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Bulgaria vs Germany 0:3 (20-25, 18-25, 22-25)

Germany signed their second victory in the competition after beating Bulgaria 3:0 in a convincing three-setter showdown. The demonstration by the German side resulted in Bulgaria’s first defeat in the tournament and in a thrilling tightening of the standings of Pool B.  

Halfway through the first set, Germany confirmed the sensational initial display of authority in serve and block that limited Bulgaria’s options in the period. The Bulgarian side started finding problems to receive and to put the ball in the other side of the court, thus granting Germany a growing advantage in the set. The outstanding performance in blocking by the German side allowed the bronze medallists in the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship to take the lead in the game (25-20).

The preeminence in attack by German aces Jochen Schöps and Christian Fromm contributed to extend Germany’s domination in the second period. From the onset Bulgaria struggled to keep their rivals’ pace and the squad directed by Vital Heynen ruled the period acquiring a continuous advantage in the scoreboard. A spike by Christian Fromm closed the set 25-18.

Improvement in offensive actions of the Bulgarian side allowed the squad directed by Nikolay Jeliazkov to present a greater opposition in the third set. The tie in the scoreboard turned into a constant, as powerful spikes alternated in both sides of the court. Ultimately, the sensational performance in serving by the German side broke the equality. Two consecutive German aces, in addition to a failed spike by the Bulgarian team as a consequence of an effective German service, as well as a final serve to the net by Bulgaria placed the definitive 25-22 that sealed the 3:0 win for Germany.



“Big compliments to my team because it is not easy to play against Bulgaria at 9:00 AM. We had to play well in all elements of the game, and that’s what we did. I am happy for the victory and now we have to keep this level for the next matches,” declared German player Christian Fromm.

“Germany played very well today. They served at a great level, they put us in difficulty with good serves and they were also very strong in defence and blocking. In addition to this, we made more mistakes than usual; I don’t know, maybe it is the hour of the game, which it is a little bit early for us. It’s the same for everybody but today Germany played very good Volleyball. Now we have to continue working, looking forward to our next match. Life goes on. In Volleyball, some days you win, some days you lose,” commented Bulgarian coach Nikolay Jeliazkov. 

Russia vs Slovakia 3:1 (24-26, 25-17, 25-18, 25-20) 

Russia stated their candidacy to rule Pool B after a hard-fought triumph over Slovakia. The Russian side served its way to the victory, as its excellence from the serving line empowered the eastern European powerhouse in its reaction to overturn an initial 0:1 so to achieve the final 3:1.

The Slovakian team demonstrated in the first set of the match that in Volleyball every point counts. Although it had not taken much for Russia to show their preeminence in the period, with a convincing start that gave them a substantial lead, the Slovakian side produced an outstanding comeback in the final stages of the set. Marcel Lux’s successful actions in attack and the efficiency from the serving line enabled Slovakia to turn the tables in a thrilling end of period (24-26). 

In the continuation, Russia took an early lead and briefly limited Slovakia’s momentum following the surprising outcome of the first period. Entrusting their authority to Alexander Markin’s powerful spikes and to Victor Polataev’s contribution, Russia acquired an advantage that their rivals were unable to recover on this occasion (8:4, 16:9). The tie returned to the encounter as the 2013 CEV Volleyball European Championship gold medallists finished the period 25-17. 

As the game evolved, the Russian mighty blocking and serving system undermined Slovakia’s drive in the match. Even though the team directed by Miroslav Palgut presented a high level of performance, as stated by its 46% of excellence in attack, the Russian side proved too hard to handle for Slovaks. The differences became out of reach for Slovakia and Russia closed the set with a powerful spike by Ilia Vlasov 25-18.

The squad trained by Sergey Shlyapnikov ended ratifying its reaction in a demonstration of the relevance that prevailing serves have in modern Volleyball. The eight aces accomplished by the Russian side and the scanty 29% percentage of excellent receptions by their rivals epitomised the ascent to victory by the current leaders of Pool B. A failed serve by Slovakia confirmed the Russian victory in the set 25-20 and represented the third triumph in a row for one of the main contenders for gold in the competition.  



“I have mixed feelings after this match. I was very afraid that the first set would ruin the match for us but the team showed power in their minds and fought bravely to get the result we needed. This is a young team, so they will make mistakes, but as long as it doesn’t affect the result, it is fine,” said the coach of Russia, Sergey Shlyapnikov. 

“It was high level of Volleyball and a lot of players from my team played for the first time against such high blocks, such a strong service, so strong attacks, and we even won the first set; we played very well in service but in the following sets we faced a team of Russia that was better in all the elements of the game. The key of the match was the service. It is very difficult to serve as we did in the first set; against these teams, only with good serves you have opportunities to do something,” declared the coach of Slovakia, Miroslav Palgut.  

Italy vs Belgium 2:3 (24-26, 25-16, 19-25, 25-12, 13-15)

All five sets were needed as Italy and Belgium clashed in hunt for their first win of the tournament. After a thrilling two hours and nine minutes drama, the Belgian players could raise their arms in celebration winning 3:2.    

Both Italy and Belgium had lost their first two matches in the tournament and were forced to win if they wished to keep the dream of a spot in the quarterfinals alive. The first set reflected what was at stake in this match. The atmosphere in Crystal Hall was so tense that you could cut in it with a knife. The fight was intense in every net action, and the gap between the two teams was no bigger than two points at any time in the set. The set had to go into extra points to find a winner, and here Belgium was the one to reach the magic two point margin at 26-24.

The defeat did not shock Italy. On the contrary, the Azzurri seemed extra determined to take the second set and managed to out spike Belgium who could not find and answer to the transformed Italian team. Italy’s Gabriele Nelli was a joy to watch as the 21-year old opposite again and again and again found a way to cut the Belgian blocks open. After the second set, as Italy won convincingly 25-16, Nelli had already scored 16 points.

Belgium got back on track in the third set finding the same rhythm they had showed in the first set. Like a rubber band, the Belgian lead kept on increasing and decreasing, before it finally bursted as 210 centimeter Arno Van de Velde kill blocked Belgium to a 19:13 lead. The six point gap was too big a mountain to climb for Italy, who lost the set 19-25.

Now behind 1:2 in sets Italy had to find the same recipe as they used in the second set in their hunt for the first win of the tournament. The most important ingredient in that recipe was still 'numero due', Gabrielle Nelli, who spiced up the Italian attack from height. Flavoured with some solid blocking and all stirred around by setter Luca Spirito the Italians won the set 25-12.   

Almost as expected from the beginning the match needed a tiebreak to find a winner. Belgium was the first to score, but almost as a law of nature, Italy equalised. This way the two teams continued until Belgium scored three points in a row making it 8:5, and the team changed sides. Two serves outside the court from Italy put Belgium close to the match point at 14:11, but as the spirit of this match predicted, Italy survived the first two of them, before Belgium won the tiebreak 15-13.



“I am really happy right now. We put in a really good fight to win our first match in the tournament. It is just great. We are a young team that has its ups and down and that was reflected in the second and fourth set, where Italy played really good. In a tiebreak anything can happen, and maybe we just wanted the win a little more than Italy today,” said Belgian captain, François Lecat.

“This was the match we had to win, if we wanted to go through to the next round. Now I hope we are able to put the next two matches in to good practice. We are a young team and obviously still have a lot to work on. I am happy that I scored many points today, but I also made too many mistakes. Maybe a few less errors could have changed the match to our side,” said Italy’s Gabrielle Nelli, top scorer with 33 point.