teammates paid off with another wide margin, shaped up by Sliwka himself with a powerful hit for 25-18. Poland’s momentum led to a 5-0 start of the third set, which practically pre-decided the final outcome of the match. Jacek Nawrocki’s boys cruised on to break far, far away in the score and it was Sliwka again who put the ball on the floor for the final 25-13.
Bartosz Bucko contributed 19 points to Poland’s victory. Aleksander Sliwka added 16. Lou Kindt made 12 points for Belgium.
Sander Depovere, captain of Belgium: “This was a really tough opponent. Poland is the big favorite in the pool. Sure I am not happy with our performance, but I think it is because of Poland. They came aggressively into this game so early and we could not stop them.”
Kacper Piechocki, player of Poland: “We were in control all game. We knew that their float is difficult, but we made successful actions and dominated. I hope we will continue on the same level for the rest of the preliminary pool matches.”
Joel Banks, head coach of Belgium: “It was really tough. We played against a very well organized and strong Poland and I want to congratulate them. We did what we could do and we take the lessons from this game. I am happy with lots of things that we showed. Obviously I am not happy with the result, but we lost to a very strong opponent. I hope that we will be ready for tomorrow.”
Jacek Nawrocki, head coach of Poland: “We were wondering how our team would react after Pawel Gryc’s injury, but, fortunately, we were very motivated and focused on the match. We played very well and I think Belgium did not expected that.”
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