Nitra, Slovakia, September 3, 2014.  France became the first team from Pool I to secure a spot in the semifinals of the 2014 CEV U20 Volleyball European Championship - Men.  The French survived a five-set thriller against another candidate, Italy, to win by 3:2 (12-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 15-9) and hop over the previously unbeaten Italians in the standings.  To follow them into the semis, Russia crushed Bulgaria by 3:0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-17) and ended up on top of the final standings.  Finally, Serbia survived a five-set scare against Slovakia, but defeated the home side by 3:2 (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 14-25, 15-13) to book the final spot in the battles for the fifth place in Brno.

France vs. Italy 3:2 (12-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 15-9)

Italy started this important match perfectly taking an 8-0 lead.  France had a lot of problems with the reception and could not handle the very good float-serves of the Italian team.  Italy crushed France by 25-12.  The French started better in the second set and led by 12-10.  They remained in control and won by 25-22.  In the third set the Italians started to serve and block very well and built up a four-point difference at 16-12.  But France came back with the help of middle blocker Nohoarii Paofai’s great serving effort and turned the score to 17-16.  But Italy improved its blocking, opened a five-point gap and won the third set by 25-20.  France led by 7-5 in the fourth set, but Italy turned the score to 10-7 with Alberto Polo behind the serving line.  Italy continued causing a lot of problems for their opponents with their float-serves and extended to 14-10.  France then levelled the score from 16-21 to 21-21 after a successful block by captain Luka Basic.  France finally won the fourth set by 25-22 and stayed in contention for the semifinals.  The French started the decisive tie-breaker with a 4-1 lead.  They were on fire, wing spiker Timothee Carle was perfect in serving and France extended to 8-2 at the side switch.  France finally won the last set by 15-9 and qualified for the semis, while Italy must wait for a miracle in the match Russia vs. Bulgaria.

Mederic Henry and Timothee Carle scored 17 points each for France, while Ferdinando Della Volpe and substitute player Sebastiano Milan tallied 16 each for Italy.

Simone Gianelli, player of Italy:  "We are very sad, because we should have won a set like the fourth one.  We had everything in our hands, but we could not find a way to finish the match. It is really a bitter moment for us."

Luka Basic, captain of France:  "We did not play well today, but then we found a way to come back.  We were very close to losing, but our team showed character and we are happy to go to the semifinals.  We are still on the way to reach our goal, which is a medal."

Michele Totire, head coach of Italy:  "It is really difficult to speak after a match like this.  We had everything in our hands, but the fourth set was incredible.  We were leading by 21-16, but the set is finished only after the last ball touches the ground.  I am very sorry for my guys, this is a big loss for the future of Italian volleyball.  We beat Russia and we were so close from the semifinals...  Ironically, it could happen that we finish fifth with only one loss.  The guys are very sad and it will be difficult to restart again."

Jocelyn Trillon, head coach of France:  "We were in a bad situation in the fourth set, but my guys found a way back.  I hope that we can use this momentum also in the next stage of the tournament.  I want to congratulate the entire team.  My players put all their qualities - passion, fighting and communication, to good use today.  We are happy to go to the semifinals, we will see who our opponent will be, but at this time we need some rest and we will have a small celebration.  This team deserves it."

Russia vs. Bulgaria 3:0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-17)

Russia needed to win against Bulgaria to reach the semifinals.  The favorite of the match started very strong, served and blocked very well and immediately built a wide point difference winning the first set by 25-14.  The second set was also under the control of the Russian players who were stronger and pushed their opponents with very good serving.  Russia won the second set by 25-19 and the machine did not stop here.  Sergey Shlyapnikov’s boys also won the last set by 25-17 and qualified for the semifinals as a pool winner.

Victor Poletaev was the best scorer of the match with 17 points for Russia.  Velizar Chernokozhev was Bulgaria’s most prolific player with 12.

Victor Poletaev was the best scorer of the match with 17 points for Russia.  Velizar Chernokozhev was Bulgaria’s most prolific player with 12.

Pavel Ivanov, captain of Bulgaria:  "I think we played well against the strong Russian team.  We did what we could.  We played with our hearts, but they were simply better.  We will wait for the last match and hope that Slovakia beats Serbia."

Pavel Pankov, captain of Russia:  "We are happy that we recovered after yesterday’s loss against Italy.  We played a very solid game today and we achieve our goal which was the first place in this pool.  Now we are looking forward to Brno."

Nikolay Jeliazkov, head coach of Bulgaria:  "We played quite well in my opinion and we tried to do our best.  We must take experience from this match, because we will have qualifications for the World Championship next year.  We need to work for the future.  This championship finished for us, but we have to look forward.  We still have a chance to go to Brno if Serbia loses, but I do not believe in miracles."

Sergey Shlyapnikov, head coach of Russia:  "Yesterday we saw that no team is weak in this tournament.  Today we were concentrated from the start and we put on a good performance.  My players followed the game plan and we are satisfied that we reached the first place. Poletaev played very well in this game, but I am satisfied with all my players.  We did what we wanted to do and we are looking forward to the semifinals."

Serbia vs. Slovakia 3:2 (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 14-25, 15-13)

Serbia was facing a must-win situation before the last match against Slovakia.  The Serbs started very well and led by 8-5.  Slovakia came as close as 19-21, but finally Serbia won the first set by 25-20.  The second was the similar.  Serbia held the lead from the start through the end and finally won by 25-20.  Slovakia led by 21-16 in the third set, but Serbia turned the score to 23-21 and was very close to victory.  However, the home guys collected four points in a row and won their first set in the tournament.  Slovakia woke up, started to play very well, especially in blocking, and crushed Serbia by 25-14 to also collect its first point in Nitra.  With its back against the wall, Serbia was more concentrated in the dramatic tie-breaker to win it by 15-13 and book its ticket to Brno.

Serbia’s Milos Nadazdin with 23 points and Slovakia’s Filip Gavenda with 21 were the best scorers in this game.

Filip Gavenda, player of Slovakia:  "We wanted to show our fans that we can play volleyball and our goal was to win this game and finish the tournament in a positive way.  Serbia was better in the first two sets, but then we came back and finally we played with hearts and passion.  In general, we are disappointed and we want to apologize to our fans that we did not play throughout the tournament like we did today.”

Stevan Simic, captain of Serbia:  “We started the match well, but then we stopped playing and we were close to relegation.  Finally we are happy that we have qualified, but we must play better in Brno.”

Miroslav Palgut, head coach of Slovakia:  "We did not serve well in the first two sets.  I am not happy for the loss, but we finally showed something positive in this tournament and we started to play our game from the third set.  We played with aggression, heart and courage and our players realized that this is the way to success.  We did not reach our goal which was to qualify for Brno, but we must accept that our pool was very strong.  I hope this tournament will help us for the future."

Sinisa Reljic, head coach of Serbia:  "I am very disappointed with the way we played.  We were up by 2:0 and it should have been an easy victory for us, but finally we fought for survival.  With play like this we did not deserve to be in Brno.  I hope that we will play better there, but I am not sure...  I told to my players that it will not be easy, because the Slovaks are at home and will fight even if they are out of the tournament.  We stopped playing after two sets and I am disappointed.  Anyway, I am happy that we have finally won and qualification for Brno is already a good result for us."