09/10/2015 23:07
Slovenia off to superb start at men’s EuroVolley with three-set win over Belarus, world champions Poland rout Red Dragons
2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Men
Varna, Bulgaria, October 9, 2015. Slovenia could not ask for a better way to start their 2015 men’s EuroVolley campaign as the gold medal winners from this year’s CEV Volleyball European League opened proceedings at the Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna with a speedy 3:0 victory (25-12, 25-21, 25-17) in their matchup with Belarus. Later in the evening, reigning world champions Poland beat the Red Dragons of Belgium in straight sets (25-18, 29-27, 25-16) to consolidate their status as major and leading force to be reckoned with in Pool C.
Belarus vs. Slovenia 0:3 (12-25, 21-25, 17-25)
The players mentored by Italian Volleyball legend Andrea Giani came out with all guns blazing as they stamped a terrific 25-12 win in the opening set of their match with Belarus. Belarus regrouped and performed a lot better in the second set where they claimed a two-point lead at 13:11. However, Slovenia used one of their best weapons – the serve – to turn the tide and wrap it up at 25-21. The young and fairly unexperienced players of Belarus struggled in reception whilst Slovenia continued to display a very solid performance in each compartment – serve, block and attack – thereby pocketing their first win at the 2015 men’s EuroVolley in three, straight sets.
Slovenia’s libero Miha Plot commented: “We played really well, and did so especially at serving and in defence. I am very happy with this 3:0 win because we saved energy for tomorrow. We will play against Poland and we all know they are a very good team, one of the top teams in Europe and basically also one of the top favourites in this competition.”
Slovenia’s star player Mitja Gasparini commented: “We started the match really, really well, playing with a very good rhythm and we didn’t let Belarus find their way into the game. We didn’t make any mistakes in attack and the first set was quickly over. In the second set they started to play a little better and this was normal. Halfway through that set we showed some great defence. We did a really good job at blocking too, and with our counterattacks we managed to put some balls down and this was the key to win the second set. Tomorrow we play against the world champions. That will be a completely different match. Poland has a completely different rhythm of play but we have played against some tough opponents during our preparation and I think that we are ready for this challenge. We know what is coming our way. We need to put everything on the court and we will see where this can get us.”
Andrea Giani, Slovenia’s coach, commented: “It is easy to play when you have a good rhythm but in the second set our intensity went down. I asked for a time out and I told my players: Now, we need to have good defence and to use our chances when counter-attacking. I’m glad because they managed to do that. However, we have to keep the pace high for the whole game. We can’t have ups and downs. We need to play at the same level in each set.”
Belarus coach Victor Sidelnikov: “The first set was like a shock therapy for us. We were just afraid of playing on this stage because for eight players in our team this match was the real debut in a European championship. In the second set we played better and got to the front but we did not believe in our chances through to the end. For us this is a big, big experience. We made some mistakes in our game and we need to correct them. If we don’t make as many mistakes as we did today, we can perform well. However, at this stage Slovenia is definitely playing at a higher level than us.”
Poland vs. Belgium 3:0 (25-18, 29-27, 25-16)
Poland did not face any serious issues, coming from the Belgians in the first and the third sets. The 2014 world champions established their domination with the start of the match and cruised to a speedy 25-18 win. The second set was a different story. Belgium improved their blocking, while Poland started making many mistakes. The lead went back and forth several times and the set went well into overtime. The world champions failed to covert four set points, but persevered to win the set by 29-27. In the third set, the Belgians could no longer stand up to the well-tuned Polish machine and the shutout was completed with a 25-16 final score.
Poland’s Michal Kubiak and Mateusz Mika split the top scorer honours with 14 points each. Bartosz Kurek added another 13. Gert Van Walle made nine points for Belgium.
Poland’s libero Pawel Zatorski commented: “It was the kind of match that we expected. We played much better than Belgium in all elements of the game. So it was easy for us and this is good because now we still have a lot of power and energy saved for tomorrow. I think that the match against Slovenia will be more difficult than the one from today. The Slovenian players have been performing really well lately and this is definitely going to be a tough match.”
Poland’s spiker Mateusz Mika said: “The first match in a tournament like this is always something special and you don’t know exactly what to expect. We had some difficulties in the second set but we managed to come out victorious even though the end was quite close and dramatic. I’m very proud of my team and the way we reacted at this stage. In the first and third sets everything was just easy because we claimed an early lead and held on to it.”
Poland’s mentor Stéphane Antiga: “You always have some stress in the first match. This is also a sports hall where we had not played any match before. However, I’m happy because we played aggressive and were focussed from start to end. We also executed our tactical plans very well. Belgium got the lead in the second set and put us under pressure but we managed to win this set as well. Tomorrow’s match with Slovenia will be an interesting one.”
Belgium’s middle blocker Simon Van de Voorde said: “We missed some chances in the second set. Obviously Poland was stronger than us, as you know they are the reigning world champions. They have a very good team. We need a lot of luck against an opponent like them if we want to win. The match with Belarus coming up tomorrow is very important for us. It will also be a difficult and interesting game. The most important thing is how we perform on court and if we play good, we will be able to win.”
Belgium’s coach Dominique Baeyens concluded: “I already said yesterday that we didn’t dream about beating Poland. I think that for this we need a lot of luck and a lot of mistakes from their side. However, if they play as good as they did tonight, it gets very difficult for us. However, I’m happy with the second set. We did some changes in the starting line-up because Poland use their float service and we struggled with that. The result was good but next time we need to be better, especially mentally. In the third set they claimed the lead from the beginning and I took the decision to put my starting six on the bench. We really have a hard match coming up tomorrow. Maybe this is our most important match because if we want to move on to the next stage of the tournament we have to beat them. After all, today’s match with Poland was a positive experience for us.”
For more information on the 2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Men visit eurovolley2015.net or click here. In social media, please use the competition’s official hashtag #EuroVolleyM.
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