Lecce/Marsicovetere, Italy. Italy and Bulgaria, Germany and Poland all started their #EuroVolleyU18M journey with a victory as the competition got underway on Saturday in Marsicovetere and Lecce. Italy fought back from two sets down to edge Turkey at the tiebreak, while Bulgaria and Poland registered comprehensive 3-0 victories over Belgium and the Czech Republic, respectively. Germany needed five sets as well to record their first success as they beat Belarus in Pool II. The competition resumes on Monday with the second round of pool matches, with live streaming available on the official YouTube channel of the Italian Volleyball Federation.
Pool I in Marsicovetere
Belgium vs. Bulgaria 0-3 (17-25, 21-25, 23-25)
In the first match of Pool I, Bulgaria celebrated a relatively easy victory against Belgium. The Bulgarian team dominated the game, especially in the first set (25-17) while the second was more balanced (25-21). In the third, Bulgaria took a comfortable early lead, but Belgium put up a fight until the end, eventually losing that set as well (25-23).
Team Bulgaria had a promising start to the competition in Marsicovetere
Martin Stoev, head coach of Bulgaria: “Starting the European Championship with a win was very important. My team delivered a good performance. It was the first time we played against Belgium. They are a good team, with very tall players, but perhaps we have better technical qualities.”
Italy vs. Turkey 3-2 (28-30, 16-25, 25-14, 25-16, 15-7)
In their debut on home soil, the hosts from Italy beat Turkey 3-2 (28-30, 16-25, 25-14, 25-16, 15-7) after mounting a great comeback. In the first two sets, it was Turkey to lead the game, but from the third set Vincenzo Fanizza’s boys changed gear, both on a technical level and in terms of their attitude, and the Turks had to surrender at the end of a tiebreak dominated by the ‘Azzurrini’.
Mattia Orioli of Italy trying to spike through the Turkish block
Vincenzo Fanizza, head coach of Italy: “I am very happy that the team was able to respond to a very difficult situation. Trailing 0-2, my boys did not lose concentration and composure, but rather they found the character and strength to take command of the game against such tough opponents. I am convinced that the real Italy is the one seen from the third set, when we showed good volleyball and the right attitude. We knew that the European Championship is a very tough tournament and we will have to raise the level of our performance in the next matches.”
Pool II in Lecce
Germany vs. Belarus 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 15-10)
The opening day of the men’s U18 European Championship in Lecce started with a 3-2 victory of the reigning champions from Germany – even though this is a completely different group of players compared to the previous event held in 2018 – in their debut match against Belarus. The boys coached by Dominic von Känel had to fight very hard to emerge as the eventual winners of this fixture, where their opposite hitter Joscha Kunstmann top scored for the winning side with 21 points, one less than the figures recorded by Aliaksei Ilkevitch for Belarus in a very closely contested match.
Germany head coach Dominic von Känel took positives and useful learnings from the first match of the tournament
Dominic von Känel, head coach of Germany: “We had a very slow start. The boys were tense in the opening stages of their first international competition. I consider Belarus a very, very good opponent. I am satisfied with the reaction of my boys today. I prefer to go from match to match, and we have set goals for each game. The boys are very young and it is easy for them to make mistakes. We have a lot of work to do, on technique, on reception, and the goal of this group is certainly to grow together.”
Czech Republic vs. Poland 0-3 (21-25, 22-25, 11-25)
Later in the evening, Poland secured a comprehensive 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic. The first couple of sets were a close affair with the Czech Republic keeping the score tight until the very end, with the third set a one-sided one instead. Towards the end of the match, Poland seemed to test their readiness for the next match in the pool with Germany. The best scorer was team captain Jakub Olszewski, who registered 11 points.
Polish players celebrate their victory in the match with the Czech Republic
Michal Bakiewicz, head coach of Poland: “It was a difficult game; the Czech Republic are a strong team with a high level coach. The first two sets were close while in the third set we found the right rhythm. We are a strong team but we are ready to improve in view of the next matches in which we will have to give our 100%. We are competing at a European Championship, so we must give our best without letting our guard down, since standing on the other side of the net we have some top-level teams.”
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Sources:
CEV – European Volleyball
CVF – Czech Volleyball Federation
