09/08/2015 19:32
Denmark defeat Austria after another thrilling tiebreaker
2015 CEV Volleyball European League - Men
Aarhus, Denmark, August 9, 2015. On Sunday Denmark claimed their second victory in a row after edging Austria in another thrilling tie-break drama at Ceres Arena in Aarhus. The Danes were down 1:2 in sets, but delivered yet another strong comeback and eventually won the match 3:2 (25-17, 23-25, 19-25, 25-21, 15-12) to finish their campaign in the 2015 CEV Volleyball European League – Men on a high note.
Denmark came out with much focussed minds and thunder in their hands and quickly the home heroes got a comfortable gap as, on the other hand, the Austrians seemed not to have shaken off the loss they had suffered on Saturday after leading by two sets to none. Shooting star Peter Trolle Bonnesen continued his massive scoring streak from the first match (33 points), registering 10 points in this first set, and he led the Danes to the final 25-17.
In the second set Austria got a better grip on their game and recovered to the Danes chock start. Coach Michael Warm’s team had a three-point lead at the second technical timeout (16:13). All pointed to a clear Austrian second set win when the white shirted team had widened their advantage to 24:18, but Denmark survived five set points before Austria closed it 25-23.
The third set started as the second with Austria on top 8:5 at the first technical time-out. Thomas Tröthann was a constant threat in the air and the 201 cm outside spiker added five points to his score sheet in the third set summing it up to 16. Austria cruised to their second set win at 25-19.
In the fourth set it was Denmark’s turn to get a flying start (6:2) before Michael Warm called a needed time-out and his side narrowed the gap down to two points at the first technical timeout (8:6 in Denmark’s favour). Austria kept having the Danes within reach (16:14), but Denmark managed to increase their lead bit by bit (19:16 and 21:17) eventually winning the set 25-21.
As in the first match on Saturday, the two teams needed a tie-break to decide the eventual winner of their clash. The winner would at the same time take the 4th position in the final standing of Pool A. Denmark was in front 8:6 when the teams changed side of the court, but Austria refused to let go and levelled the score first at 8 and again at 10 all. Then Denmark finally got the gap they needed to win the thrilling tiebreaker 15-12 and thereby the match 3:2.
“We struggled throughout the entire match to find our level. Austria came out with a whole different energy today. After a perfect first set Austria got back in the game, and we had to look in every corner of our toolbox to find a solution not to lose grip on the game. It is an absolutely amazing finish of the CEV European League for us with two wins at home. A fantastic performance of the guys,” said Mikael Trolle, Denmark’s mentor.
“Both teams played a better match today. Both teams fought better and showed more of who they really are. In the final moments of the match Kristian Knudsen (pictured) made the difference for Denmark. The biggest of compliments to his performance, he just made all the right decisions. I want to praise the guys, they performed well and have had a good European League,” said Michael Warm, head coach of Austria.
With today’s result Denmark finish in fourth position in CEV Volleyball European League Pool A, while Austria takes fifth place.
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