11/07/2015 23:41
European League home debut crowned with success for Croatia
2015 CEV Volleyball European League - Men
Rovinj, Croatia, July 11, 2015. Croatia opened on Saturday their campaign in the 2015 CEV Volleyball European League – Men with a 3:1 home win (25-23, 19-25, 25-18, 25-19) over Belarus at Gimnasium sports hall in Rovinj. Belarus was expected to be a very tough rival for the home side but the Croatian players showed resilience and nerves of steel especially after losing the second set to pocket their first win in the competition.
Croatia are a force to be reckoned with in this year’s CEV Volleyball European League even more as the guys around Igor Simuncic will use this competition to prepare for the Final Round of the 2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship scheduled for mid-October. Simuncic has called up a mix of young and experienced players who delivered a solid performance on Saturday night to the delight of their fans in Rovinj. Ivan Raic and Danijel Galic top scored in the end with 18 and 14 points, respectively, whilst setter Tsimafei Zhukouski recorded as many as six aces. Andrei Radziuk and Siarhei Antanovich paced Belarus in their losing effort with 17 and 16 points, respectively.
“In the second set we lost focus and concentration, a problem we have been struggling with for quite some time,” Croatia’s mentor Igor Simuncic said. “We also did not play enough friendly matches before the start of the European League and this shows that the physical and mental preparations are equally important.”
“We do not despair as nothing is compromised yet and tomorrow is another day for our team,” said Belarusian mentor Victor Sidelnikov.
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the match
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