Krakow, Poland, August 24, 2017. Russia and Slovenia lived up to the expectations as they rallied to comprehensive 3-0 victories in their respective matchups with Bulgaria and Spain to open the programme of the LOTTO EUROVOLLEY POLAND 2017 Pool C at Tauron Arena in Krakow.
Bulgaria vs. Russia 0-3 (23-25, 20-25, 19-25)
This game was highly anticipated, for both Russia and Bulgaria are said by many to be the strongest teams in Pool C. Bulgaria however had hardly anything to say as they were overpowered in most areas of the match and lost this lopsided duel in three straight sets.
Russia began to race ahead right from the beginning of the game, partly due to Maxim Mikhailov‘s difficult serve. Their lead was as big as five points (7-2) but after the technical break Bulgaria started to reduce the gap. Bulgaria actually took the lead at 20-19 and really seemed to take control of the set but Russia also did not surrender easily and it is they who managed to close out the first stanza with 25-23 on the scoreboard.
Russia seemed to be on fire after surviving some difficult times in the 1st set and again they led by a noticeable margin at the technical break (8-4). Rozalin Penchev gave all his best both in attack and in defence as he fought for every ball but could not bring Bulgaria a tie they needed. Russia used wisely their assets and in difficult situations the setter, Sergey Grankin, played Russian attacks through the middle, where Iliyas Kurkaev and Artem Volvich delivered. As Bulgaria could not come close to their rivals, the set was ended by a Russian block with 25-20.
After the ten-minute break Bulgaria returned to the court with more focus and kept the score close as Nikolay Penchev was showing off his spiking skills. Russia claimed a considerable advantage after a point series caused by Grankin and his formidable serves (17-14). This seemed to break Bulgaria’s spirits as the Russians kept their lead untouched even though Tsvetan Sokolov and Rozalin Penchev attacked furiously and their team desperately tried to regain momentum. Dmitrii Volkov’s ace seemed to deprive Bulgaria of any hope that was left and Grankin’s single block closed out the game at 25-19.
Rozalin Penchev led Bulgaria with 17 points. Maxim Mikhailov and Dmitrii Volkov topped the Russian charts with 12 points each.
Bulgarian opposite Tsvetan Sokolov said: “We had a chance in the first set but in a couple of plays we weren’t aggressive enough. Teams like Russia never forgive mistakes and destroy the teams that make them. Before our next match everything needs to be better.”
Nikolay Nikolov, Bulgarian middle blocker: “We couldn’t show our skills and all the things we are capable of on the court. One of our main assets is the serve but today, just as in the World League, it was more of a problem – we started to serve better in the end but it was just too late. Even though Russia played very well in every element of the game I don’t think they were much better than us. They won a couple of decisive points and it gave them a victory today.”
Russia’s coach Sergey Shlyapnikov commented: “In every aspect of the game my players were better than the Bulgarians. We made less mistakes. But we must remember that it’s our opening match of the European Championship. I’m happy with the victory and think that it’s an important first step. My team now will play a difficult match against Slovenia, a surprising silver medallist two years ago. We don’t know what the Spaniards are capable of.”
Sergey Grankin, the captain of Russia: ”The result in this match against Bulgaria is obviously great for us but this success doesn’t guarantee a ticket to the playoff phase yet. Personally, I’m satisfied with our level today but maybe the coaches and supporters are waiting for more. Our team will now play against Slovenia and we don’t expect it to be easy.”
Spain vs. Slovenia 0-3 (25-27, 15-25, 16-25)
The second game of Pool C playing in Kraków featured Spain and the defending silver medallists from Slovenia. The underdogs from Spain fought bravely in the first set but they failed to take the chance to win it, subsequently losing 0-3.
Spain showed no respect for their opponent right from the beginning of the match and they managed to pile up a three-point lead at the first technical break (8-5). Slovenia seemed to be a little bit distracted as they struggled both in offence and in defence. Spanish opposite Andres Villena caused Slovenia much trouble but eventually the Slovenian block started to function and they cut their deficit down to two points. Tine Urnaut gave his team a much needed boost attacking from the wing (18-19) and eventually Slovenia tied it all up at 19. Alen Šket paved Slovenia’s way with a couple of kills from the left wing and his crucial ace gave Slovenia their first set ball at 24-23. The set ended with a Spanish fault resulting in a 27-25 win for their opponents.
Slovenia began the second set by racing ahead early and a block by Šket made it 7-3 in their favour. Alen Pajenk’s serve caused a lot of problems for Spain and the point series made the advantage quickly rise to six points (9-3). Spain just could not get back into the match – actually they fell more and more behind (9-19). They struggled to find a way to trick the Slovenian block and the lopsided set was closed out by Tonček Štern’s kill (25-15).
Spain tried to keep it close in the third set but Šket’s ace made it 11-7 for Slovenia. Pajenk got a couple of spikes for himself and Slovenia sailed safely to the victory – a block-out play by Šket ended the game at 25-16 and 3-0.
Tonček Štern was a Slovenia’s leader with 17 points. Andres Villena, the brightest member of the Spanish team, scored 14 points.
Slobodan Kovač, coach of Slovenia, said: “The start of the European Championship is difficult for everybody. At first it didn’t go well for us because our efficiency failed – after a good reception we couldn’t finish the first attack. But then our block and serve pushed really hard. I think we played on a good level and generally I’m satisfied with how my team performed.”
Alen Pajenk, middle-blocker of Slovenia: “We knew it was going to be hard because Spain played very well in their previous tournaments. We prepared thoroughly for this game. However, the first set was a little bit hard for us because they fought for every ball. In the second and third sets we just pushed with our serve and block and it was enough to win.”
Spain’s coach Fernando Muñoz commented: “We prepared for this game to start the competition with a victory. We began very well, we were concentrated, we played perfectly in attack. We lost the first set because we gave Slovenia a chance to come back into the game. We let our opponents take advantage of our problems in reception. Our solutions just didn’t work. In the next matches we must find our moment, but we know that we will face very strong teams. We must play better during the whole game, not only in the first set.”
Pool C returns on Saturday with Russia playing Slovenia and Bulgaria taking on Spain.
Click here for more info including detailed match statistics