Gdańsk, Poland, August 28, 2017. Poland secured second place in LOTTO EUROVOLLEY POLAND 2017 Pool A by beating Estonia, while Serbia beat Finland to win the pool on the final day of matches at Ergo Arena.
Serbia had already won the pool by the time Poland started against Estonia in the second match of the day and their 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-22) win against Estonia in front of a sell-out crowd secured their play-off match against Slovenia in Krakow.
The teams were even early on, but the red and white edged themselves ahead to lead at the first technical timeout. In front of a party atmosphere on the Polish north coast, both sides gave it their all and with his side leading, Poland coach Ferdinando Di Giorgi halted play for a time-out at 20-19. After that, his team kept their nerve and despite Estonia’s Renee Teppan (7) scoring more than anyone, it was Poland’s Mateusz Bieniek that helped push his side over the line, winning 25-21.
The second set was much tighter between the two and they were level at both 9-9 and 16-16. There was never much of a lead taken by Poland and despite wasting one set point at 24-23, they made it count at the second time of asking. A huge serve from Bieniek was called out by the line judge to the delight of the Estonian fans, but upon review the decision was overturned. Poland could celebrate once again, as they won the set 26-24.
The volume inside Ergo Arena was growing by the minute, as Poland surged towards victory. The DJ did his bit by playing the classics and the fans responded. However, Estonia were going to be no pushovers and they pushed the Poles all the way. The teams could not be separated at 19-all and when the hosts built up a three-point lead at 24-21 the result became inevitable. However, it was a long serve from Estonia’s Teppan that handed them victory.
Bartosz Kurek, Poland: “It was crucial for our confidence which I think we lacked at times. The two 3-0s we got in Gdansk are good and should make us believe more in ourselves to play better Volleyball going forward. Now we go to Krakow for another battle and I hope it will not be the end. Our fans are amazing all the time and I hope they will come and cheer. The biggest thing is to do the job on the court.”
Gheorghe Creţu, Estonia coach: “The reaction in the last two games after losing to Finland has been incredible. The chance to play Poland at their home is great but it’s not easy. Even good teams could go under here. We played good volleyball and the Estonians support the team so well. They show their respect and this was the great thing. All of the Polish crowd were impressed with our fans and the way the team played. Poland had a little bit more than us and we have to work with our guys and hope that we get different opponents in future championships.”
Serbia qualified for the LOTTO EUROVOLLEY POLAND 2017 quarterfinals and will play Bulgaria/Finland after beating Finland 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 34-32) in the first match of the final day of play in Pool A.
In the first set, the teams were level at 3-3, but Serbia soon found their rhythm and managed to open up a five-point gap at 15-10. Despite Finland bridging the deficit, Serbia stayed strong as the point-scoring was shared among the team. They won the set despite wasting one set point and made it count at the second attempt thanks to an easy spike struck by captain Dragan Stankovic.
Serbia’s dominance continued in the second set as they put points on the board. Finland were roared on during every point by their thousands of fans inside the arena, but the lack of Serbian support counted for little. Again Nikola Grbic’s side failed to capitalise with their first set point but a powerful kill from Aleksandar Atanasijevic gave them victory, 25-18.
In the final set, Serbia did not have it all their own as Tuomas Sammelvuo’s side fought back. The Finns led 16-14, but the sides were on level terms at 23-all. What followed, no-one in Ergo Arena would have predicted. Both teams had chances to finish the set and in Finland’s case, they threw away five set points. Serbia themselves weren’t clinical and wasted three opportunities to win the match before Uros Kovacevic (pictured above) spiked to win it 34-32.
The result meant Serbia had won Pool A ahead of the final match between Poland and Estonia, while Finland reached the play-offs after Estonia lost 3-0 to Poland.
Nikola Grbic, Serbia coach: “It was much better than two days ago. We put lots of energy onto the court and our concentration was good. We expected a tough match and they served really well. But when they managed to do well in the second and third set we stayed steady and calm. I was very satisfied and all the players who came in gave something towards the victory. We had our chances to win the match (before we eventually did), but we made many mistakes with our serve.”
