12/10/2015 17:22
Underdogs Estonia looking forward to playoff match up with heavyweight Serbia
2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Men
Busto Arsizio, Italy, October 12, 2015. Serbia and Estonia will open on Tuesday afternoon the programme of the 2015 men’s EuroVolley playoff stage at Palayamamay in Busto Arsizio. Though Serbia are the clear-cut favourites going into this match, Estonia have nothing to lose as this is only the second time in history they have made it that far in a final round of the European Championship.
“The first phase of this competition was quite positive because we were able to edge Slovakia after a very difficult start in that match,” says Serbian mentor Nikola Grbic. “We got back on track after a difficult day. After that we played a very good match with Finland and this way we already secured our qualification to the next stage of the tournament,” he continues. “Yesterday in the final match of the pool with Russia we played at their same level for two sets but after that we just could not keep up with their pace. They took a lot of risks and finally they were rewarded for their aggressive play. We have to reset, forget this match and focus entirely on the game with Estonia. At this point we are taking it one match at a time and it would be a big mistake if we did it differently.”
If Serbia has been a major force to be reckoned with for many years already, Estonia are some kind of newcomers at this level. Back in 2011 they achieved their best result in a Final Round of the men’s EuroVolley when they reached the playoff stage before losing to Bulgaria in three sets. Their season has been a good one so far, as they first claimed their ticket to this championship edging Sweden in the third and last qualification round and after that swept ten consecutive matches in the prelims of the European League, before ending the competition in fourth place at the finals held in Walbrzych, Poland.
On Sunday Estonia secured their adventure in the competition would continue after routing Croatia in three consecutive sets to delight their 500 fans in attendance at the iconic Palavela in Turin. “We have to be ready for a very tough match, but that’s what we already knew from the beginning,” says their experienced team captain and setter Kert Toobal. “We did a really good job yesterday, but tomorrow we need to play even better if we want to achieve something important. Tomorrow we must also be ready to cope with some difficult moments, and we have to be good and cool enough to step over them as quickly as possible to give it everything we have like we did in the first three games, playing with heart and passion. We know we don’t have any extraordinary individual skills, so our only chance to beat those champions from Serbia is to play as a team, sticking together like we have done so far.”
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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