Katowice, Poland, August 30, 2017.  The Czech Republic dropped the biggest sensation of LOTTO EUROVOLLEY POLAND 2017 so far by knocking out the reigning 2015 European champions from further defending their title. The Czechs played a brilliant game to pull off a 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20) upset against France and set up a quarterfinal re-match with Germany on Thursday, at 17:30 local time.

The schedule for the Quarter-Finals has been confirmed as:

   - Katowice 17:30 GER vs CZE / 20:30 BEL vs ITA
   - Krakow: 17:30 RUS vs SLO / 20:30 SRB vs BUL

The two youngest players on the Czech starting line-up were on fire in the first set. With Donovan Dzavoronok acing twice and Michal Finger at 100% in attack, they scored six points each during the set to keep their team in control. Although France managed to wipe out a four-point Czech lead to catch up at 21-21, their opponent went for a brilliant finish with four in a row to close the set at 25-21.

The French raised the level of their blocking in the second set taking some of the edge off of the Czech offence. Still, it was an even battle all through a 20-20 tie, but the conclusive moments of the set were all about the French squad, levelling the match with a 25-21 win.



Stephen Boyer was hammering out one point after another in the third set, but his 10-point contribution did not suffice for France to win it. The Czechs were quick to cancel the three-point deficit they had shortly after the first technical time-out and take control. With Finger doing his magic in attack, they gained control and allowed the French to take a short-lasting lead on only two more occasions. In the final moments of the set, the Czech team was unstoppable until Finger put the ball on the floor to fix another 25-21 in the end.

At 3-2 was the last time France were up on the scoreboard during the fourth set. Sensing the smell of success, the inspired Czechs throve on the many mistakes the French started to make to take the lead and gradually build it up to a 25-20 win. The great teamwork it took to win this set was best expressed by the numbers as the Czech Republic’s five players, other than the setter and the libero, scored exactly three points each to equally contribute to achieving their common goal.

Stephen Boyer was the top scorer of the match with 20 points for France. Michal Finger scored 19 times to top the charts on the winning side, supported by Donovan Dzavoronok with another 15.



Jénia Grebennikov, player of France: "We played very badly. We missed lots of chances to score a point. We missed serves and attacks and we were really awful at reception. We did not play like a team. Instead we played like individuals. That is why it was difficult for us to win this game. The Czech Republic did not play very well, but we were even worse. Unlike us, they played like a team.”

Laurent Tillie, coach of France: "We played very unstable in all elements. It was so hard to see my team playing like that. The strength of this team is always the collective game. I did not see it in this game. It is a big pain for the whole team and all our fans."

Michal Finger, player of Czech Republic: "Plan for tomorrow: do our best and repeat this score. It was a big surprise for us and I guess nobody expected it. Today we played really well and I got hope that we can repeat it tomorrow. Today we were very focused, not like before when we played with Germany. I hope we will continue at this level."

Michal Nekola, coach of Czech Republic: "We played well in our last pool match against Italy and we showed an even better level against France. Of course, we felt respect for the current World League champions, but thought of it as a challenge to play a great team, rather than a difficult task."

 
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