Konya, Turkey, July 4, 2017. On the second day of play at the CEV U17 Volleyball European Championship – Men, Bulgaria, Italy and Belgium made a statement making it two wins from two in their respective pools. It was a lively day at the Konya Municipality Sports and Congress Center as Europe’s elite put themselves to the test on the big stage.

Serbia vs. Bulgaria 0-3 (23-25, 16-25, 21-25)

Bulgaria maintained their 100% winning record as they beat Serbia in the first game of the day in Pool I. However, despite sweeping aside Serbia, and the Netherlands before them, coach Dragan Ivanov was not getting complacent.

“The semi-finals are too far in the distance,” he said. “We are much more confident than yesterday, but we still have matches to play including a difficult one tomorrow.”

Italy vs. Czech Republic 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-12)

In Pool II across in Hall B, Italy continued to dominate on the court as they grabbed a second win of the tournament against a “strong” Czech side. Italy coach Bruno Morganti praised his side’s performance and said their team spirit could be a factor going forward in the competition.

“In the Italian system of play, team spirit is a big characteristic. They are doing this very well and it keeps a good atmosphere,” he explained. However, Morganti is still hopeful of a more rounded game against Belarus in the late game on Wednesday. He continued: “There were a number of errors in the sets today. We’d like to make less in the next match.”

Greece vs. Finland 3-1 (25-18, 25-27, 25-22, 28-26)

Greece won their first match of the competition in a tight encounter against Finland who are now two without a victory. Greek coach Stefanos Nanas was full of praise for his side afterwards and called the win a “historic victory” for Greek Volleyball.

“We wanted to win because we lost yesterday due to small margins,” he said. “Today was another phase of the Greek national team and tomorrow will be even better. Everyday you have to go out and win.”

Russia vs. Spain 3-1 (23-25, 25-11, 25-18, 25-17)

A shock looked to be on the cards as the sides met in Pool II, but Russia came from a set down to prevail in comprehensive fashion. Speaking post-match, Russia coach Konstantin Brianskii said his motivation after the first set loss was key to the win.

He said: “It was a surprise for us because we are big, strong and powerful. But we got our game together in the second set and managed to overcome Spain.” He was also fairly bold in his prediction about how his side would fare going forward in the competition. He added: “I think Russia will be in the gold medal match at the end of the tournament.”

The Netherlands vs. Turkey 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 19-25, 25-21, 15-11)

The hosts were beaten for the first time as they lost to the Dutch in a five-set thriller. In front of another passionate home crowd, the game swung backwards and forwards until the visitors put together a good run in the final set. There were big celebrations at the final whistle from Arnold van Ree’s team and he said it was all part of the learning experience for his young side.

“Any 3-2 win is a Volleyball fight and you have to enjoy it,” van Ree said. “They are supported by the home crowd and my guys have to learn. We’ve only had the same kind of atmosphere away against Spain in the qualifiers. We hope to qualify for the second round, but we take it day by day.”

Belgium vs. Belarus 3-1 (23-25, 25-13, 25-21, 26-24)

Belgium were the final team to maintain their perfect start after they also came from behind to beat Belarus in Pool II. In what was the final match of the day in Konya, Belarus edged a close first set but Belgium hit back strongly and managed to win in four.

Belgium captain Simon Plaskie said: “We lost the first set, but the sets were close in three and four and we made the little things right, which is why we won. We don’t have a target but we’ve won against Poland and other good teams before. We would like to go further than the group stage and we’ll play every match as we did today.”

Each team will play their third pool match on Wednesday before a rest day on Thursday. The qualifiers for the last eight will be determined on Friday and Saturday as the pool phase concludes.