Konya, Turkey, July 8, 2017. The pool phase of the 2017 CEV U17 Volleyball European Championship – Men reached its conclusion at the Konya Municipality Sports and Congress Center on Saturday as the 12 teams battled it out for one final time. As a result, Bulgaria play Belgium and Italy face Turkey in Monday’s 1-4 semi-finals.
The Netherlands vs. Serbia 0-3 (14-25, 19-25, 21-25)
Serbia put on a dominant display to secure their progression to the classification matches after sweeping aside a depleted Netherlands side. The Dutch were missing a duo of players due to overnight illness and Serbia took full advantage.
“The first set was very easy and in the second set our concentration dropped,” said Serbia outside spiker Alija Bekric. “At the end of the second set, we sorted our final game and finished it. In the third set it was a little bit easy and after we made some substitutions they came back into it, but we finished it off.”
Belgium vs. Italy 0-3 (17-25, 22-25, 16-25)
Italy went level on points with Belgium and ended their unbeaten run in doing so by winning in straight sets in the final pool II matches in Hall B. Though the second set was close, Italy dominated in periods one and three and ran out comfortable winners to give themselves a good chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.
“It was a very tough match because Belgium are an excellent team,” Italy coach Bruno Morganti said. “However, we put in an excellent performance today. We served very well and also did well with blocking. There are no regrets at all and we have always played well.”
Finland vs. Bulgaria 1-3 (21-25, 7-25, 29-27, 22-25)
Bulgaria bounced back from defeat against Turkey by beating bottom side Finland in the second game of the day in Hall A. A win in the first set was followed up by a thrashing in the second and eventually the match was settled without the need for a tiebreak.
“We played very well and it was important for us to win today,” said Bulgaria coach Dragan Ivanov. “Whoever we come up against in the semi-finals, it will be their problem to face us, we will not worry about them.”
Spain vs. Czech Republic 0-3 (19-25, 20-25, 13-25)
After four consecutive defeats, the Czech Republic ended their campaign on a high note as they beat Spain in straight sets in Pool II. Spain end the pool phase as the only team without a point but came up against some tough opposition along the way.
Czech Republic assistant coach Ondrej Zaba said: “This group of players is very good but our pool has strong players. This team will move onto an U19 championship now and we hope we can play better there than in Konya.”
Turkey vs. Greece 3-2 (25-19, 25-16, 26-28, 20-25, 22-20)
In the most enthralling match of the competition so far, Turkey played Greece in the late game in Pool I and put on a huge Volleyball battle for everyone watching in the stands. Turkey wasted several match points in the third set and Greece took control as they made it 2-2 but an incredible fifth and final set ended in the hosts’ favour as they qualified for the last four of the tournament.
Turkey coach Hüseyin Düzceler said: “We made many mistakes and let them get too close to us. Because the competition is in Turkey, we have high expectations. Our target is big and because of that our motivation is very high.”
“It was nearly a miracle,” Greece coach Stefanos Nanas said as a smile came to his face. “We were two sets behind and pulled it back. That for us is victory. We are a small team and didn’t have much time to practice before, we could see the Turks in the eyes and for us that is good. We turned the game and lost only in details. These players don’t need motivating for Monday. We are Greeks, we have heart and motivation.”
Belarus vs. Russia 2-3 (25-22, 25-20, 21-25, 18-25, 12-15)
Russia came back from two sets down to win against Belarus in the final match of the day in Pool II as both sides missed out on a place in the last four. In a remarkable match, Russia hit back in some style but then trailed 10-4 in the tiebreak before surging back to take it 15-12.
“We played very well, but we could have played better. We have gone to five sets twice which was a disaster but today we got the job done,” said Russia coach Konstantin Brianskii.
The results mean that following Sunday’s rest day, Pool I winners Bulgaria will play Belgium in the first semi-final while, Pool II winners Italy take on Turkey for a place in Tuesday’s gold medal match.
Elsewhere, Serbia play Russia and Greece face Belarus as the final classification places begin to be decided earlier in the day.
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