Brno, Czech Republic, September 6, 2014. Italy showed no mercy for the home team of the Czech Republic in the fifth place match at the 2014 CEV U20 Volleyball European Championship - Men. The southern European team shrugged off the disappointment of not making it among the top four and claimed the fifth place in a convincing fashion. Following Friday’s straight sets against Turkey, on Saturday Italy shut out the Czechs by 3:0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-22).
Italy vs. Czech Republic 3:0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-22)
The Italians established clear superiority on the court from the very start of the match. They played better than the opponents in all components, but especially in blocking, to win the first set by 25-14. The Italian domination was even more visible in the second set as they were about to close it at an even wider margin, but after 9-24 the Czech Republic saved five set points before surrendering at 14-21 on a successful spike by substitute Marco Vitelli. After breaking away for 16-11 in the third set, the Italians lost their momentum for a while to allow the home guys to catch up and raise the excitement among the fans on the stands, but in the end Italy’s blockers took an opportunity to shine again scoring the last two points in the match for 25-22.
The Italian setter Simone Gianelli, who had a fantastic performance in this game, also curiously became the best scorer as he achieved 2 aces, 4 kill blocks and 4 successful spikes for a total of 10 points. His teammates Tiziano Mazzone, Andrea Argenta and substitute Sebastiano Milan and Czech Republic’s Jan Galabov scored 8 points each.
Martin Tibitanzl, player of Czech Republic: “The championship was great, but the last match was not. We really enjoyed being a part of all this.”
Tiziano Mazzone, captain of Italy: “I am very sad for the fifth place, because we are a strong team and this tournament was not good for us. Today we were physically and mentally better than the Czechs. But we did not want to play for the fifth place, it could have been better…”
Jindrich Licek, head coach of Czech Republic: “I am little bit disappointed for the last match, but we were mentally down. It was not like a match for the fifth place. But the sixth place is perfect and we did what we could do, maybe even more. It is the first step to the top, but the guys have to work hard.”
Michele Totire, head coach of Italy: “It was an easy match, but what is important is that the fifth place was a small target, because we lost the match against France for the semifinals. We are so empty now. I am very proud to be the coach of this team, my guys are great prospects for Italian volleyball.”
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