After Turkey achieved this feat on Friday, 24 hours later Serbia qualified for the Final Round of this year’s #EuroVolleyU17M as well – as the hosts of Pool B in Kragujevac beat Ukraine 3-1 to complete a clean sweep of the matches in their group (which Germany forfeited). On Sunday, Belgium and Czech Republic will lock horns for top spot in Pool A, as Russia need to take one set only to seal first place in Pool C. Latvia and Belarus will battle for the top position in Pool D, with the two best runners-up across all pools completing the 12-team field for the U17 continental championship.
The Czech block was too much to stand for the young Oranjes
Pool A in Kutna Hora (CZE)
The hosts from the Czech Republic started their campaign on home soil with a match against the Netherlands. With the help of their captain Mat?j Pastr?ák, the Czechs claimed an 18-13 lead in the first set and they controlled the game until the very end for a comprehensive 25-15 win. The Czechs set the pace of the game in the second set as well (15-11) and even some substitutions from the Dutch camp could not change the course of the match – with the home side taking the second set again by 25-15 before they were even more dominant in the third and final set (25-12). Mat?j Pastr?ák scored 13 points, including three blocks, as David Obdržálek registered the same personal tally for the home side. On Sunday, the Czech Republic will be playing Belgium for top spot in the pool and a ticket to #EuroVolleyU17M, with live streaming available on the YouTube channel of the Czech Volleyball Federation.
“In the end, the Dutch team was not as good as we expected – they are tall boys, but their Volleyball is still in its infancy. Tomorrow will be a tough nut to crack, since the Belgians are a much better team, but we are definitely not without a chance.”
Jirí Zach
Coach of Czech Republic
“Today’s opponent was probably a lighter one than Belgium, which awaits us tomorrow. We started a little nervously, but then we got into it, the teammates from the bench cheered and encouraged us. Tomorrow we will do everything we can to qualify for the European Championship.”
Matej Pastrnák
Captain of Czech Republic
Albert Cristina, coach of the Netherlands: “Today we performed worse than we did yesterday, and we can admit that we did not do so well. We played against a good opponent; they have tall and skilled players with a very hard smash and a good block. We do not yet have such concentration and strength, and we still have to work on that. We need to continue to gain experience.”
Xander Bomert, captain of the Netherlands: “We did not play very well, as we made many errors on the attack and with the serve. The Czechs, especially their captain, showed very hard attacks; it is definitely a good team. We still have to work hard and train to be able to defeat them one day.”
Pool B in Kragujevac (SRB)
Serbia secured their participation in the Final Round of this year’s #EuroVolleyU17M courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Ukraine in their second and final match in Kragujevac. Pool B did indeed feature three teams only after the withdrawal of Germany from the competition. Luka Stankovic top scored with 26 points for the home side as the young Serbians added a second victory in the tournament to their 3-0 shutout of Finland from earlier this week.
Pool C in Ploiesti (ROU)
On Saturday, Russia claimed their second 3-0 victory in as many matches they have contested in Ploiesti. This time, the team coached by Andrey Nozdrin beat Estonia (25-15, 25-13, 25-16) in a true show of strength. Therefore, following their 3-0 victory over Israel on Friday, Russia only need to take one set from their final matchup with Romania on Sunday to punch a ticket to #EuroVolleyU17M. Russia’s supremacy was obvious in all aspects of the game, as they registered as many as 12 aces and 7 blocks. Gleb Stefanovich top scored with 13 points, followed by Ivan Skvortsov (11). Johann Mattias Uprus was the most prolific player for Estonia with six points only.
Later in the evening, Israel caused a bit of a surprise with their 3-0 shutout of hosts Romania (25-16, 25-18, 25-23). Therefore, Romania stand no chance anymore of reaching the Final Round. Romania made as many as 11 unforced errors in the first set alone, thus paving the way with gold to their opponent. Israel controlled the match in the second and third sets as well – and by taking maximum three points, they still can hope to qualify for the Final Round depending on the result of their last match with Estonia and the performance of the teams competing in the other pools. Ravid Eliyahu Alfasi top scored for Israel with 19 points – as Cristian-Daniel Chitigoi chipped in with 14 for Romania.
Israeli team before they shocked Romania with a clear 3-0 win.
Pool D in Zadar (CRO)
Latvia are the only team with a perfect record in Pool D after on Saturday they thrashed France 3-0 in Zadar to go with their 3-1 victory from Friday’s match with hosts Croatia. On Sunday, Latvia will be playing Belarus – who on Saturday made easy work of the home team cruising to a clear-cut 3-0 win.
