14/10/2015 11:17
Remake of World League grand finale coming up at men’s EuroVolley
2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Men
Busto Arsizio, Italy, October 14, 2015. The 2015 men’s EuroVolley quarterfinal match starring France and Serbia coming up on Wednesday afternoon at Palayamamay in Busto Arsizio is a remake of the ‘grand finale’ of this year’s FIVB Volleyball World League that ‘Les Bleus’ claimed in three sets in Rio de Janeiro.
France have enjoyed two days off following their victory on Sunday over Italy whilst Serbia had to fight for five sets and to come back from two down before edging past Estonia, the real revelation of the 2015 men’s EuroVolley. On Tuesday afternoon Estonia stormed indeed to a 2:0 lead as their play was well orchestrated by setter Kert Toobal who could count on a few weapons – Andri Aganits, Oliver Venno, Robert Täht and Keith Pupart – to record 25-21 and 25-14 set wins.
Though Serbia got back on track cruising to a massive 25-8 in the third stanza, the 2013 bronze medal winners had the upper hand only after a hard-fought tie-break (15-13). Their performance was far from being impressive and follows on another difficult match Serbia had at the beginning of the tournament, where they also had to claw back before eventually edging Slovakia at the tie-break.
France’s mentor Laurent Tillie (pictured) remains cautious stating that the chances are 50:50, knowing that even though they had to play five sets on Tuesday, Serbia is not an opponent to be underestimated. This will be the third time this season that France and Serbia are crossing their ways, after the gold medal match of the World League Finals in Rio de Janeiro – which France claimed by three sets to none – and a 1:3 loss for ‘Les Bleus’ at the tournament held in Ludwigsburg, Germany, shortly before the start of the EuroVolley.
“They have great individual skills, with a good setter – Nikola Jovovic, a bunch of outside spikers of international calibre – Marko Ivovic and brothers Nikola and Uros Kovacevic, and a world-class opposite, Aleksandar Atanasijevic,” Tillie points out. Atanasijevic is definitely Serbia’s best weapon and also their most prolific player, having recorded 28 points in the match up with Slovakia and he is also the one who propelled Serbia’s comeback in the playoff round match with Estonia on Tuesday.
Serbia claimed European gold in 2011 and bronze two years ago, so they definitely remain one of the forces to be reckoned with also at the 2015 men’s EuroVolley. France, on the other hand, are hoping to repeat their classy performance from the match against co-hosts Italy where they came back from two sets down to upset one of the red-hot favourites for the fictional title of ‘kings of European Volleyball’ that will be at stake this coming Sunday at Arena Armeec in Sofia.
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.
|