Brno, Czech Republic, September 5, 2014.  Russia and Poland will meet in the final of the 2014 CEV U20 Volleyball European Championship - Men.  These are the same two teams that also met last year in the youth final in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The heavy pre-favorites to win the current tournament in Brno, just like they did in 2013 in Laktasi, became the first team to qualify for Saturday’s grand finale.  In the first semifinal on Friday, Russia shut out Slovenia by 3:0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-14).   Poland and France battled it out in the second semifinal and the Poles emerged victorious with a 3:1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21) win.  Russia and Poland will face each other for the gold medals at 17:30 local time on Sunday at the Vodova sports hall.  Before that, starting at 15:00, Slovenia will challenge France for the bronze.

Russia vs. Slovenia 3:0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-14)

There was not much of a discussion during the first set.  The Russian team had more self-confidence, committed fewer errors than the opponent and logically won by 25-19.  The momentum continued into the second set and at 18-10 in favor of Russia the Slovenians seemed doomed.  However, they gradually managed to narrow this gap down to a minimum and even saved two set points for the opponent to tie the score at 24-24.  But Russia held up and four rallies down the road emerged with a 27-25 win.  Realizing that the opponent across the net is not just going to surrender, the Russians shifted gears again and completely crushed Slovenia in the third set.  Everything seemed to be working well in the Russian machine, but most impressive was Pavel Pankov’s serving.  The Russian captain scored 3 aces in the set, finishing it off in a spectacular fashion at 25-14 with the last one.

Russia’s Dmitriy Volkov and Victor Poletaev and Slovenia’s Toncek Stern were the best scorers of the match with 14, 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Jan Kozamernik, player of Slovenia:  “We played well, mostly in the second set, but our play was not on the highest level as it should be.  We did as best as we could, so that is it.  We are happy that we made it to the semifinals.”

Pavel Pankov, captain of Russia:  “We played very well today, it was a well-deserved victory for us I think.  I hope we will continue in winning fashion tomorrow.”

Iztok Ksela, head coach of Slovenia:  “Russia is a different level in comparison to our team.  But I am very satisfied with the second set, how we came back…  We had a chance to earn one set, but they are very strong.  I am happy that all of my players played today, nobody is hurt and tired.  I hope that we could win something tomorrow.”

Sergey Shlyapnikov, head coach of Russia:  “It was a very good match for my team.  We were concentrated almost throughout the entire match.  We had some problems only in the second set with bad reception, but we won.  Now we have to prepare and concentrate for tomorrow’s final match.”

Poland vs. France 3:1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21)

The Polish offense was the highlight of the first set, with Bartosz Bucko and Aleksander Sliwka on fire on the outside and Jakub Kochanovski and Bartolomiej Mordyl flawless in the middle.  The French tried to stay close behind the opponent and even caught up on several occasions, but were never able to take the lead and finally gave in at 19-25.  The second set was the time for the French blocking and serving to shine.  Poland was again in the lead for the most part, but in the end a five-point series for France with Nohoarii Paofai behind the serving line turned things around for 25-21 after a brilliant kill block by Mederic Henry for the last point.  The battle continued in the next set and was very tight through 18-18.  The French made far too many mistakes, while substitute Kamil Droszynski took six serves in a row and pooled Poland to a 23-18 lead.  The set was closed three rallies later, at 25-19, on a direct kill by Rafal Szymura following a shaky reception from France.  The fourth set was no less different.  France had the initiative in the first half.  With the inclusion of substitute Tomasz Fornal, the Polish team found that extra bit it needed to persevere in this set, as the 17-year-old wing spiker made a fantastic contribution.  The spectators on the stands enjoyed many long rallies with great defensive actions on both sides of the net, as Poland gradually took control.  In the end it was time for the Polish blockers to make their decisive contribution.  A double block put the last ball on the floor for 25-21 and Poland triumphed victorious.

France’s Jean Patry topped the scorers’ chart of the match with 20 points.  Bartosz Bucko was the winning side’s most prolific player with 18.

Luka Basic, captain of France:  “We did not play very well.  We made too many serving and reception mistakes and that is why we lost the match.”

Tomasz Fornal, player of Poland:  “We are very happy about the fact that we advanced to the final.  We played well today, but I have to say that France was a very difficult and tough opponent.  I think my mother got the best present for her birthday today.”

Jocelyn Trillon, head coach of France:  “We made so many mistakes, it was impossible to win this match.  I am very sad, because we wanted to go to the final, but not with this performance…”

Maciej Zendel, asisstant coach of Poland:  “We played a very good match today and we are really enjoying the fact we have secured a medal at this level for the first time since 18 years ago in 1996.  Tomorrow we will fight for gold, but we know it is going to be very hard for us.”