Finland vs France 0:3 (24-26, 23-25, 23-25)
An effective and error-free offensive performance allowed France to beat Finland 3:0 in the opening match of the day for Pool A. The French squad accomplished a creditable efficiency in attack, reflected in the percentage of 54% excellent spikes in the game, in order to achieve their first victory in the tournament.
Both teams engaged in an even clash, following the five-setter matches that the two squads had to endure in the first day of competition. The first period of the game was a repetition of their previous and disputed experiences since the differences were kept to a minimum and the set had to be solved in a tight finish. Finland was able to brush off an initial disadvantage to force a late equaliser, but the French side used Trévor Clevenot’s attacks to close the period 26-24.
The 12 players on court struggled to impose their respective might in the match, a situation resulting in a continuation of the equality. The contribution by Trévor Clevenot and Quentin Jouffroy allowed the French side to take a slight lead in the deciding phase of the period, and although Finland was able to save two set balls, the squad trained by Marc Francastel placed the 2:0 in the scoreboard (25-23).
Finland strived to find their way in the match and Toni Kankaanpää’s offensive performance offered a glimpse of Nordic reaction in the third set. The period proceeded marked by an extreme equality, with the Finnish players fighting for an extension of the clash. However, France and their efficiency in attack ended the encounter. After a match-ball saved by Finland, France's Guillaume Quesque found a block-out that meant the final 25-23 in the third set.
“It was a tight match. We played quite good but there were little things that made them better today. I honestly think we could have won the match,” declared the captain of Finland, Toni Kankaanpää.
”We did not have our best serve today. Finland is really good in their reception and they made it a tough match for us. We tried to get the ball far from the net, so we could make some easier passes, but Finland served strong and put a lot of pressure on us in the side-out. We got a bit nervous, but I am happy that we won in three sets so we have more time to recover,” said French setter, Toafa Takaniko.
Turkey vs Poland 2:3 (20-25, 19-25, 30-28, 25-22, 13-15)
Poland continued their winning streak with an extremely disputed and thrilling victory over Turkey in yet another outstanding showdown in Pool A of the European Games that was decided in a heart-breaking tie-break.
Poland entrusted their successful performance in the first part of the encounter to Dawid Konarski’s excellent offensive contribution, as the powerful attacks by the opposite player put Poland on route to victory with a resolving achievement in the first two periods of the match (25-20 and 25-19).
Then, with 0:2 in the scoreboard, a Turkish reaction came. Volleyball fans filling up the stands of Crystal Hall arena in Baku showed support for the team of the neighbouring country with chants of “Turkey, Turkey”, and the squad directed by Alper Hamurcu responded with a hard-fought comeback. Poland were focussed on achieving the three-setter victory and even got three match balls in the third period, but Turkey ultimately prevailed in the set, so to extend the clash, causing the clamour in the stands (30-28).
Yet another five-setter was at stake at the Crystal Hall and a constant tie became permanent in the scoreboard. With tight equality on the court, Turkey showed a higher motivation and limited the scoring options from their rivals. A sensational triple block by the Turkish stars placed the 25-22 in the scoreboard that represented the transition to the tie-breaker.
A positive starting run put Turkey on the lead (4:1) but Poland managed to clean their wounds and fought all the way to regain the control of the final set (6:5). After that moment, the set became a roller coaster ride of outstanding, spectacular and changing actions. Nonetheless, Poland succeeded in imposing their physical prowess, and got a slight advantage in the last part of the set, in order to place the victory at reach. Turkey was even able to bring uncertainty to the game by saving two match-balls, but a spike by Aleksander Sliwka meant the final 15-13 and 3:2 win.
“It was a very difficult game for us. After the first two sets, the match seemed at hand for us, but Turkey started playing better and better. Anyway, we had the chance to win this game 3:0, but they started being more confident and, even in the fifth set, they were going up. But we kept calm, we were still very cool, very patient, and that’s how we won this game. I am very happy after this match because we had very young boys on the court,” declared the captain of Poland, Pawel Woicki.
“It was a close match. We did not play our best Volleyball in the first two sets and we did not look good at all. But then we had a good talk before the third set and got back in the match. The guys really stepped up and fought like men. It was as close as it can be in the tiebreak, so of course I am disappointed. Now I hope that we can avenge ourselves in the next match,” said Selçuk Keskin, setter of Turkey.
Azerbaijan vs Serbia 0:3 (22-25, 18-25, 19-25)
The spectators’ expectations were high, and so was the volume of the sound system in Crystal Hall, as both Azerbaijan and Serbia were on the hunt for their first success at the 2015 European Games in Baku. Serbia crowned a good match with a 3-0 win.
If you could not see it, you could definitely hear who the home audience was cheering for. Each time Azerbaijan took a lead in the beginning of the first set, the crowd turned up their hopes and cheering, and the sound system was also given a notch up. The combination of the crowd and the sound system was deafening loud, and the only thing preventing the roof on Crystal Hall from literally lifting itself was that Serbia kept scoring point after point and eventually won the set 25-22.
The two teams followed each other close in the beginning of the second set, before Serbia won four points in a row making the score 12:8, which forced the coach of Azerbaijan, Bülent Karslioglu, to take a timeout. That did not help as Serbia won another two points before Azerbaijan replied. Then it was too late to come back in the set, and as Serbia’s Konstantin Cupkovic continued his scoring spree from the first set, the blue-shirted Serbians doubled their number of set wins to two, this one with a 25-18.
The contrast of the sound level from the first set and third set was immense. Having been deafening loud, it now was deafening absent. The silence almost felt loud as Serbia continued finding holes in the Azerbaijani blocks. The spectators were losing hope gradually, as Azerbaijan kept falling behind the Serbians. And as the clock yet again passed midnight in Baku, Serbia could celebrate their first win of the European Games with a 25-19 in the final set.