Kraków, Poland, August 31, 2017. Russia cruised past Slovenia 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-19) to book their place in the LOTTO EUROVOLLEY POLAND 2017 semi-finals where they will play Belgium.
It was a repeat result of the meeting in the pool phase when Russia were also 3-0 winners and the 2015 silver medallists could not find a way to break them down.
The Russians started really strong and a series of four consecutive rallies ended in Russian points to make it 6-2 in their favour. Slovenia could not finish any counter-attacks and so the margin grew slowly, to reach eight points at the second technical time-out after Dmitrii Volkov’s spike made it 16-8. Even though the Slovenians seemed less nervous near the end of the set, the difference stayed and when Alen Šket hit the net with his serve the set ended 25-17.
The next part of the game was much closer and the Russians earned their first two-point advantage as late as 8-6. They were again better in taking control as Volkov’s single block on Tonček Štern made it 12-8. Then Russia felt the weakness in their opponent and kept a tight grip on the set, cruising safely to a 25-19 win following another Šket fault from service line.
In the third set the Slovenians were never ahead as Russia kept it going with remarkable consistency on court. Even when the reserve setter Gregor Ropret replaced Dejan Vinčić, which boosted the Slovenian offense, they could not compete in terms of Volleyball skills. The Russian block, as it often does, pushed hard when it was needed and Slovenia fell 21-16 behind. Artem Volvich’s smashed a great spike to end win it 25-19.
Quotes
Sergey Shlyapnikov, Russia coach: “We played very well today, it was a very important match, thanks to which we qualified for the semi-final, and we are happy about it. From one side a day off let us rest, but it’s easy to lose a match rhythm. Team work was a key to success.”
Maxim Mikhailov, Russia: “The game in the group was more balanced, we won in the final moments. The Slovenian team stayed in yesterday’s match against Poland. They didn’t show their biggest strengths, how they can play Volleyball. For us today it was easier to play this team than it was in the group stage of the tournament.”
Dejan Vinčić, Slovenia: “We played without energy, without anything. We had a short time to recover after yesterday’s match. The Russian team played really well, they didn’t give us anything.”
Alen Pajenk, Slovenia: “We are upset. We didn’t play like we did yesterday, we lost all our power in the match against Poland. But from the other side, the Russian team are very strong, so they are a very difficult opponent.”
Slobodan Kovac, Slovenia coach: “I am asking myself what happened today. The players said that they were tired, because they had to play less than 24 hours after the last, very important match. To be honest, I don’t like it and I cannot understand why they didn’t use today this positive energy and adrenaline from yesterday’s match. Of course, the opponent is a very good team, but when you play against Russia for the second time, losing the first match by own mistakes you should have a different attitude, especially that a day earlier you had defeated such a strong team like Poland. This match showed that Russia are better at the moment and they aspire to play in the final of the European Championship, but this tournament already brought a few surprises and everything is possible. Every match is a new story and we will see what happens next. We are upset, because I thought that we are able to be in the top four.”
Click here for more information including detailed statistics and photos..
Match highlights