03/06/2019 17:00
Montenegro claim double Volleyball gold at GSSE on home soil
Miscellaneous
Budva, Montenegro, June 3, 2019. Montenegro swept the Volleyball top honours at the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE) that the Balkan country hosted last week for the very first time in their history. Their men’s and women’s national teams scored five wins apiece in as many matches they contested in the single round robin tournament, dropping only two sets along the way.
The men coached by Veljko Basic beat Iceland 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-14), Luxembourg 3-0 (25-13, 26-24, 25-21), Cyprus 3-1 (25-13, 18-25, 25-17, 25-23) before completing their duties with 3-0 shutouts of San Marino (25-18, 25-18, 25-16) and Monaco (27-25, 25-22, 25-20).
Despite missing many of their top players who will compete at EuroVolley later this year, Montenegro were the dominant force of the tournament, with Cyprus and Luxembourg finishing second and third, respectively.
The women’s team coached by Nikola Masonicic beat Liechtenstein and Luxembourg in three sets, before edging Cyprus 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 25-19, 18-25, 15-11) and finishing their campaign with 3-0 wins over San Marino and Iceland. Cyprus and Iceland completed the podium of the event.
It was only their second appearance for Montenegro at the Volleyball competition of the GSSE – their men’s and women’s national teams had previously won gold in 2011 and 2015 at the Games held in Liechtenstein and Iceland.
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