15/03/2021 09:59
Poland triumph at EEVZA #EuroVolleyU17M qualifier in Tbilisi
CEV U17 Men Volleyball European Championship 2021
Tbilisi, Georgia, March 14, 2021. International competition returned to Tbilisi this past week after a long break due to the coronavirus pandemic with an EEVZA #EuroVolleyU17M qualifier. Team Poland were the eventual winners of the event after edging Belarus 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20) in the final match to claim the sole ticket at stake to the final round of the championship scheduled for later this summer in Albania.
Poland were the favourites of the final and even though Belarus spared no effort to stay in contention, the young players in red and white shirts deservedly finished the tournament in the Georgian capital on a high note.
Russia ended the competition in a rather disappointing third place, as they beat Ukraine 3-1 (27-29, 25-17, 25-10, 25-21) in the bronze medal match of the EEVZA tournament. The match for places five and six featured two Baltic neighbours, with Latvia securing a 3-1 victory (25-23, 25-18, 27-29, 25-19) over Estonia.
The home team representing Georgia finished the competition in seventh place following their hard-fought 3-2 (25-23, 14-25, 18-25, 25-22, 15-9) win over Lithuania in the match that opened the final competition day in Tbilisi. Georgian head coach, Genadi Gordadze commented: “I am satisfied with the result especially after dealing with a break of one year. We could not practice for a very long time and I think my team and players showed what sort of potential they have.”
Georgia’s captain Giga Kervalidze added: “I am happy because we played better and better with each match. I hope that we can achieve even better results in the future.”
The teams ranked second to sixth – Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia – will contest the second round of qualifications scheduled for early May.
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