Szczecin, Poland, August 28, 2017.  Germany set their foot on a quarterfinal spot at LOTTO EUROVOLLEY POLAND 2017 after topping the final standings in Pool B in Szczecin. They mastered their third consecutive victory at Azoty Arena, this time sending Slovakia home with a 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-23) shutout. Italy and the Czech Republic battled it out for the second place and after three overtime sets the Italians claimed a 3-0 (27-25, 28-26, 26-24) victory.

Wednesday’s playoffs in Katowice will start with an encounter between Italy and Turkey, with the winner facing Belgium in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Germany await the winner of the second playoff in the bracket – between France and the Czech Republic.


Slovakia vs. Germany 0-3 (18-25, 24-26, 23-25)

With star player György Grozer absent from the starting line-up, Germany took a speedy 3-0 lead in the first set. Slovakia caught up at 4-4, but this was the last time in the set the score was level. Capitalising on the many opponents’ errors, the Germans cruised to a comfortable 25-18 win.

In set 2 coach Andrej Kravarik undertook some changes to his squad and Slovakia had a different face. While Christian Fromm and Simon Hirsch were merciless at the net, the Slovaks put up a tough fight through the end. Germany wasted a double set point at 24-22, but finally snatched the set at 26-24 to double their lead.

The third set was also very competitive. The first time the margin exceeded one point was at 14-12 Germany’s way, after which coach Andrea Giani’s squad extended it to 19-15. But the Slovaks would not give in just yet. Stringing three in a row, they leveled back the score at 23-23 to prompt a dramatic ending. Germany responded with a successful spike to reach match point, after which Slovakia finally surrendered with a faulty attack for 23-25.

Christian Fromm was the best scorer of the match with 12 points. His teammate Marcus Böhme contributed another 10 to the victory. Peter Ondrovic and Matej Patak shared the honours on Slovakia’s side with 9 each.



Emanuel Kohut, captain of Slovakia: "The sad thing is that we won only one set during this championship. But overall, we are very happy to be part of such an event, because the atmosphere was incredible."

Daniel Koncal, player of Slovakia: "I regret that we did not play well during the first set, because the second and the last sets were much better. We were able to show that the difference between us and the Germans could be minimised. We tried to keep it close, but it was a huge event for us and the pressure was on."

Lukas Kampa, captain of Germany: "We were glad that our coach changed the match roaster a little bit, and some players were given a chance to show their skills to the Polish audience. The result 3-0 is great for us, because we stamped our first place in Pool B."

Michael Andrei, player of Germany: "It is a huge advantage for us that we have one more day for recovery. It does not matter which team we will be playing against in the quarterfnals, because we have to be 100% prepared for every opponent."




Italy vs. Czech Republic 3-0 (27-25, 28-26, 26-24)

The first set was a tough fight for every point with the Czech Republic opening the widest margin during the whole set at 8-5. With Michal Finger and Filippo Lanza racing each other in scoring for their teams, it was tight all the way through the end when Italy’s setter Simone Giannelli aced for 27-25.

After 12-8 in favour of the Czechs, Italy scored eight in a row with Giannelli behind the serving line to flip the lead their way (16-12). This looked like the key moment of the set until the Czech team saved a triple set point to restore the balance at 24-24. The Italians wasted two more set points before Filippo Lanza’s attacks finally ended it at 28-26 despite the heroic effort of the Czech defence.

Lanza and Finger continued their fabulous performance as the two teams presented yet another set that went into overtime to delight the numerous fans on the stands. Once again Italy kept pace, but the Czech Republic managed to catch up at 24-24 with some spectacular displays in defence. Two rallies down the road Matteo Piano put a stop to Michal Finger’s fire with a monster block for 26-24 that sent the Italians celebrating.

Filippo Lanza led the scorers with 19 points, while his teammate Simone Giannelli impressed with five aces. Michal Finger was the Czech Republic’s top scorer with 16.



Daniele Mazzone, player of Italy: "We won, but in a worse style than we did yesterday. The Czechs are consistent and they make few mistakes. I think that the level of experience of the teams decided which one reached the victory in the end."

Gianlorenzo Blengini, coach of Italy: "We discussed a lot about how to play against the Czechs. The key was to play point-to-point, and to remain cold-blooded. Now we have to face the Turkish team. It is not surprising for me that they are doing well in this tournament. The level of Turkish Volleyball has grown a lot and they are very dangerous."

Marek Zmrhal, player of the Czech Republic: "It was a good game. We tried to keep close to our rivals, but at the end of each set they were more patient than we were and that gave them the victory. In the playoffs we will play against France, which had some ups and downs. But they can play well, they can be strong, so we have to stay focused."

Michal Nekola, coach of Czech Republic: "I am satisfied with the quality of my team's play during this match. We got riskier at serving and it brought us some points. I guess the cold blood at the end of each set was missing and we have to work on that element to avoid such situations in the future."

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