Brno, Czech Republic, August 31, 2014. Slovenia achieved its first victory at the finals of the 2014 CEV U20 Volleyball European Championship - Men. In the first match of the third competition day in Pool II, the Slovenes overpowered Romania by 3:1 (26-24, 25-22, 23-25, 25-15). The home heroes from the Czech Republic pleased the cheering crowd at the Vodova competition hall in Brno by stunning incumbent bronze medalist Belgium with a 3:0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-21) upset. Poland had a very tough time against Turkey, but managed to squeeze out its third consecutive victory, this time in five sets – 3:2 (25-15, 26-28, 24-26, 25-13, 15-9).
Slovenia vs. Romania 3:1 (26-24, 25-22, 23-25, 25-15)
The first set was very tight with Slovenia maintaining a slight advantage through the most part. After 20-24 Romania managed to save all four of Slovenia’s set points and to tie the score, but did not find the nerve to go beyond that and the more concentrated opponent closed the set at 26-24, acing for the last point. In the second set, the coach Grigorie’s team stepped up its blocking efforts, but also increased the unforced errors. The lead went back and forth several times before a very prolific Toncek Stern bombarded Romania’s side of the floor to finish it off at 25-22 and double Slovenia’s lead. Romania’s fantastic blocking contributed 7 points to the team’s tally and made the difference in the third set. The set was very even through 13-13, before Slovenia managed to break away in the score, earning a 4-point advantage at 20-16. But two sequences of 4 points in a row each brought the Romanians to set point and three rallies later they celebrated with a 25-23 win. The next set was completely one-sided. Slovenia dominated and the opponent helped with many own mistakes towards the eventual 25-15 in the set and 3:1 in the match.
Adrian Aciobanitei was the best scorer of the match with 25 points for Romania. Slovenia’s Toncek Stern also impressed with 23 points.
Rares Ionut Balean, player of Romania: “Tough game. We made too many mistakes. And with these you will lose a volleyball match every single time. We have to be better next time.”
Jure Okroglic, player of Slovenia: “The game was very difficult, since the Romanian guys played well. We played better than yesterday and finally we won. We are very happy for that and we will fight hard in the next two matches to advance to the semifinals.”
Daniel Savoiu, assistant coach of Romania: “It was a difficult match for us, because of tension in our team. But we know that we will have other chances to stay in this competition.”
Iztok Ksela, head coach of Slovenia: “We started very nervously, because we knew that if we lost the game, we would go home. Our performance was not optimal, but we fought hard for the victory. We complicated the game a little in the third set, but the guys put their heads up and finished the match in the next set.”
Belgium vs. Czech Republic 0:3 (24-26, 21-25, 23-25)
The early 5-0 lead for Belgium turned out to be a false indicator of the outcome of the first set. Playing better in blocking and defense, the Czechs leveled the score through the middle part of the set, but did not take advantage of the two set points after 24-22. Still they stayed more concentrated to win by 26-24. The Czechs greatly improved their serving in the next set. There were some ups and downs in the score, but after the second technical time-out, the home heroes generally took the initiative and doubled their lead after 25-21. Inspired by this development, but completely concentrated on their game, the guys in blue, red and white quickly recovered from a 3-9 lag and their attackers finished the job with great scoring effort, leading to 25-23 after a triple block dominated by Martin Tibitanzl converted their second match point to victory.
Donovan Dzavoronok was once again the top scorer of a Czech victory with 23 points against his name. Belgium’s best scorer Lou Kindt finished with 16 points.
Sander Depovere, captain of Belgium: “I think we made many mistakes, many more than the Czechs did. The total point difference in the match is only eight points, but the result is 3:0. The Czechs served much better, put more pressure on us and this was decisive.”
Donovan Dzavoronok, player of Czech Republic: “Superb win! We told ourselves that we have to play with clear minds and we have nothing to lose. And everything worked! I co-operated very well with setter Martin Licek and I am very happy that we did it.”
Joel Banks, head coach of Belgium: “Both teams realized that they have to win if they want to fight for the top two places. The difference in today’s match was small, but the Czechs dealt with their opportunities much better than we did.”
Jindrich Licek, head coach of Czech Republic: “I did not expect a win like this. The boys played as usually, maybe a little bit better than they can. We were more aggressive than Belgium, we had good serving and more organized defense. Dzavoronok made key points for us. I hope that we will continue this way."
Turkey vs. Poland 2:3 (15-25, 28-26, 26-24, 13-25, 9-15)
With great reception and offense and Bartosz Bucko on fire, Poland completely dominated the first set and won it by 25-15. The second set was by far more even and tense. Both teams were flying high over the net in offense and created a good spectacle for the audience. The ending was very dramatic as Poland saved a few set points for Turkey before giving in at 26-28 after a powerful spike by Turkish captain Yigit Gulmezoglu. The battle continued in the next set. Inspired Turkey piled up a 20-16 lead, but Poland tied at 22-22 to prompt another exciting conclusion. The Poles first reached set point at 24-23, but their opponents responded with 3 points in a row to win the set by 26-24. In the next set the Turks made far too many mistakes and allowed their rival a thorough control of the scoreboard for the final 25-13. Poland’s spikers were merciless in the tie-breaker and following a 15-9 win celebrated their third victory in Brno.
Bartosz Bucko made an impressive tally of 27 points. His teammate Aleksander Sliwka and Turkey’s Mehmet Hacioglu scored 18 points each.
Yigit Gulmezoglu, captain of Turkey: “It was a very difficult game for us, because on the first day we played five sets and again today. Last year we played with them at the World Championship like this. They beat us, but it was equal. After the fourth set we were down mentally. But this one point is good for us.”
Tomasz Fornal, player of Poland: “It is a great present for my birthday! I did not play too much, but I am glad I could be on the court. It was a very tough and emotional match for us, but we are happy that at the end we reached the victory.”
Salih Erdogan Tavaci, assistant coach of Turkey: “We started badly and it took a long time until we got over it. Then we made fewer mistakes in defense and we had high percentages, so we did well in the second and the third sets. But in the fourth set we made eleven easy mistakes and it cost us the set. We started the last set with motivation on low point, but after 2-6 we started to fight. Unfortunately it was not enough. But the whole match was good and we need to rest and be prepared for the Czechs.”
Jacek Nawrocki, head coach of Poland: “The match was very nervous for my team. The Turkish team played well, but I think the decisive moment came at the end of the fourth set and the tie-breaker, where my team put more patience and the opponent players made many mistakes.”
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